Golden Beet Risotto

Golden Beet Risotto

In my first cookbook, one of the sections was family recipes, made up of some of my favorite foods from my childhood. In the time between the first cookbook and the second, something happened which really changed my family: Ayana and I got married. My 

Panzanella

Panzanella

If I’m being perfectly honest, I hate making salads. Especially in the bus, with our tiny counter and tinier fridge, it is such a hassle. One little bin of greens, enough to have salad with dinner for a few days, takes up about half of 

Recipe Round-up (May 2024)

Recipe Round-up (May 2024)

In honor of the end of our 3-month Baja excursion, here are a handful of Mexican and Mexican-fusion recipes that I’ve put together in recent months. Before crossing the border into Baja this past February, I was nervous that I might have trouble doing my 

Stovetop Focaccia

Stovetop Focaccia

Focaccia is an easy bread. It is always delicious and, unlike many breads, it doesn’t require much finesse. The herbs and oil give you a delicious, crispy crust every time, with a spongy, open crumb. I could eat focaccia with olive oil at every meal 

Linguine with Morel Cream Sauce

Linguine with Morel Cream Sauce

Morels are one of the most delicious and least available ingredients out there. They are seasonal and fickle, with a brief season most years, but are undoubtedly one of the most glorious finds for the beginner mushroom hunter.

Diplomatico

Diplomatico

Diplomatico is a no-bake dessert, which makes it vanlife-friendly, but it is not a simple recipe. You’ll need an electric mixer and a bit of focus to pull this off. It may blow your mind that a mediocre walmart pound cake can be dressed up 

Rigatoni alla Vodka

Rigatoni alla Vodka

Vodka sauce, at its base, is a tomato and cream sauce laced with a bit of red pepper and a splash of vodka. These days it is more of an Italian-American dish than proper Italian, though it did originate in the old country. That origin 

Limoncello Agrodolce Cod

Limoncello Agrodolce Cod

This recipe is mostly about the sauce. It is a riff on an Italian classic, the agrodolce. If you have a bit of training in romance languages, you can probably pull apart that name and tell that agrodolce is a sweet and sour sauce. Traditionally, 

Three Pepper Bruschetta

Three Pepper Bruschetta

This recipe is adapted from a dish served at our favorite Italian restaurant in Boulder, which is no longer in operation, Via Perla. When they were still open, they had the best happy hour deal in town: a bottle of wine and an appetizer for 

Smoky Vegetarian Spaghetti Carbonara

Smoky Vegetarian Spaghetti Carbonara

In the previous post on traditional spaghetti carbonara (which can be found here) I said just about everything I have to say about the dish and its origins, so this post will be a bit more personal. When I was first learning to cook, I