best pesto pasta salad

if you like pesto pasta salad, you’ve got to try yotam ottolenghi’s version in the nytimes. like all of his recipes and dishes i’ve tried, it is fresh, surprising and delicious.

in addition to basil-parsley pesto, there is fried zucchini, edamame, lemon zest and capers.

i served it on a bed of lettuce with torn fresh mozzarella on top.

really spectacular. and unlike some of his recipes which often require a lot of unusual ingredients, this one is fairly straightforward. this will be your ottolenghi gateway drug.

 

california drought produce

i was just wondering about this the other day, so when i found this wired article, i wanted to share.

“if you want to be environmentally sensitive and exert a bit of business pressure on water-users, what should you be eating? what’s the most drought-friendly part of the produce aisle?”

read on

conversation hearts

ready to get your sugar on?

here’s a cute article about valentine’s day candy from the times.

two pieces on over-consumption

two must-reads from the times:

what 2,000 calories looks like (makes you think…)

sugar season (sure is.)

organize your fridge

apparently there’s a right way and a wrong way, and now there’s an infographic.

kitchen gadgets

how many of these new york times favorite cooking gadgets do you own? what’s your favorite? anything you’d add to this list?

i have seven (maybe eight, depending on your classification of my pasta pot…), and kitchen shears might have to be my next purchase.

i’d add an enamel cast iron dutch oven to the list (is that a gadget? maybe not, but it’s my workhorse) and a microplane.

i also love my custom-made, one-of-a-kind flour leveler.

atk best oat muffins

i saw them make these muffins the other night on (my favorite tv show ever) cook’s country from america’s test kitchen, and i scribbled down the recipe really fast and made the muffins before i realized i could watch the show online and pause it!

the first step is to toast the oats for 6-8 minutes in a sautee pan with a little butter.

i have to say, it made my kitchen smell amazing. like oatmeal cookies and popcorn.

then you grind them up into toasted oat flour.

add in the other dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder) and pulse to mix. then mix the wets in another bowl (brown sugar, melted butter, milk and eggs) and mix everything together in a very particular fashion, swooping a whisk through the batter and tapping it off on the edge of the bowl.

let the batter sit for 20 minutes. i added some raisins at the end of the waiting period. i mean, oatmeal and raisins! duh

the recipe called for a pecan-sugar-oat topping, but i skipped it and topped them with a few dried oats. i thought they already had enough sugar in them for breakfast (one cup) and he can’t have nuts.

bake for 18-25 minutes, rotating once.

the texture is the best part – dense, chewy and toothsome, but still moist.

mmmmm best warm. like a hug in your mouth.

 

the fat drug

here’s a depressing article from the new york times about the dangers of antibiotics. turns out they may be partly responsible for the obesity epidemic.

 

must-reads

all from the new york times. a little insight on what’s motivating my food choices these days:

learning to cut the sugar

why nutrition is so confusing

is that sausage worth this?

happy thanksgiving!

a favorite from the archives to celebrate the day: Le Grande Thanksgiving, by Art Buchwald