Springtime ramps meet with creamy pasta carbonara in this foraged take on this classic Italian dish. Spring has been slow to start with the snow following us all the way into May this year. Only yesterday I commented that our current weather has more in common with March than the first weeks of summer, and the plants agree. Crabapples bloom everywhere I turn, their white and pink blossoms holding the promise of sunshine. It was just two weeks ago I noticed the first bits of rhubarb sticking out... more

Garam masala, coriander, ginger, and garlic flavor this creamy, spinach-based saag dish with seared pieces of paneer cheese. The recipe can be adjusted to be served with chicken, if desired. I was introduced to Indian cuisine a few years after I had left home. It was during a college road trip: cars brimming with bodies, the trunk packed with an assortment of duffel bags as none of us even owned proper luggage at that point nor had the desire to use it. There was a drive across the flat, Midwestern... more

A little how-to and recipe on making ricotta gnocchi (gnocchi di ricotta) using our whole milk ricotta, as well as some perfection pondering. The answer is eluding me. There is this concept of grace I can’t quite grasp. I can feel it, invading my chest cavity and taking up residence there, pulsing along with the beating of my heart. However, when I reach out towards it and try to hold it in my hand, it dissipates, falling through my fingers like mist on a cold, wet morning. I tend to dwell... more

In which we turn our homemade ricotta into a spinach-and-ricotta-filled lasagna with ground beef and a homemade tomato sauce. The recipe and method of which was created and carried out by the four kids in our family with some help from their mom. “A light exists in spring Not present on the year At any other period.” -Emily Dickinson The beginning of spring marked more than just the vernal equinox in our house. New schedules are passed out during homeroom, and a new trimester calls for... more

Mildly piquant Poblano peppers add kick to this full-bodied black bean beef chili recipe with a cooling cilantro and avocado cream on top. We woke up in Narnia. Snow had cascaded down from a dark midnight sky and left a soft white blanket that covered the ground and coated the trees. The grey mountains of snow at the ends of driveways had been washed clean and sparkled. Footprints and ice crusts were covered with nothing but pure, unadulterated white. The weight of it muffles sound and makes everything... more

Succulent steak spiced with fiery cayenne is accompanied by a cooling, tangy chimichurri made with parsley and cilantro both, as well as the sharpness of a fresh-squeezed lemon. Temperatures dropped this week. If you live to the east, you’re feeling it now. A wicked wind cut through gloves and coats, stinging any visible skin with its razor-like edge. Hats became mandatory, sometimes left on indoors to keep a small bit of heat from escaping as the wind howled at the doors and shook the window... more

Sweet caramelized onions dance with creamy Gruyère in velvety egg custard with a bit of tangy yogurt all nestled inside a flaky rosemary crust in this easy quiche recipe. That hour when the sun starts to whisper its goodbye sends pinkish rays streaming through the kitchen window, bouncing off the surfaces and bottles, casting sharp shadows across smooth surfaces. The room becomes bright and darkened all at once, the light playing and dancing with each passing moment. The subtle stinging of fresh... more