Christine Cooks

Christine's Recipe For Creamy, Garlicky Chevre Sauce With Steamed Green Beans And Toasted Pecans

2009-10-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

While it's true that I'm no longer eating pasta, it is not true that I can't enjoy a thick and deliciously creamy pasta sauce from time to time. I just drizzle it over steamed, sautéed or roasted vegetables and I'm completely happy. Intensely garlicky, beginning with a white wine reduction, this is a sauce that will compliment a number of...

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Christine's Recipe for Thai-Style Sausage and Vegetable Soup

2009-10-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

Inspiration for this what can I do with all those vegetables lounging in the vegetable crispers? soup came from the Thai-spiced sausage I picked up at the market recently. After that the soup practically made itself. Cilantro grows year-round in my garden, even when it snows. Just when the summer crop is winding down, little volunteers start...

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Vanilla Yogurt Ice Cream With Sherry-Soaked Bing Cherries

2009-10-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

. . . But first: I could just jump right into the recipe, sidestepping the obvious fact that I haven't been around for, oh, more than a month, giving no explanation for my absence, but you all know I won't be able to leave that alone. So here's my story. Thus far. Way back at the beginning of July, I quit eating wheat, along with its related...

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Farmers Market 2009 - Summer into Fall

2009-09-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Winter squash, bosc pears, late peaches and early apples were offered at our Saturday farmers market this weekend. A sure sign of summer's long slide into fall. Click on over to Mimi's kitchen to see what's in her CSA box. Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved Christine Cooks. This feed contains copyright-protected...

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Sautéed Shredded Zucchini with Parmesan and Fresh Basil

2009-09-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

My mother, when in a hurry to get dinner on the table, would shred her garden-fresh zucchini and sauté it in a saucepan for a quick vegetable dish. I used to love eating this as a child; butter, salt and pepper its only adornments. Now, I gussy it up in ways that my mother did not, stirring in freshly grated parmesan reggiano, fresh basil...

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Farmers Market Fruits; Kitchen Counter Still Life with Sunrise

2009-09-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning after a Saturday farmers market; early morning sunlight just beginning to come through the kitchen window. How could I not take a photo? Coming soon . . . A few recipes from over the summer that I somehow didn't find the time to post. Now I'm going to make the time. Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved...

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Purple Potatoes, Roasted Garlic and Green Beans in Fresh Lemon, Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

2009-08-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to show you these purple potatoes. Can you guess where they came from? My very own garden. I actually grew these! My first time. I'm so proud. Purple Peruvians My daughter-in-law Evangelina's parents gave us a huge mixed bag of potatoes last fall, and when I had finally used up most of them, I planted what were left in my...

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Strawberry Ice Cream with Balsamic Reduction, Cracked Pepper and a Sprig of Rosemary

2009-08-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

All those ingredients and there's no added sugar. Did you know that we could all use less sugar in our lives? Of course you did. And did you also know that ice cream doesn't have to be so darn sweet? It's true. If you make your own ice cream you can play with the ingredients. Just like I've done here. Balsamic vinegar and strawberries go together...

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Grilled Lamb Burgers Stuffed with Chevre, Kalamata Olives and Herbs

2009-08-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but when I think of lamb, Mediterranean food images pop into my head: Olives, chevre, oregano, rosemary, sun-warmed citrus. Ground, local lamb was on the menu recently, juicy and hot off the grill. With all the flavors of those Mediterranean images infused into each burger. No catsup is needed here. As I'm rather fond of...

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Strawberry Galette with Triple Sec and Bananas

2009-08-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

Bananas? Not seeing bananas? Heh, heh, heh. My little secret ingredient. Keep reading... First the strawberries: So sweet and tender from Neukom Family Farm, we gobbled up a bunch of them within hours of purchase from the farmers' market, had barely enough leftover, getting a bit soft, not enough for a pie, not for ice cream, not enough, really,...

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Grilled Oysters with Garlic Butter Oil and Basil

2009-07-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

One of our very favorite spring through fall dinner starters is grilled oysters. We prepare them very simply so as not to muddy their fresh-out-of-the-water salty-sea taste. That's right.Harvested on Wednesday afternoon and delivered to our door on Thursday morning. These oysters are as fresh as fresh can be. We usually order Kumamotos and small...

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A Cooling Summer Apéritif: Chilled Cucumber Yogurt Soup Shots

2009-07-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

Icy-cold cucumber yogurt soup spiked with bits of fresh mint and fennel fronds, served in shot glasses on the back deck. What better way to spend the apéro hour, waiting for the evening to cool down before lighting the grill? Well, you could be up here on the north coast of California where, as evening falls, we change from shorts and t-shirts to...

