Homemade Tarragon Soda

Not everyone loves tarragon, but I do. When you steep sprigs of it, take a deep breath over the sauce pan, its like falling into a cloud of anise, and fennel, and green-ish black licorice, if there was such a thing. So, I buy it. Not as often as chives or basil, but more often than parsley, which I purchase just about never. So, I noticed the remnants of a small bunch of tarragon was starting the slide towards the compost bin the other day, and instead of letting it go I made a quick tarragon syrup. A tiny splash in sparkling water with a squeeze of lime or grapefruit makes a favorite not-too-sweet afternoon soda. I'll post that recipe down below. But, you can also build on the general idea. Add some coins of smashed ginger along with the tarragon to steep in your simple syrup, and you've got a bit of spicy kick to play off the tarragon notes. Other ideas? Drizzle a thread of the tarragon syrup across goat cheese or strained yogurt on a cheese plate. Or over ricotta. It plays well with citrus, so you could do a little drizzle across your oatmeal (or baked oatmeal), and then add a good amount of lemon or orange zest. Or drizzle it over broiled grapefruit halves. Or use it to sweeten your lemon/ limeade this summer. I sometimes add a tiny hint to the bottom of my espresso cup in the morning before Wayne pulls a shot for me - it adds that je ne sais quoi. I'm just going to keep going. The smallest splash in a glass with a sprig of fresh tarragon before pouring a glass of prosecco is fragrant and nice. You can do an "adult soda" with a splash of gin. Or use the syrup in a sorbet. You get the idea. Use the syrup to make a soda like this, and experiment with the leftover syrup. And let me know if you stumble on any favorite uses! xo-h

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Quick-ish Ricotta Dumplings in Tomato Broth

I posted a photo to Instagram over the weekend, and a number of you asked for the recipe. It was a bowl of ricotta dumplings in a simple tomato-shallot broth topped with a bit of arugula. I used potsticker wrappers for the dumplings (I keep a stack of them in my freezer). It's sort of cheating, but I'm cool with it, and they're delicious, so I don't feel bad about not making my own pasta. The filling is good ricotta cheese mixed with a dollop of pesto and some olive oil. Season with salt, done. You can see how the dumplings come together in the video below. They're actually quite quick to pull together, and they freeze incredibly well. Make some, and freeze some for mid-week dumpling nights!

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Joshua McFadden's Cucumber Salad

I want to jump in here to highlight a ringer of a cucumber salad. There were four recipe contenders in the cucumber section of the book I'm going to reference, and if the other three are as good as this, it's going to be a very cu-centric summer. The salad. It's crisp and refreshing, beautiful, and surprisingly substantial. The main players: cucumbers, ice-bathed scallions, toasted walnuts, mint, rose, and a vinegar-spiked yogurt dressing. I've been adding a scoop of lentils and making a meal out of it all week. The recipe is from the new Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables cookbook by Joshua McFadden, and I knew the whole thing was going to be good when I saw who was working on it. If you know Tusk or Ava Gene's in Portland you know the author. For the book he worked with Toni Tajima (design / you all know her from both Super Natural books, and Near & Far), Laura Dart did the photography (she took this shot of me & Wayne years ago at one of the early Kinfolk brunches), Martha Holmberg (former editor of Fine Cooking), and Melinda Josie (illustration). A lot of heart on this team. Keep your eyes peeled if you haven't see it already - 400 pages of inspiration.

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Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookies

I'm going to revisit one of my favorite cookie recipes today. Made using 100% whole wheat flour and hand-chopped chocolate chips, this is a skillet-baked twist on Kim Boyce's celebrated chocolate chip cookies. It's also a fantastic recipe to make with kids. We had a house guest this weekend, and this was the recipe he wanted to make. Instead of shaping individual cookies, you spread cookie dough across an oven-proof pan or skillet, and bake it. You can cut the finished cookies into wedges or squares, or whatever shape you like. You can also bake individual versions in tiny skillets or these tiny cast-iron Staubs. Served warm with a little dollop of vanilla ice cream - you get the idea. They're fun, fast, and couldn't be simpler. You can see how it all comes together, and meet my favorite kitchen helper, in the video below ;) Enjoy!

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A Week of Putting Things on Rice Cakes

I buy rice cakes (rice crackers) now and then, but they're not a regular purchase for me. I like to crumble them into certain salads, but beyond that, l generally pass. Until(!) last week when I was in Los Angeles, and I stumbled on thin rice cakes. Apologies if I'm exceptionally late to this party, but I had no ideas these existed! You get all the crunch and structure of a classic rice cake, without too much rice cake. They've become a fast favorite afternoon snack vehicle. I kept a list over the past week of favorite toppings, round one is pictured below, and you can see how they come together in the video as well.

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And, if you're not a rice cake fan, you can certainly use all of these ideas on grilled bread, tortillas, lettuce wrap, or whatever!

(Below) Smashed cannellini or corona beans, a few spoonfuls of my favorite tomato sauce, some roasted cherry tomatoes, pepitas, and a few rosemary flowers.

(Below) - Smashed ripe avocado, crumbled kale chips, micro greens or whatever sprouts you have, a bit of lime zest, nutritional yeast, and a thread of extra virgin olive oil.

(Below) - Please try this one - so good, and you can use the remaining saffron honey on everything from oatmeal to breakfast yogurt. It's a quick infused saffron honey drizzled over ricotta cheese, and finished with a bit of salt and chopped chives and/or chive blossoms. The sweet/savory is A+.

(Below) - Turmeric hummus topped with mung beans, scallions, and a sprinkling of hemp seeds.

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Vegan Tempeh Taco Salad

Today's recipe? It's all the things you love about a taco, in salad form. Crushed tortilla chips bring the crunch, black beans and crumbled tempeh coated with taco seasoning brings the substance, and a strong, smoked paprika-apple cider dressing pulls everything together. It's a meal in itself, and most of the components can be prepared ahead of time, making this salad a good option for weeknight dinners and potlucks. You can see how it comes together in the video below. Enjoy!

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As I mention in the video, I like to tweak this salad throughout the seasons. Cherry tomatoes (raw or roasted) or grilled zucchini are great in summer, roasted squash or mushrooms are great in the fall. Basically, if you start with the bean & tempeh base, plus the romaine and dressing, you can build and adjust from there.

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