May 2009

I have been really digging spring, and all the produce it has to offer. While I was just away on a yoga and culinary adventure in Italy, I had the good fortune of fava beans fresh picked from the garden. This was my first experience of fresh fava beans right from the garden. I opened the pod, peeled away the outer covering of the bean inside and popped the bright green jewel underneath that layer, right in my mouth, raw. It was sweet and melted in my mouth. They’re a bit more labor intensive than edamame, but worth the effort if you’re not too hungry. I usually boil the beans for about 3 minutes, to use in salads or as a great bruschetta topping, but since these were so fresh they were perfect for snacking on raw. Fava beans are a labour of love to peel but a perfect task when there are a bunch of people around to enjoy each other’s company. Read the rest of this entry »

This recipe was inspired by my urgent need to use all of the perishable ingredients possible when my fridge suddenly decided to stop cooling. It hardly even deserves a formal recipe because of its simplicity. You can do a lovely quick tart by starting with a good quality puff pastry, a spreadable cheese and topping it with any of your favorite seasonal vegetables and fresh herbs. It doesn’t get much easier than this. Artichokes are perhaps one of the most labor intensive of all vegetables, but I just so happened to have a few pre-steamed from the night before, which made them all the more convenient.The result is an effortlessly-buttery-wonderfully-crusty taste of spring. Read the rest of this entry »