By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Tomatoes by nature are beautiful plants.

The emerald green leaves provide a clean backdrop that enhances the fuzzy stems that glisten in the morning sunlight.

Later on in the season, the landscape is greeted with bright yellow blooms that, depending on the variety, turn into balls of crimson, gold and green.

These plants do not have to be hidden away in the vegetable garden but instead can be showcased in planters, flowerbeds, and rose gardens.

Planters

Several different planters can be used to display flowers and vegetables. Determinate tomatoes look wonderful in a planter when combined with marigolds, nasturtiums, and basil. This combination addresses Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

Garlic, like tomatoes, is a very versatile ingredient, and given its ability to change its flavor profile with different methods of preparation it can provide another dimension to the simple tomato sauce when used in more than one form.

Here, garlic is roasted and pureed into a tomato sauce, while scapes are sliced and added just prior to serving.

The result is a mixture of the earthy, sweet flavor of the roasted garlic combined with a very subtle and fresh garlic aroma from the scapes. Serve the sauce with pasta, chicken, or fish.

Makes 4 cups

• 2 tomatoes Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

Green garlic is something that has been around for a long time but has only recently become a trendy item on restaurant menus.

Also called garlic scapes, green garlic is the shoot of the garlic bulb that comes up in late spring.

It looks a little like the green portion of a leek, with a small bulb about a quarter of the way from the upper end, containing a flower.

It has a very mild garlic flavor and can Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

This is my attempt at destroying Spanish cuisine!

I only say that because I have such a pure love for my limited understanding of its beauty, which is similar to the beauty of Italian cuisine, namely its focus on simple techniques and uncomplicated pairings of flavors.

That’s where this recipe gets it wrong.

I seriously doubt a true Spanish chef would ruin an aioli by adding both chorizo and tomato.

Aioli is such an old sauce that to change it in the least bit by adding a vegetable would be sacrilege, never mind a protein. But after my experiments with tomatoes and chorizo I couldn’t resist.

This is exactly why the rest of the world hates American cooking–we do away with tradition. And thank God, otherwise we would all be eating prime rib and lobster newburg!

Makes 3 cups

• 1 link chorizo sausage
• 1 clove garlic
• Juice of ½ lemon Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and I think this is perhaps more true in cooking than it is in most walks of life.

Terrines and pates were created to use leftover parts of beef, veal, pork, or chicken, and many restaurants list a soup du jour as a way of utilizing leftover vegetables, proteins or cheap carbos like pasta.

Just last week I made a terrible mistake that forced me to come up with a solution.

Every Saturday and Sunday we serve brunch, and one of our featured items is a Basque omelette made with sarladaise potatoes cooked in duck fat, chorizo sausage, and parsley.

The entire thing is a snap to make, Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

The title of this dish is deceptively simple, mostly because the method involves a degree of skill and patience.

It isn’t a hard soup to make, but it does require a little time.

The result, however, is well worth it.

Essentially, it is two purees combined together, and little more than that. But each puree is made with care, so that one is getting a combination of two intense flavors.

Makes 8 cups

• 4 ears of corn, still in the husks
• 1 carrot
• 1 rib of celery
• 1 onion Read the rest of this entry »