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Lavender Flower and Honey Ice Cream

2009-07-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Lavender is in full bloom in my garden. Not a dried flower anywhere. A work colleague gave me some incredible honey from her biodynamically raised bees. As I went into the garden and saw all the honey bees on my lavender, two and two came together pretty quickly. This ice cream is insanely delicious on a grilled peach, drizzled with extra honey....

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Fresh Roasted Chickpeas

2009-07-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

"The owl and the pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat . . . " Looking at these cute little boat-shaped pods, it's clear to me that their boat had to have been made from a chickpea pod. Before purchasing these at last Saturday's farmers market, I'd never seen chickpeas in their natural green state before. Now I can't wait for...

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Lillet Summer Cooler

2009-07-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

I've been pondering just how I will do this. Go into great detail? Jump right in, ignoring the obvious? Fix us all a light summer cocktail and celebrate? I think option number three is going to win out. So why am I celebrating? My return to blogging. It's been disconcerting to be away for so long. Like a part of me has been missing. Enough. I'm...

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Sun Dried Tomato Spread with Kalamata Olives and Toasted Almonds

2009-05-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

I stole this recipe. (I've done it before.) Actually, what I did was figure it out from the ingredients listed on the container. Did a darned good job of it too (yes, I'm sayin' so), not having proportions and all. So, is that stealing? Maybe so. Maybe not. All morning I tried to find a web site for the local producers of Paolo's Antipastos by...

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Basic Pie Crust with Whole Wheat Flour

2009-04-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

For years I made my mother's pie crust: 3 cups flour, 1 cup shortening, 1 teaspoon salt, 3-4 tablespoons cold water. Then, yuk!, we found out about what shortening can do to the arteries and I switched to butter. Then we found out how darned important fiber is and I switched to whole wheat flour. Over the years I kept tweaking the recipe until it...

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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2009-04-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

Although it's still chilly here on the northern California coast, flowers are blooming, leaves are greening, swallows are nesting, and our local food co-op is bursting with strawberries and rhubarb. What's a girl to do? It took some years before I attempted to make strawberry-rhubarb pie. Something about rhubarb. . . Peel it first? Cook it before...

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Scrambled Eggs with Herbs

2009-04-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

Not just any eggs... these come from my own free-range hens who are currently sleeping in the greenhouse but who will be moving just as soon as the chicken house is finished. And not just any herbs... these herbs are field-grown in France, flash frozen within hours of harvest and are available here in the States from Darégal, a company with roots...

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Ashland Calls

2009-04-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

I'm away for the long weekend. The Bard is calling. Friends are waiting. Back soon. Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved Christine Cooks. This feed contains copyright-protected photos and text from the blog of Christine Cooks. If you are not reading this material in an RSS aggregator or by an e-mail subscription, the...

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Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with Blueberry Ginger Filling and Whipped Cream Frosting

2009-04-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

A gathering of good friends helped Mr CC celebrate his birthday yesterday. We feasted on typical North Coast potluck-style Beach Night fare followed by a dense chocolate cake with such long candles on top I couldn't fit them into the photo. Two tries to blow them all out - not bad for so many candles! This cake is a breeze to make. Use really...

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Green Low Glycemic Rice with Cilantro

2009-03-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

Son Jeff came to visit us for 10 days in February and told me about an outstanding rice dish he had recently made. It sounded so delicious and so different from any rice I'd had that we decided to try to replicate it and this is what we came up with. And because I used Uncle Ben's Converted Rice, it's low glycemic to boot. I made it again later...

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Asparagus, Chard and Bacon Quiche With A Barley-Chevre "Crust"

2009-03-15T18:02:00.001-07:00

Inspiration for this crustless quiche came from two places: Several weeks ago I prepared a vegan rice dish that my son Jeff gave me and a few nights later I put the leftovers in a pie plate, piled roasted winter squash over it, heated it in the oven and took it to Simona's for dinner (that recipe will appear on this blog soon, I hope); today...

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Down For The Count . . .

2009-02-23T17:52:00.000-08:00

. . . hopefully not for long Well, this is a fine howda-ya-do: Not only have I not been posting any recipes in what seems like forever, I missed my blogaversary - again. I have to tell you that winter is not my favorite season (although I often fool people by trying to point out great things about it) and sometimes I can get downright morose. I...

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A Cassole For Cassoulet

2009-01-29T13:10:00.000-08:00

It came a few days after my birthday. I'd forgotten that I mentioned it to him several months ago. So when I opened the box and saw the words Not Freres Poterie, I looked up in surprise, my mouth a big O. What a wonderful guy my Mr CC is. He must really, really love me.No more excuses. I've got the duck legs confit, I've got duck breasts and...

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