I bought 300 g, a bit more than a quarter of a pound, of fresh swordfish at the market and brought it home is an insulated lunch bag that was extra cold because I remembered to freeze the insert that came with the bag and then to take it all to the market.

Our refrigerator is tiny, and I am trying to be mindful and use every bit of food I have before it gets green and fuzzy with mold. Everything is wrapped in either paper or a white plastic bag and that means that I frequently unwrap and rewrap the same leftover more than once. I have augmented the minimun number of bowls and containers by re-cycling the blue and green plastic cups from the gelateria and four of them where filled with the remainder of a steamed potatoes aand carrots from our first dinner party and there were also bits of mushroom salad and artichoke salad.

I thought that swordfish carpaccio would  pull all of the odd bits of food together. When we had finished lunched and washed up there were fewer packages in the fridge and more empty small bowls in the cuppboard. Lunch was a culinary success, a successful use of leftovers and certainly a dietary success. We ate a small amount of swordfish seasoned with lemon and olive oil and lots of vegetables. The carpaccio was a breeze to make. Here’s how I did it: … read more

My son Noah and I made sushi for lunch the day before we were to fly off to Sicily for our two month adventure.

Noah cooked the rice and cut the carrots and avocado and I went to the market to get yellow tail tuna and ‘crab with a k’.  Crab with a k or krab is also called imitation crab meat or seafood sticks. Krab originated in Japan and is a type of processed seafood made of ”Surimi” or finely pulverized white fish.

Along with the fish, I found pickled ginger powered wasabi and seaweed sheets called nori in the Asian Food aisle of the well-stocked grocery.

Ella made sushi hand rolls and Dylan opted for peanut butter. Noah and I made sushi for everyone else. Here’ how we did it .

… read more

Rosie is feeling blue. Hiding in the closet didn’t work, standing outside and looking disinterested  wasn’t convincing. After an undignified trip to the car, we resorted to a pharmacologically induced calm.

After a couple of tranquilizers, her trembling and quaking disappeared along with her appetite.

On the other hand, her human traveling companions, that would be me and Charles, shared an inspired salmon salad that combined poached salmon, ripe olives, mixed greens, feta cheese, red onions and Clementine’s. Proof  that careful ordering is as important as careful cooking.
I don’t have a recipe for this salad (yet), but I look forward to combining fresh fish and citrus from the market in Siracusa as soon as I can and sharing what I learn.

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On a rainy autumn evening, a burger and fries and a favorite Hitchcock film is perfection. The movie may be Rear Window, Dial M for Murder or The Man who Knew Too Much and the burger may be red meat, poultry or fish.

Yep, a FISH burger! Made with minced cod, this burger is delicious, an excellent low-calorie source of protein, a good source of omega – 3 fatty acids, a good source vitamin B12 and B6, and niacin. When you taste it, you will forget the health benefits and simply enjoy dinner and the movie.  Here’s how I did it. … read more

Salade Nicoise has been one of my favorites since my first date with Charles. We met for lunch on a pleasant spring day at a small French restaurant in Georgetown. Charles ordered crepes morvandelle and I ordered a salade Nicoise

The conversation was more carefully considered than my salad that consisted of cold boiled potatoes, tuna and green beans from tins, a few nice olives and slices of hard boiled eggs, all dressed with a simple oil and vinegar dressing.

I cannot remember if there was a lone anchovy on top or not.

In spite of the minor shortcomings of the salad the date was an unqualified success – we just celebrated our thirty-first anniversary.

Since that lunch, I have reconsidered the salade nicoise many times. I made a list of possible ingredients – tuna, potatoes, olives, green beans and anchovy are a must; supporting players include beets, onions, carrots, capers, parsley, dill, tender lettuce, and a vinaigrette. This recipe and presentation requires a fair number of bowls and steps but the results are worthy of your fanciest dinner party.

Here’s how I did it. … read more

[donotprint]Inspiration is a curious thing. Dinner last night was inspired by a head of organic, iceberg lettuce from the farmers' market.

This huge head of crispy, sweet lettuce made me long for Bún Nướng, a Vietnamese salad with noodles and grilled pork.

Never mind that I didn't have the right rice noodles, pork or spring roll. I was inspired and wanted to use the grill that came with my new range!

Along with the lettuce I did have asparagus, a red pepper, a red onion, a jalapeno pepper, garlic, ginger, and limes in the frig; shrimp in the freezer; and, fish sauce, rice noodles and peanuts in the pantry.

Here's how I did it:[/donotprint] ... read more