Potato, Asparagus & Gruyére Cheese Frittata with Fresh Ribbons of Zucchini Salad

I talk to each of our girls most every day. And though our topics of conversation vary from one day to the next... both in length and scope... they always seem to be peppered with one thing: some mention of food.

Oftentimes, our food discussions can sound more like a bad standup act or an episode of Chopped than anything else...

What can you do with a can of beans, one zucchini, some wilting kale, and a few asparagus spears that have seen better days?

What's the quickest thing you can think of to make for dinner... I'm at the store right now?

While there's no guarantee they'll take my advice, I always attempt to offer something up. And a frittata is a great, all-around go-to meal for pretty much any challenge... assuming you have some eggs.

A lot of people shy away from frittatas (egg pancakes, tortas, whatever you want to call them) because recipes often call for half a dozen eggs (or more) and, in the case of a Spanish torta, a whole heap of potatoes. This isn't particularly conducive if you are cooking for just one or two. However, a good frittata is really just a function of selecting the right size pan. A small, six-inch skillet, a couple of eggs, and a single potato can make a great meal. Or... you can feed a whole troop with a large skillet, a bunch of eggs, and several taters. It's a quick meal either route you go.

Best of all, you can chop and drop most anything you want into the mix... which makes this a great way to clean out the fridge.

For this meal, it's a quick dinner for two (or one, with leftovers)... a thin, potato-asparagus-gruyére cheese frittata with a fresh zucchini salad alongside.

A great, go-to dinner... particularly perfect if you want to use up that last bit of asparagus... or find yourself wandering the aisles after work, tired, hungry and in need of a plan... just saying.

A Good Veggie Burger...

There's something about the "quest" for a great recipe that can become more about the journey (and what you learn along the way) than the goal. For some it's a search for the perfect chicken soup or chocolate cake... I think I've had both. For me, of late, it's all about the veggie burger.

I've had a few really great veggie burgers while dining out. The best, to date, was a mushroom-nut burger I had at Gruner in Portland a few months ago. It had great flavor and, though it didn't exactly have the texture of a beef burger, it held together nicely and had just enough crunch to pass what I call the "bite" test... that little bit of crunch that mimics a true burger... and not a mushy mash. A lot of veggie burgers end up fairly mush-like. And many of the ones that aren't are often deep fried (a recent discovery I made about a burger I had long favored... and now know why). Others have so much binder in them... eggs, flour, bread... that they kind of lose their appeal as a burger that, well, calls itself "veggie."

I've definitely produced a few veggie burgers from my own kitchen as well. My first was a black-bean burger that I spied years ago in one of my many cooking magazines. It was fairly good on the flavor front and held together nicely... but sorely lacked in texture (bite). It was about as soft and mushy as you could get... completely bailing on its burger shape with the very first nibble. Others have been better in flavor, or better in texture, but none have curtailed my quest.

Given my recent 30-day "no grains" diet, this quest has been ever the more challenged.

I'm thinking a lot of the best recipes (the ones that pretty much guarantee a non-mushy center, a crunchy outer layer, and great flavor) use some grains to bind them and provide a bit of bite. A recipe I tested just prior to this new one, using french green lentils and sliced almonds, was great from a flavor perspective but far too mushy. After making some adjustments, a bit of mashed potato as a binder instead of egg, I did achieve a burger that held together better but didn't have any bite.

So... I googled for the "best veggie burger" and found what sounds like it could be a great burger... on this lovely site. The problem is it calls for a bit of a bread/grain filler... which I'm currently avoiding. So... while I opted out of all the grain additions, I did take away a few great suggestions. Namely, the use of a "flax egg" as a binder. Basically it's just a bit of ground flax mixed with warm water... a genius idea!!! Left to sit for just ten minutes or so, this mixture thickens up and gets "eggy" in consistency. I also brought black beans back into the fold... only mashed them slightly instead of processing or puréeing them. And, I substituted my french green lentils with black lentils, cooked to an "al dente" consistency to achieve the bite that a great long-grain rice or farro might offer. Then, of course, there are the veggies and flavor enhancers... parsley, scallions, garlic, carrot. And... nuts!! I think the generous use of nuts (almonds and sunflower seeds, lightly toasted and chopped, as this googled recipe suggests) provide a level of crunch and nutrition you want with these burgers.

