Category Archives: pantry staples

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 from the market, healthy, seafood | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 [...]
Also posted in from the market, healthy, hearty | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 [...]
Also posted in DIY, Food and Drink, entertaining, from the market, healthy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Jammin’ Summer: Wild Blackberries and Feral Plums

There are two summer themes this year—gathering free fruit to make jam, and seeing how little sugar we can get away with using and still call it jam. Ok, sometimes its sauce. But I’m ok with that. I’ve been obsessed with making low sugar jam ever since I served as a judge in the Good [...]
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Crazy for Curtido

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, hearty | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Turning Sunburned Persimmons into Persimmon Butter

Blackened organic persimmons for 75 cents a pound vs. around $3 a pound? Sign me up because I’m making persimmon butter. Bought these from Kaki at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market. They told me the alarming-looking sooty skin wouldn’t affect the fruit and they were right. This and the galette I’m using it for are the [...]
Also posted in DIY, dessert, entertaining, from the market, fruit, holidays | 5 Comments

Hunger Challenge Day Five

I wake up resigned. It’s Saturday and I feel a little depressed. I start thinking about all my friends the farmers’ market vendors. Will they wonder where I am? I sure miss them. The farmers’ market is my church, my favorite place in the world to be. I don’t know what to do with myself [...]
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Curtido & Raita from the Eat Real Festival

Thanks to everyone who attended my fermentation demo on Friday at Eat Real. I had a blast and it was great to see so many enthusiastic fermenters out there. As promised, here is the curtido recipe for those who did not get one and following that, a link to Nishanga Bliss' blog post about fermenting [...]
Also posted in DIY, classes, community, healthy | Leave a comment
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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.