On hot, sticky summer nights I like to stay home, AC blasting, popcorn in hand, watching something on Netflix Instant. It can be hard (or at least annoying) to traverse the world of what’s currently available to stream, so we made it a little bit easier for you. If you’re in the mood for something delicious to watch tonight, skip the movie theater and curl up on your couch with one of these 10 food-centric films instead.
Years ago, I visited a good friend, an American expat who had been living in France for over 15 years, and stayed at her idyllic old house in a small town in Provence. While we drove around the countryside and wine tasted the days away, the best moments happened when everyone pitched in to cook the local foods and then leisurely ate the meals al fresco.
When it came time to put together the salad one night, I watched my friend demonstrate a surprising dressing technique that I still remember and often do today.
Who cooks and eats here: Zack Paul
Where: Santa Barbara, CA
Rent or Own? Rent
Today we’re focusing less on a specific home kitchen and more on the outdoors; after all, what better way to celebrate summer than to take to the grill? Zack Paul, an Argentinian artist and designer who’s lived and worked in Santa Barbara for the past 10 years, regularly grills for a gaggle of lucky friends in the style mostly learned from his cattle rancher grandfather, Asencio Evaristo — and I think it is safe to say he’s a grill master!
A jar of pesto, made from basil or other greens, is a delightful summer treat. While we love it tossed with fresh pasta, of course, we’ve also found that this this fresh garlicky sauce can be a versatile ingredient in all sorts of other dishes! While you may just think of pesto as something to be tossed with pasta (and how good is it like that?) pesto has so much more to offer.
From breakfast to appetizers to bread, here are 10 smart ways to eat a lot more pesto this summer.
I’ve been craving roasted chickpeas since I made this Mediterranean Cauliflower Couscous Salad. They are such an easy add-on to salads or garnishes to soups, but also great for pure, unadulterated snacking. These savory parmesan and herb (rosemary + parsley + basil) baked chickpeas are the midday treat I’ve been looking for.
Today is La Fête Nationale, the national holiday of France, known in English-speaking countries as Bastille Day. Well, around here we just call it: “Excuse to Eat French Food Day.”
If, like us, French food makes you immediately imagine fabulous pastries, here are five amazing ways to make real French goodies at home, and then, to balance out the butter, five recipes that show the best of fresher, lighter French food.
We’re a few weeks into grilling season, and that means it’s time to stretch beyond the basic burger and start getting creative with toppings. An unusual favorite of mine that’s perfect for summer? Grilled pineapple! Brushed with whiskey glaze and accompanied by sliced jalapeños, these burgers are a little steakhouse, a little Hawaiian vacation, and a lot delicious.
Chicken is a year-round meal staple, but there’s something about its ease that makes it best suited to summertime. Chicken is mild and easy to cook, and it picks up all those summer flavors: the smoky taste of the grill, sweet and tangy barbecue sauce, and the juices of ripe red tomatoes.
Here are 15 delicious recipes that show how to use chicken in the summertime, from Pesto Chicken Tart to Yogurt-Marinated Chicken with Greek flavors, and from that easy slow cooker barbecue chicken to a glorious Chicken Cobb Salad.
A nasty cold has stolen most of my energy and focus this weekend. It’s interesting to note what foods I crave in my sickroom: the sweet tang of orange juice, the salty-meaty warmth of chicken soup, hot tea with lemon and honey. Occasionally I want something cool on my throat like ice cream, but at the same time dairy has lost its appeal.
Being sick is miserable, inconvenient and annoying but, strangely, I kind of like it. Here’s why…
One thing I’ve learned after a few weeks of following Katie and Amanda of Amber Waves Farm is that an average day for them is not so “average.” In mid-June, early into the harvest season at this CSA farm in Amagansett, NY, I took on the task of following them from sun up to sun down. In a single day the farmers conduct an orchestra of activities: harvesting, hoeing, planting, working with children, and preparing for weekly CSA pick ups.
Come walk along with me in a day on the farm!
