Capturing the Tomato Season

The entire month of August did not disappoint and September looks even better.   The tables at the Down to Earth Market Rye Farmers Market are bursting with so many gorgeous things it’s all I can do to hold back and not buy the whole lot.   In particular the last couple of weeks the tomatoes have been just…

Risi e Bisi – Rice and Peas For Spring

Risi e bisi is a comforting spring dish that incorporates risotto rice and fresh peas, perfect for a cool spring evening.

Avgolemono – A Greek Soup Made Your Way

I love making soups, especially when I am catering. They can be complicated multi-component creations, or something incredibly simple. It’s so cold in the Northeast right now and we all need a little comfort food. The holidays are essentially over and we are moving into what I describe as a black and white life. There…

Heralding Spring With A Tasty Celery-Potato Soup

Spring has finally sprung! The air is warm, raindrops abound on my windows, Passover and Easter are upon us and color is back in my world!  It might sound funny but I have always felt like living through the first few months of the year is like living in a black and white movie.  The…

New Year’s Day cooking … sort of!

2018 was some year for me. In the early part of the year we lost my Dad.  His health had declined over the past couple of years, but you are never really ready I suppose.  Then right about the same time our sweet dog got desperately sick.  We spent the next six months back and…

Farro and Butternut for a Thanksgiving Side Dish

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and everyone is thinking about main course and side dishes.  Sometimes its hard to get your family to sway from the ubiquitous green bean casserole made with soup from a can and freeze dried onion (are they really?), or sweet potatoes with marshmallows, something I simply can not wrap…

Pasta alla Norma for your Sunday Supper

I have always been honest in describing meals in Casa Reina. My husband, who has the patience of a saint, finds himself, more often than naught, in the amusing situation of living the proverb: The cobbler’s family doesn’t have shoes. Or in my case: The chef did not make dinner. At least two to three…

Kabocha Squash Soup and Apple Butter

Fall is probably my most favorite time of year. The air is crisp in the morning, the leaves are changing and turning the most stellar colors of the rainbow, and yet, we still have things living and green in-between.  Vegetables start transitioning as well.  Winter squashes, and apples arrive alongside peppers, eggplant and leafy greens…

Tomato Season is Here!

Early August marks a favorite time of year. Tomatoes are making a splash at the farmers markets now. I cannot encourage you enough to seek them out. Unless your supermarket carries something other than the tasteless ethylene gas ripened variety, now is the time to taste the real deal. They might be a little more expensive…

Garlic Scapes Herald Summer

Summer has officially arrived, with plenty of rain, bits of chill and oppressive heat.  It’s all good, because who am I kidding?  I will take that over freezing cold and snow any day of the week.   I am finally done with my breakneck Spring catering and looking forward to some fun farmers market demos…