Come mid-to late August, green pumpkins will start to show, and one of the most interesting things I’ve made with them is green pumpkin mock-apple pie. While I was writing the garden portion of my first book, I came across a few different references to squashes and gourds being cooked in their unripe stage-mostly pickles…
Garden
Lampascioni: Edible Hyacinth Bulbs
Lampascioni (edible hyacinth bulbs) are a traditional Southern Italian delicacy, specifically in Puglia and the Salentine peninsula where they’re gathered in the spring or winter before the plants produce their purple flowers. Today I’ll go over their traditional uses, and what I’ve learned about them over the past few years. A few years ago I…
How to Cook a Green Pumpkin
Have you ever walked through a pumpkin patch during the summer, noticed unripe pumpkins and wondered about them? Or, maybe you grow gourds and had an animal or force of nature break the growing pumpkin from the plant before it turns orange and wondered what, if anything you could do with them? Well, I’m here…
How to Make Fermented Lemons
Do you like preserved lemons? I do. If you do too, you’ll want to read on, especially if you’re the type of person who likes an easy fermentation project. I seem to crave Moroccan-style salted lemons when I don’t have any around. They can be hard to find if you don’t live in a…
Wild Greek Salad with Purslane and Stonecrop
Midsummer means a lot of things, but heat and garden weeds are probably two that many of us are familiar with right now. A few weeks ago, there was a dinner on the farm I was going to contribute a dish too, and, as my partner’s family is proud of their Greek heritage, I thought…
Green Coriander Unripe Cilantro Seeds
If you don’t like cilantro, close your browser right now, back away from the computer slowly and I’ll see you next week. If you love cilantro like I do, hang on to your butt, because I have a great one for you. Green / unripe coriander or cilantro seeds are one of my all-time favorite,…
Oven-Dried Tomatoes with Bee Balm and Ramp Leaves
This is one of my absolute favorite ways to preserve tomatoes—great for the bounty of tomato season, or even if you’re just craving good tomato flavor in the off season, which I often do. They’re made to mimic the oil-cured, semi-dried Italian tomatoes that restaurants often purchase from wholesale purveyors. If I say so myself,…
Daikon Radish Steaks with Wild Mushroom Ragu
Vegetarian or not, you’re going to love these little daikon radish steaks with wild mushroom ragu, but first, I have to give credit to where my inspiration came from. Like most of my colleagues, I’m always hungry for new information and secrets from others in the culinary industry. You can find recipes for just about…