Sautéed over a medium high heat in olive oil, these burgers get a bit of a crisp on them. While they might want to pull apart a little on the turn over... probably where a bread addition might help... they easily come back together with a little encouragement and, once seared on the second side, behave nicely as a whole... served on a bun with all the traditional fixings, or sans the bun with all the fixings over greens. Though they aren't entirely crisp, they do offer enough of a bite and yummy flavor to satisfy... certainly a quest worth the journey... or, perhaps, a journey worth the quest. Either way, they're good.

A Workshop with Helene Dujardin & Clare Barboza...

This past weekend I was lucky enough to snag a spot in a food styling and photography workshop hosted by Helene Dujardin and Clare Barboza, two photographers I have come to greatly admire and... now... feel ever so grateful to have met. The experience was about as akin to playing in a sandbox... with some really fun playmates and some really great toys... as one can get.

In a nutshell, eleven women from all parts of the US and Peru (!), and from all walks of life, descended on a beach house on the Isle of Palms just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, and quickly discovered that they had one common denominator that could transcend all possible differences... a love of food and how it can be presented. And under the expert tutelage of Helene and Clare, we couldn't get enough of it. From morning until night, it was all about camera settings, lighting, composition, story telling, props (oh... the beautiful props!)... and food, food, food. Here is a bit of what I came away with...

Though the workshop was intense (especially for a rookie, like me), the setting was so relaxed and lovely, our instructors so very patient and experienced, and the company of women so equally generous in sharing what they know, that the whirlwind of activity and challenge was nothing short of amazing.

As much as I love cooking and chronicling recipes, I've come to realize that I love the images as well (and all that goes into a good image). I could easily sit amongst the pages of Food & Wine, Saveur, Donna Hay... and a mountain of other magazines and cookbooks... completely satiated by the amazing visuals.

And this weekend was all about the visual... styling and shooting a variety of images from breakfast to dessert, market to restaurant, "ugly" food to picnic fare... what a blast it was playing with food, working with props, styling images, and chatting with others doing the same.

While my intent among these pages has always been food and flavor... and the chronicling of recipes for my daughters... I am ever so grateful for the insights of both Helene and Clare. Due to their abundant generosity and kind (and fun!) spirit, we all came away feeling ever so thankful for their knowledge and instruction... in a sandbox, on an isle, outside of Charleston...

Easy Lemony Chickpea & Artichoke Spread

It's funny how pantries and fridges can indicate where you are in life... or who might be visiting. Like tea leaves, show me either and I think I could give you a pretty good read on the owner.

Certainly when our daughters were younger and still living at home, we were stocked to the brim... ever ready for not only their childhood favorites, but also those of their friends.

Now when they visit, I try to stock up on the items that they now stock... things like almond milk, greek yogurt, tofu, lots of veggies... and, particularly where our oldest is concerned... hummus and peanut M&M's (though not eaten together!).

Unfortunately, this past weekend didn't allow for a special market run to prepare for the visit of our oldest. So, when she went to the fridge in search of a late morning snack of crackers and hummus, there was no spread to be found.

After a quick pantry and fridge search, I whizzed up a substitute. And that's pretty much all that's involved ... a super quick whiz of fairly common pantry items... plus some fresh pops of flavor... and you're done. The hardest part of getting this spread together is washing up the food processor!

So... what does my pantry and fridge say about me? Hmmm... always a mom!

Composed Salad of Beets... on Mache Greens with Boiled Egg, Avocado, Radish and a Lime-Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Pretty food.

While it's certainly not enough to look good on a plate, pretty food is pretty captivating (for me, anyway). Apart from aroma, it's right up there in what is most enticing about a dish.

However, as the saying goes, pretty is as pretty does. So... if pretty doesn't deliver in the taste department, then it's pretty much all for not.

