Prize Winning Lemon Pound Cake

When my daughter entered us in our local town bake-off I couldn’t think of a better submission than a lemon cake. The fact that the town is called Pound Ridge made it an even more appropriate choice. Everyone should have a great lemon cake recipe, its the perfect accompaniment to a lazy brunch, dressed up…

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Squash and squash blossom frittata straight from my garden

I completely forgot that I had planted rows of zucchini squash in my garden until their beautiful oranges blossoms began to bloom this week. As a first time vegetable gardener I’ve never cooked with blossoms straight from my garden before. I remember seeing a recipe using them in Susan Spungen’s cookbook Open Kitchen whose recipes…

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Summer Strawberry Salad

One of the silver linings of covid and a move from Brooklyn to the country is that for the first time I experienced the joy of planting a vegetable garden from seed to harvest in my own backyard. Watching pea pods grow taller than my three children, seeing them gather fresh strawberries and bowls full…

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When gatherings take on new meaning

One of the last formal writing assignments I worked on as the pandemic set in last March was reviewing the cookbook Open Kitchen by Susan Spungen. The cookbook was designed for entertaining a crowd and my copy was filled with sticky notes of recipes I planned to cook for my next dinner party. I had…

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Favorite Hamantaschens

Baking little triangle shaped Hamantaschens are usually the only activity we do in our house to celebrate the Jewish holiday Purim. I’ve tried a number of different recipes over the years and have settled on one that strikes just the right balance between butter and sugar cookie. These Buttery Hamantaschens by Tori Avey come together…

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Pantry Granola

As the holidays are quickly approaching I’ve been thinking about ways to spread love through baking but wanted to do something other than a traditional cookie box and a little less labor intensive. Homemade granola is one of the most delicious, addictive foods, so much so that I rarely keep in the house because I’d…

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Thanksgiving traditions old and new

Like so many others this will be the first Thanksgiving I’ve ever celebrated without my family. For most of my childhood I traveled with my parents and siblings from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona to be with my dad’s extended family for the holiday. My Great Aunt Liz, our family’s matriarch, held court from her kitchen…

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Dressed up rice

I helped create this vibrant and flavorful rice dish for Equal Parts featuring turmeric, coconut and Thai chilies. The key is cooking the rice in coconut water instead of plain tap water, a method that could be adapted to even simple jasmine rice. The coconut water adds a subtle sweetness and I love the added…

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A summer recipe that easily transitions to fall

The transition from summer to fall is one of my favorite seasons and these past few days have been glorious. We’ve been making use of our backyard garden by trying to incorporate as many tomatoes, banana peppers and beets into fresh pasta, tarts and even making our own pickled peppers. I’ve fallen a bit behind…

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Cooking with an abundance of fresh mint and chives

Spring is slowly creeping into summer and temperatures are thankfully starting to rise. Our little herb garden is already overgrown with fresh chives and mint and I’ve been trying to think of ways to start incorporating these herbs into recipes. Peas are a spring vegetables that pair perfectly with mint and I love this simple…

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