The most delicious thing in the world is an ice cold lemonade on a hot Fourth of July afternoon.
summer

Lemonade Three Ways

The most delicious thing in the world is an ice cold lemonade on a hot Fourth of July afternoon.   Do you remember that feeling? You’ve just panted triumphantly around a dusty baseball diamond, or bicycled through the shimmering heat to drop your bike on the lawn and race to the front porch, to be rewarded with an icy glass of citrus juice that glides down the throat, cooling every molecule of your body from the inside out. Here are three […]

summer

Grilled Polenta and Fried Eggs

I love a great bowl of breakfast-brunch – the kind of weekend meal that keeps you going all day because it’s filling, deeply satisfying, and delicious. This recipe makes use of leftover polenta (if you’ve never made polenta, it’s as easy as making oatmeal), and involves the frying of a couple of eggs and a quick sauté of whatever veggies and herbs you have on hand. The polenta had been part of dinner the night before, and I spread it […]

Scrambled Eggs with Mushrooms and Chives
food

Scrambled Eggs with Mushrooms and Chives

Eggs and toast, eggs and toast – who cares?  BUT, if the eggs are slowly and softly scrambled with a teaspoon of cream, mixed up with a few pieces of mushrooms and fresh chives, then rested gently on a perfectly toasted piece of rye bread (like a tiara on a velvet cushion), and finished with a plump lavender chive flower garnish – that’s worth eating. Chives are among the heartiest of windowsill herbs to maintain. They grow quickly, are easy […]

Whipped yogurt with fruit and honey
food

A Sinfully Easy Breakfast Treat

We’ve had some drop-in breakfast guests lately, and since I don’t maintain a massive pantry of ready-to-cook breakfast food, some scrambling was in order – and not just for the eggs. With a pinch of this and a teaspoon of that, you can turn the most ordinary breakfast ingredients into something to get excited about. For example, this yogurt and fruit cup began as life in a plain Greek yogurt container. I popped it into the mixer, whipped the yogurt […]

Easy Summer Chicken by Matt Wendel
food

Easy Summer Chicken by Matt Wendel

I’m thrilled to have a guest post from my friend Matt Wendel, a wonderful chef who worked for President and Mrs. Bush both at their home in Texas and at Camp David. Matt is primarily known for his Tex-Mex cooking, but you can see from the recipe below that his skills are certainly not limited to South-of-the-Border cooking. This is a perfect midsummer grilling recipe, wherever you’re from! From Matt: This grilled marinated chicken is very tasty and easy to […]