Category Archives: from the market

A Shrub that Looks Nice

Every time I hear a reference to the trendy drink syrup called a shrub,” a high-pitched British voice interrupts my brain mid-thought and says, “Brrrringg me a shrubberrrry….one that looks nice.” I always have to stop myself from saying it out loud, because if you haven’t seen The Holy Grail (I mean the cinematic, not [...]
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Haphazard Strawberry Jam

I’ve always been a by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of home cook. When I’m not working and thus don’t have to write down or follow a recipe I am happy not to. Last weekend, I set out to make strawberry jam. I knew just what I wanted…the purity of fruit without too much sugar; a spoonable preserve with [...]
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Chickpea and Salmon Salad with Spring Vegetables

Usually I’m planning at least four meals ahead in the part of my brain especially reserved for such musings. However, once in awhile, I find myself sitting at my desk, starving and uninspired at 12:30 or so. On one such occasion I raided the pantry and the vegetables from my CSA box to create a [...]
Also posted in healthy, pantry staples, seafood | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lamb with Pistachio, Feta, & Preserved Lemon “Salsa”

I created this recipe for a couple of different friends who sell local lamb and wanted some new recipes to share with their customers. Below you’ll find instructions for a small sirloin roast and also for sirloin chops, but you can make this salsa and use it on roast leg of lamb, rack of lamb, [...]
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Amazing Brown Rice Bowl & Real Food All Year

I took one bite of this salad and shouted to the empty room, “It’s like Café Gratitude but with pork!” I kind of couldn’t believe how good it was. Seriously. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Café Gratitude serves up some mighty fine cooked grain bowls with various healthy items tossed in. This [...]
Also posted in food sustainability, healthy, hearty | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Farro, Lentil, Porcini, and Greens Soup

With more rain in the forecast, I wanted to share this hearty, healthy soup that I created recently. Lately I’ve been enjoying cooking down the pantry (my version of spring cleaning) and utilizing the vegetables from my beloved Eatwell Farm CSA box to make simple meals. This one was inspired by a recipe in the [...]
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7 Simple, Seasonal, (Nearly) One-Pot Meals

After a flurry of inspiration and posts over the cooking holidays, I’ve been remiss about updating my blog lately. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been eating (and cooking!), it just means I haven’t been cooking anything I’d consider to be necessarily ground-breaking. But yeah, I cook and eat every day, as we all have [...]
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1st of November Spicy Bean, Kale, Sausage, and Potato Soup

Oftentimes in the Bay Area, the weather doesn’t match up well with the season. Such as it was on November 1, 2011, when I made this soup. It was balmy, high 70s, no wind but I still wanted a winter soup. I couldn’t help myself. So here it is as we head into a weekend [...]
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Baba Ghanoush with Homemade Harissa

I promised to post this recipe after I posted the harissa recipe a few weeks ago. Apologies for my slowness. In the event you still have some eggplant hanging around in the garden or fridge at this late date, here’s a great way to use it. If you don’t have harissa, this is still fantastic [...]
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Homemade harissa d’espelette—a many splendored condiment

Lately I’ve been into making harissas and sambals and other fiery chile-based condiments. I think the attraction is that they provide a quick and easy way for a busy cook to make rather ordinary soups, seasonal salads, and baked chicken or fish a lot more interesting. Less than an hour in the kitchen on a [...]
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    The recipes and images on this site belong to Vanessa Barrington. Feel free to link here and if you’d like to use a recipe or image, please ask permission first. Thank you.