We enjoyed a rendition of this beet salad while visiting Seattle last month. Suddenly enamored with the empire of Ethan Stowell, we dined at Staple & Fancy (having thoroughly enjoyed How To Cook A Wolf on a prior visit). In the midst of contemplating our order, we caught a glimpse of a beautiful salad being delivered to the table adjacent to ours. While I've definitely been accused of being a bit of a neck bender when dining out, assessing platings as they parade from the kitchen, I do make every effort to be discrete. The fact that this beauty was set just inches from our table made it ever easier to see. And that one little look sealed the deal.

While I'm somewhat of a purest when it comes to plating... believing that stark white plates are the perfect canvas to showcase most anything you might serve... this salad would have looked beautiful brought in on a cutting board. Perhaps it was the lighting, surely it was the company, but I'm thinking I heard harps lightly playing in the background as this dish was set down. Just maybe.

Vibrant green blooms were sprinkled atop a beautiful, yet simple, white platter... pretty enough. Then, nestled in amongst the blooms were slices of ripe avocado, sunny little wedges of boiled egg, and stunning ruby pops of radish.

And then... the star attraction... beets!

Beautiful crimson wedges of roasted beets tucked in here and there... like a perfect little game of hide and seek, with every discovery offering a tasty bite.

Though brilliantly colored and captivating, the entire salad absolutely popped with a perfect little citrus-infused dressing. My rendition is a lime-honey-balsamic vinaigrette that I lightly drizzled on the greens before tucking in each little gem of beet, avocado, radish, and egg.

Pretty... yummy... food.

Pasta Primavera

Welcomed back into the City of Roses yesterday by a low ceiling of gray clouds, a steady drizzle, and a breeze that packed a bit of a bellow, I was intent on recreating a pasta primavera I had shared over the weekend with our youngest daughter at a fairly nondescript italian eatery nestled on a sleepy main road in Half Moon Bay, just outside of San Francisco. It's not that that pasta was particularly special. We had had far more interesting fare during our visit together. It's that this pasta can truly live up to its name... offering such a grand promise of spring that you can't help but feel your mood instantly lift.

With the local high falling pitifully shy of 50 degrees at touchdown, I figured a pasta primavera... awash with vibrant color and fresh, bright flavor ... was exactly what was needed to allay that little sting of melancholy that seems to linger longer than welcomed when I leave either of our daughters after a visit.

It's basically Springtime in a bowl... and it only takes 15 minutes to get there.

You set a large pot of lightly salted water on high heat to boil, while you get busy slicing up your veggies.

When your water is ready, drop your pasta in for about 9 minutes, until al dente. Meanwhile, begin your sauté... onions and carrots in first, followed by the peppers (a little minced garlic, if you like), and then the zucchini. Season it all up with a little kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste. And, just before plating, toss in your black olives and add a little drizzle of fresh lemon juice. Top each plating with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and parmesan... and another little touch of extra virgin olive oil, if you'd like. Then just settle in and enjoy the season... fleeting though it may be.

Crispy Smashed Fingerling Potato Fries

These fingerling fries may be the culinary equivalent of Beauty and the Beast... somewhat challenged in what we might consider attractive, but entirely magical.

While I have, on a number of occasions, admitted to being a Potato-Cheese-Bread girl at the core, it was the Mushroom-Nut burger at a local restaurant (Gruner) that we were after when we became entirely smitten with the fries... smashed fingerlings, of all things.

It's not that these little gems are that unusual. They are readily available... and roasting is mainstream. However, even the simplest of preparations can be eyeopening and these little taters prove this point. They offer all the goodness of the best baked potato (twice baked, if that's your thing) and all the love of a great crispy fry... a perfect match. Only they are oven-baked with just a scant bit of olive oil.

The thing with fingerlings is their size works for them. They are small, have good potato mass and, yet, when smashed have a great concentration of skin to crisp up. As such, they are magical.

I have no idea how Gruner achieved their little basket of goodness (served with an amazing homemade ketchup, by the way), but these little fingerlings started with a good parboil, until fork tender. Then they are drained and transferred to an olive-oil coated sheet pan... and smashed.

Then... dressed. A little drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt, ground black pepper... and a sprinkle of shredded parmesan cheese on this particular outing...

Then popped into a hot oven to roast for a good bit... until crispy... and golden... and magical...