Hetty Lui McKinnon is one of my favorite New York Times Cooking contributors, and this warm and delightfully flavored salad is a great example why.
Roasting cauliflower and onions, and cooking smashed garlic along with the lentils, added remarkable layers of flavor which was then complimented by the creamy, simple dressing of Greek yogurt and olive oil.
The recipe is gifted through my New York Times subscription here, but the ingredient list of what to have on hand follows.
When we visited Sicily in 2025, we had the good fortune to be in Palermo during Sicily’s annual St. Joseph’s Day festival. So today, I’m recalling the beauty of Sicily with our own state-side celebration.
While the traditional meal would be pasta with sardines (fresh) and bread crumbs followed by some incredible pastries, my dish tonight was a more traditional Italian American one: Eggplant Parmesan. We are more mindful of frying these days, and so, when I found this five-star recipe in the New York Times created by Jamie Oliver and adapted by Marian Burros, I was game to try it.
Through my subscription to the New York Times, I’ve gifted the recipe below. It’s simple, delicious, easy to prepare ahead, and on the more-healthy side of eggplant parm.
We are fortunate in that we live close to Boston and Flour Bakery + Cafe. While Joanne Chang, the artisan baker behind this locally revered favorite cafe and bakery, is pretty famous for her Sticky Buns, the Banana Bread that Flour turns out is my favorite. Do yourself a favor when you visit Boston and be sure to hit up one of Flour’s bakeries – you won’t regret it. And then go out an buy the book (there are several, but my favorite will always be the first).
In today’s adventure in baking, we had quite a few overripe bananas and a container of yogurt calling. So I set out to bake Flour’s Famous Banana Bread and to give a nod to a nearly used container of yogurt by subbing one-for-one amounts with the called-for canola oil. I certainly don’t object to using little oil or butter, but since I had an opportunity to use up the yogurt, I went with that. (It yields about 50 calories difference, so you be you).
Our granddaughter loves peas. Well, she loves them as long as they are frozen. I’m not certain I understand a 7 year old’s palate, but I am glad she enjoys vegetables in any form. It also had me recalling a dish we sampled at one of Daniel Boulud’s restaurants near Lincoln Center.
While this isn’t a replication of the appetizer we experienced, I do like this version. Along with hummus, it has become one of our pre-dinner snacks served with crudité or crackers.
The general structure is thawed green peas, some kind of soft cheese and shaving of hard cheese and seasoning. The dip keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for several days.
Green Pea Veggie Dip
Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen peas (thawed)
1 to 1 1/2 cups soft cheese (I use whatever might be in the fridge – ricotta, cottage cheese in any of their forms. Don’t try this with yogurt, sour cream or cream cheese)
about 1/4 cup of grated parmesan or romano
Salt, pepper to taste
Options for dill or basil
Method:
Thaw the peas – they can be cold and they should be uncooked, but thaw them.
Add all of the ingredients into a food processor.
Blend until you reach the texture you like. (I like it a bit coarse.)
We’ve participated in some great online cooking classes with Sur La Table. This one, Date Night: Italian Eatery, appears periodically. As is our habit, we cook at home for Valentine’s Day, and this recipe collection was a great special treat: Spaghetti alla Carbonara (with option to make your own pasta), Shaved Fennel & Pear Salad with Bitter Greens and Pecorino, and Chocolate Panna Cotta.
The classes are generally $39 (a few are 2-day sessions) in which I’ve learned some great techniques for juggling multiple dishes. We usually download the recipe packet and prep everything ahead so that we can focus on the chef’s instructions during the cook along. At the end of 2 hours, there’s a marvelous meal to share.
This recipe yields 8 4-ounce servings which will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
If it’s Wednesday, we’re going to make a bean entree. I was introduced to Simpli Organic dry beans by the talented Amanda Leahy, the CSA Manager at Clark Farm Carlisle, and wow! What a difference the brand of dry beans can make! Also, once moving toward more local and organic suppliers meant I had access to a whole new range of beans.
This variety, Gigante beans, are an extra large, white colored and kidney shaped bean often used in Greek cuisine. They are wonderfully creamy in texture and very mild tasting.
Today’s recipe for Gigante Beans in Tomato Basil sauce originated on the Simpli website (the brand of beans I used for this recipe). I adapted it to retain the general idea of the dish, but used what I had on hand. You should too.
One change I made was necessitated by the first instruction: I usually cook beans from scratch in my Instant Pot, and that has the advantage of allowing me to be a little more last minute (soak or no-soak works) as well as pre-cooking quantities for later use. My current favorite method comes from Simply Recipes (Emma Christiansen) and you can find it here – “How to Make Fast, No-Soak Beans in the Instant Pot.” Game-changer.
When I handed this off to Adrien to cook this past week, he remarked that it must be a recipe developed by Christopher Kimball because the beef begins browning without stirring or turning for several minutes.
Yup, he nailed it.
The recipe is representative of the southwest coast of India. The spices – cinnamon, turmeric, and pepper – make it a flavorful and yet unusual stir-fry. No need to make rice as the added potatoes make this a complete meal in one pan.
The recipe developed by Calvin Cox, is available with a 177 Milk Street subscription, and I’ve included the ingredient list below:
Goan-Style Chili-Fry with Beef, Tomatoes, and Potatoes
This recipe comes from Gina Homolka at Skinny Taste, and in addition to being low-calorie, it fits Frances Moore Lappe’s idea of a perfect protein. If you’ve not read Diet For A Small Planet, this might be an ideal time to do so. The idea of complementary foods that include plant-centric meals certainly is an attraction.
This has been a goal of mine, renewed this year: eat more beans! The recipe for Arroz Congri makes that resolution easy. Although I prefer the taste and texture of black beans cooked from their dried state, using pre-cooked (ie canned) black beans allows dinner on the table in 35 minutes. The recipe is freely available (linked below) and I’ve included the ingredients to have on hand.
We visited Florence (Firenze) last March, and one of the highlights of that part of our trip was a food tour of Mercato Centrale, the Central Market. Our tour and tour guide was from Eating Europe (link here) and we highly recommend them. Also, visiting the Mercato on a weekday makes that experience a lot les crowded.
We were introduced to several foods never before tasted (looking at you Lampredotto) and came away with a deep appreciation for Tuscan cuisine. This soup was among my favorites for many reasons. Using tomatoes and bread seems quite simple, doesn’t it? Throughout Tuscany, and all of Italy and Sicily, bread was a valued commodity so none of it went to waste. Using up stale bread ends in a thick and warming soup is sheer genius.
This version comes from Serious Eats (link below) but one can find other variations in many Italian cookery books and websites.
With all that is going on in the world, the one thing I feel I have some control over is what and how I eat. With that in mind, I recently acquired America’s Test Kitchen’s Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook and have been leaning in on including more whole grains, more vegetables, and a hopefully more healthy approach to eating in 2026.
We have been fans of Indian cuisine for quite a while and a good Vindaloo style dish will always find its way onto our weekly menu planning. Because we were both out of the house for evening commitments, I cut the garlic down this time – from 10 cloves (not a typo) to about 5. Our social circle can thank us later 🙂
Although there is a lot of cutting and a little peeling, one the prep is done, it’s a breeze to cook. The recipe can be found on page 142 of the Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook, available from your favorite independent bookseller. I’ve included the ingredient list below.
Four Nights A Week 