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There are days when all I want to eat are crispy chicken tenders. And maybe some french fries. (Though crispy roasted potatoes will work, too.) And I’ll be honest that is pretty much every day. It’s not that I don’t love a broad range of cuisines, from Sichuan fish-fragrant eggplant to Mediterranean baked sweet potatoes …

Read More about Crispy Chicken Tenders, simply delicious

We’ve had a bit of a cold snap around these parts. A little autumnal chill that hints at the jacket weather to come. The kind of weather that begs for closing up windows and putting on warm socks. Of course, yesterday it was too warm for long sleeves, and even though there was apple pie …

Read More about Panzanella: the end of the tomatoes, with bread

It is officially spring. But official spring never feels like the spring that exists in my imagination. The mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful spring with green shoots and sun peaking through rain and warm breezes and new beginnings. Official spring in Chicago is something altogether different. It is one day in a series of false starts. It is …

Read More about Vietnamese Flank Steak with Citrus-Mint Cabbage Salad

If one wants evidence that cooking is an alchemical process, one need look no further than this rich, savory puddle of a gratin that once was a head of savoy cabbage. Savoy is the frilly, ruffled member of the cabbage family. Its leaves are more tender than green or red cabbage, and its flavor is milder and …

Read More about Savoy Cabbage Gratin, meltingly tender comfort

Summer calls out for salads like this one. It’s bold and colorful and crunchy and spicy and refreshing. I’ll admit I don’t think about green beans all that often. It’s not that I don’t like them. It’s just that I forget about them amid the bounty of summer vegetables that are crowding the farmers markets …

Read More about Spicy Green + Yellow Bean and Chickpea Salad

The Green City Market is finally back outside, which means my Wednesday mornings are occupied with shopping for local produce. It’s been a late spring rendering the early markets a little more sparse than usual. The first week there were almost more storage apples and overwintered potatoes and frozen berries and pickles and preserves than new crops …

Read More about Asparagus and Spring Onion Farro Salad with Quick Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette