Somewhere Over the Rainbow Chard

22 Nov 2013 20 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I love Swiss chard, it’s one of the best greens in my opinion. It cooks up velvety and has a beautiful earthy flavor.

Rainbow chard from Malibu (more glamorous than other rainbow chard)

Rainbow chard from Malibu (more glamorous than other rainbow chard)

So I was thrilled at the Friday farmer’s market here in Topanga to discover bags overstuffed with leaves of rainbow chard — white, golden and red. The chard was grown in Malibu, so they were charging $5 for it. (Usually I have rainbow chard growing in my own garden for free, but things have lately gone fallow.) Smitten, I bought the chard anyway. More

The Greatest Sin

26 Oct 2012 7 Comments

by scolgin in Observations, Recipes Tags: , , , , , ,

Contemplating a quarter loaf of severely stale ciabatta bread in my kitchen this morning, I was reminded of a staggering statistic I read recently. “The NRDC report said Americans discard 40 percent of the food supply every year.”

All that stale bread & an overripe tomato can be

As a person with a gut-level aversion to throwing anything edible away, this figure was unimaginable — especially given the hunger not only around the world, but in our own country. Another statistic: “In 2010, 17.2 million households, 14.5 percent of households (approximately one in seven), were food insecure, the highest number ever recorded in the United States.” Children were “food insecure” (i.e. hungry) in 10% of households. All of which brings up a fairly obvious question:

How is it that 15% of America is hungry, when we are throwing away 40% of our food? More

The Drizzle that Makes All the Difference

14 Sep 2012 6 Comments

by scolgin in Cooking Tips, Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

There are a lot of great drizzles in the world.

A drizzle of honey over thick Greek yogurt.

A drizzle of chocolate atop an old-fashioned buttermilk donut.

A cold drizzle on a gray Parisian day that causes you to duck into a cozy bistro for a bowl of soup and a long afternoon with a bottle of wine.

But for my money, the greatest drizzle of them all, the drizzle that makes all the difference, is the drizzle of a good, fruity olive oil over a plate of pasta.

This is one of the simplest and most important cooking tips among the many I will bestow upon you here. More

The Perfect Summer Pasta

01 Jul 2011 3 Comments

by scolgin in Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Sometimes I’m pressed for time and have to come up with a meal quick. And often, without the leisure to peer at my fridge or sit around thinking about the possibilities, I make the best food. This is one such dish, breathtaking in its simplicity.

Penne l'estate with glass of rosé

More