In keeping with my philosophy of preserving the harvest, I roasted many tomatoes. Roasting tomatoes is a very simple process, and also allows me to use fresh herbs from the garden: marjoram, oregano and thyme.
turnip revelation
Yes, yes--more about my garden. I am really enjoying my garden this year. So far it has been great and not a lot of damage from the usual visitors. This season I've tried something new. Ok, maybe not so new--turnips are turnips, right? But these are Tokyo turnips. I've always liked turnip greens, but truth …
turnip blast from the past
The weekends have had nice weather lately, and I spent some time in the garden getting it ready for the growing season. Look what I found from last year! I told my wife I was cooking it for dinner just to see her face. I think I should save it for fall and carve it …
A season for cider
Farnum Hill Semi-dry cider was my choice for this year's Thanksgiving dinner, and it was a great pairing to our harvest feast.
coffee blossoms
There are a couple of blossoms I could write about all the time, our twins, but I don't want to bore you. 🙂 So, let me tell you about some other blossoms in this cook's life. About three years ago, a lady I worked with got me a coffee plant (Coffea arabica) for my birthday. It …
sweet weeds
There are very few empty lots, roadsides or poorly kept yards that don't have Japanese knotweed growing in them. This weed is one of the most powerful invasive species in the U.S. and it's incredibly difficult to get rid of. It's a tough weed all the way around. Its roots will grow under your sidewalk …
cherries on the bone
It's grilling time again and here at Vivo we take grilling very seriously--OK, so maybe seriously is not the word, but grilling is a way of life for us. In our latest event here at Vivo we grilled everything, even the dessert. The dessert, cherries on pound cake--or as Christian Kahle, one of the event's …
yinzer torte — linzer torte made with local quince
This is my second winter in Pittsburgh, and like many new comers to the 'Burgh, I quickly fell in love with the beauty of the changing seasons that you can so distinctly observe in the city. Fall is perhaps my favorite season--it's not so warm anymore and my vegetable garden is at its peak. Nice …
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featured ingredient: lemon
The lemon (Citrus limon) is a small, yellow rounded fruit, pointed at its ends, with acidic juice. The origin of the lemon is unknown, though it may be native to northwest India. Arab traders in Asia carried lemons and other citrus fruits to eastern Africa and the Middle East between AD 100 and 700, reaching …
Dinner with Daniel 