When the greens stretch tall and the dusty roots swell into big burgundy orbs in my garden, I start to do a happy dance. It’s time to roast and grate and slice those sweet, juicy, earthy bulbs we know as beets. There are more varieties than ever available for harvesting or scoring at the farmers market. TryContinue reading “Beautiful Beet Salad”
Author Archives: christinanifong
Greens, Glorious Greens
As we march through Spring, past the asparagus and the strawberries, waiting patiently for zucchini canoes and tomato globes, we find ourselves in the months of greens. At our house, it begins with kale and spinach — those cold-hardiest of veggies. We often have an early crop of lettuce, too, thanks to our trusty cold frame. ThisContinue reading “Greens, Glorious Greens”
Spinach Swiss Souffle
We’ve grown a lot of spinach this Spring — which makes me really happy because I adore this veggie’s thick leaves and big crunch. I love how well it pairs with cheese and eggs and cream — and nutmeg. It’s wonderful in salads and sautés and smoothies. I honestly can’t imagine ever feeling tired of spinach.Continue reading “Spinach Swiss Souffle”
Lemon Cream Cheese Scones
My oldest daughter has really found her baking groove this year. After a long week of school or whenever she has a moment, she’ll ask me: “Mom, can I bake?” And I, who will take all the help in the kitchen I can get, quickly make room for my cooking buddy. Her specialties are desserts: cookies,Continue reading “Lemon Cream Cheese Scones”
Lemon Pudding Cake
I remember loving this dish from my childhood. It was a standard familiar enough to be included in the scrapbook of recipes my mom made for me and my sisters after we’d left home, but not so ever-present that I had made it for my own kids. My girls and I baked it this week as a springtimeContinue reading “Lemon Pudding Cake”
Ginger Orange Sesame Slaw
While I’m a big fan of creamy coleslaw stirred together with homemade mayonnaise and whatever’s growing in the garden, sometimes a girl just needs a change. And this lovely recipe — with its cool cabbage, orange and cilantro — is crunchy, bright and flavorful. Featuring cabbage and radishes, it’s another Spring salad star. Pair itContinue reading “Ginger Orange Sesame Slaw”
Eating Local Is My ‘Diet.’ What’s Yours?
To any of you who’ve been reading what I write for awhile, the story of how I cleaned up my eating act is a familiar one. In a nutshell, several forces converged to push me toward a healthier, more plant-based life than I’d grown up with: my husband and I put in a garden and weContinue reading “Eating Local Is My ‘Diet.’ What’s Yours?”
Local for Lunch: Welcoming Spring
Salads took center stage for my Spring class at The Roanoke Co-op. We built salads filled with grains and proteins, interesting textures and flavors — and as much local as I could muster. We topped them with a choice of Ginger Sesame Dressing or Poppy Seed Dressing. Then we paired all those leafy greens with aContinue reading “Local for Lunch: Welcoming Spring”
Sweet and Spicy Lentil Salad
I am always on a quest to add more plant-based protein and nutrient-rich fiber to my and my family’s plates. After cooking up some lentils to add to a Buddha Bowl dinner recently, I began searching for a recipe to use the rest of the dried lentils in my pantry. This, from the website My NewContinue reading “Sweet and Spicy Lentil Salad”
Brown Sugar and Spice Banana Bread
I have tried so many banana bread recipes over the years. After all, every family needs a go-to recipe for what to do with those bananas after they’ve sprouted brown spots and no one will touch them. But I always come back to this one, from The Moosewood Cookbook. I have tweaked and omitted andContinue reading “Brown Sugar and Spice Banana Bread”