Category Archives: hearty

7 Simple, Seasonal, (Nearly) One-Pot Meals

By Vanessa | Published: February 8, 2012
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 [...]
Also posted in Food and Drink, Latin American, from the market, healthy, seafood | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Turkey Chile Soup with Rice and Winter Squash

By Vanessa | Published: November 25, 2011
I first made this soup a couple weeks ago with a small, Soul Food Farm stock bird. I used a technique I use often that provides me with a light but full flavored broth to freeze and use for soups and also a good amount of shredded chicken meat to use for enchiladas, tacos, salad, [...]
Also posted in Latin American, Uncategorized, healthy, holidays | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

1st of November Spicy Bean, Kale, Sausage, and Potato Soup

By Vanessa | Published: November 11, 2011
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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Fried Green Tomatoes & Burrata for Impatient Gardeners

By Vanessa | Published: July 28, 2011
Chilly Bay Area summers make waiting for that first green tomato to ripen like waiting for Congress to negotiate a budget. Thankfully green tomatoes have a lot more going for them than our typical legislators. They’re way more fun; they have a movie AND a book named after them; they’re tasty; and, instead of making [...]
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DIY All-Purpose Red Chili Sauce, Posole, and a Little Appreciation

By Vanessa | Published: April 5, 2011
A couple of months ago I was gifted a lovely chile ristra by Annabelle Lenderink of La Tercera Farm. That same day, my friend Ellen came by and I shared some chiles with her. The next thing you know we’re scheming up dishes to make with dried chiles. It’s funny how one really special ingredient [...]
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Will Cook for Art—Beth’s Ultimate Dinner

By Vanessa | Published: February 26, 2011
My friend Beth is an artist. I am a cook and food writer. I can’t afford art. At her last open studio event, I was admiring this piece portraying East Oakland. She suggested I cook her an “ultimate dinner” in trade for the piece. I gladly accepted. The deed went down a few weeks ago [...]
Also posted in entertaining | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Portuguese Pickled Pork Plus New Class Announcement

By Vanessa | Published: January 11, 2011
Every year, my brother-in-law’s family descends on my sister’s house the morning after Christmas to consume large amounts of pork, poached eggs, and bread fried in pork fat. Even the mostly vegetarians join in for what’s become known as Porkmas. My sister gets up early and arranges the house so as to fit the whole [...]
Also posted in breakfast, entertaining, holidays | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Creamy Polenta with Spicy Crab

By Vanessa | Published: December 2, 2010
It’s funny how recipes are developed. At least in my house. This one came out of the fateful collision between the opening of crab season and a few scenes in a bad Woody Allen movie. Let me explain. Crab season always opens just before Thanksgiving when everyone is busy with turkey, stuffing, gravy and mashed [...]
Also posted in Food and Drink, entertaining, from the market, seafood | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Crazy for Curtido

By Vanessa | Published: October 25, 2010
My life and my kitchen have both been overtaken by fermenting cabbage lately. (Is there a support group for that?) Partially, it’s the season. I always want to make hearty, fattier foods when the weather turns cold and sauerkraut and curtido are the perfect accompaniments. Plus cabbage turns sweeter as the weather gets chillier, making [...]
Also posted in Books, DIY, Latin American, book events, classes, from the market, healthy, pantry staples | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Chiles and Tomatillos in the Market: Time for Chile Verde

By Vanessa | Published: September 17, 2010
A couple of weeks ago I looked out the window and, though it was a hot day, I noticed that the light had the look of fall. It happens so suddenly—that subtle change in the quality and angle of the light, but it’s unmistakable. So then I started to think about warming stews and soups, [...]
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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.