Spring Green Soup

Spring is the most glorious season of the year in DC.  There are flowers, literally, everywhere.  For a few weeks, it seems like there isn’t a tree in the mid-Atlantic region that’s not in bloom.  Dogwood, cherry trees, and my favorite redbuds are on every street corner.  And then there are the fields of daffodils, [...]

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Quinoa Spinach Bake

Here’s a misconception that I’ve been harboring: I thought that quinoa was a grain.  It turns out, quinoa is a seed!  Who knew?  Here’s one thing I’m sure I’m not mistaken about, though… quinoa is healthy and delicious.  An ancient American “pseudo-cereal,” it packs all the nutritional benefits of whole grains – lots and lots [...]

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Cranberry Bean and Spinach Risotto

Risotto is one of my all-time favorite fall and winter dishes, and I’ve experimented with so many different recipes over the few years that I’ve been cooking.  Sausage, tomato and spinach risotto, mushroom and pea risotto, champagne risotto with lobster… these have all made repeat appearances on my table, some on special occasions and some on [...]

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Bean and Barley Salad

I belong to salad.  It’s year round for me.  What salad and I have together… well, it’s special.  It’s not a summer fling.  I do love salads in the summer… grilled tuna and avocado salad, for instance.  And there’s nothing like roasted fall vegetables over greens in late fall, or a tart and crisp fennel [...]

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Spinach Salad with Smoked Salmon, Avocado and Pepitas

My husband and I met at a conference.  We sat together at dinner and both ordered the same thing – salmon Caesar salad – and discussed our mutual love of salmon.  The night he proposed, we went back to that same restaurant and he insisted on our sharing the salmon Caesar salad.  An auspicious start [...]

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