The other night, the students in the food writing class that I’m taking were asked to sit for 2 minutes and jot down every word, phrase, or image that came to mind when the instructor said the word “lemon.” Go ahead and think about it for a second – what does your list look like?
The last line that I wrote was “Summer. Sun. Happy.” I suspect your list looks similar. It’s nearly impossible not to smile when there’s citrus around!
This bittersweet grapefruit curd is guaranteed to put a summertime smile on your face even on the rainiest spring day. Spread it on an English muffin or scone, stuff it inside crepes dusted with powdered sugar, or use it as a filling in miniature tarts – it’s even delicious stirred into vanilla yogurt. Read More

Lipman Produce recently asked eleven bloggers to create a recipe for their new consumer web site, Lipman Kitchen. Lipman is a family-owned company that’s been around since the 1930′s but, until now, their tomatoes never had a “brand” associated with them. They’re actually North America’s largest growers of field tomatoes, so there’s a good chance that you’ve eaten their tomatoes without knowing it!

It’s funny, but other than looking to see if produce at the grocery store is local or not, I’ve never really considered where it comes from or who grew it. It never occurred to me that all of the tomatoes on the shelf might not have come from the same place (unlike say, in the meat section where I know the pork all comes from the same major producer unless the label indicates otherwise). Now, with their consumer launch, Lipman tomatoes in the Northeast and in South Florida will be identified with signs, stickers, and packaging. While I’m not sure how I feel about branding produce, I like that it made me think about where it comes from. Read More

I try to find the time to plant a garden every year. It's hard, since May and June seem to fly by before I can blink, but garden-fresh vegetables really taste a million times better than the ones from the grocery store and the farmer's market can be kind of expensive (plus, well, I don't always feel like waking up that early on Saturday morning!

This year, we had a beautiful spell of weather in the beginning of April that got me thinking about this year's garden early. For once, I finally feel prepared! Read More

For this month, I was paired with Kimberly from Rhubarb and Honey for Secret Recipe Club. I was really excited when I saw that she had a recipe for cochinita pibil – it’s one of my favorite things to order when we go out for Mexican, and I’ve been meaning to learn how to make it for ages. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find one of the key ingredients (achiote paste) and had to improvise. Although the recipe didn’t come out exactly like the restaurant’s (which has a thicker sauce with a stronger, more acidic flavor), it was absolutely delicious. Read More