Gastronomy 101

Winter is the time for hearty greens, all braised or roasted or otherwise cooked up and providing those good vitamins so you don't wither away in the frosty chill. The thing is, I like my greens raw not all cooked and wilty and soft. This is not a problem with regular lettuce or kale, which I can toss into a salad and chomp down like the good little rabbit I am. But when you get something a little more substantial, like chard, it doesn't work so well to just eat raw. They are bitter and thick and really need a little cooking to mellow them out and refine the flavor. But if you're a weirdo like me and MUST eat them raw, throwing them in a smoothie is the perfect way to do it. You may be thinking ... ewwwww! But here is the secret -- once you put sufficient fruit with your leaves, the whole thing tastes like fruit, with the added bonus of being a beautiful brilliant green color and giving you a metric ton of Vitamin A, C and potassium.  This is one of the heal...

So, I know it's not cooking, but ever since I moved and now have this lovely big yard, I've become obsessed with gardening. And since growing is one of the beginning processes to eating, I'm shoehorning it in here, since it's my blog and I can do whatever. It's really rewarding to grow your own food and there's nothing fresher than something just plucked out of the ground or off of the branch. So I thought I'd keep a log of what I'm doing in the garden each month, the successes and not so much successes and what chores each season brings. Paperwhite Narcissus: Paperwhite Narcissus is a bulb that can be forced in the winter time and has becomes a traditional decorative plant for Christmastime. This year I tried growing my own and it is super easy. You can just toss the bulbs in a glass container with rocks or a regular container with soil, water and leave them. They grow into these beautiful white flowers in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, it turne...

This won't be the last squash post you'll see around here, so get used to it. Winter squash and the soups that they transform to are one of the best things about winter. Sitting under a woolly blanket with a steaming bowl of thick, sweet and spicy squash soup is sure sign it's winter, even in L.A. (Hey, it gets cold at night here!) About Acorn Squash: Acorn squash is a winter squash that is dark green on the outside and orange/yellow on the inside. It is native to America and the first Western settlers to come upon it actually thought it was a type of melon. Whoops! If you are considering growing this yourself, it is very easy to grow and can be directly seeded outdoors. It also produces delicious squash blossoms that can be eaten as well. It takes about 85 days from germination to harvest, then another 10 days of curing outside or in a warm, dry space. When buying, look for a squash that is dull and not shiny, which as much green as possible. Make sure it has n...