SobaAddict70

Green beans with herb-almond pesto and preserved lime Tasty, even without the pesto and the lime. It's a technique from one of Lynne Rossetto Kasper's books; salt the water, simmer for 10-15 minutes until tender, then drain and immediately season with salt, pepper and extra-virgin olive oil. Orecchiette with uncooked tomato sauce The sauce base consists of a soffritto of onion, garlic and basil, to which were added plum tomatoes and Sungold cherry tomatoes.

Buttermilk biscuits with creamy scrambled eggs, summer black truffles and tomato salad

rocambole garlic, if you can get those. I buy them from USGM (Union Square Greenmarket) in NYC.

Ricotta gnocchi with corn, chanterelle mushrooms and Sungold cherry tomatoes Tomatoes, butter, oregano, sea salt Melt butter until brown, add sliced tomatoes. Fry for 1 minute per side. Plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and chopped oregano. Serve. Poached Copper River salmon (poached in water, white wine, thyme sprigs, parsley sprigs), served with a butter sauce Green beans with anchovy and lemon

Melt some unsalted butter until it browns, add sliced tomatoes. Fry for 1 minute per side. Plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and chopped oregano.

They're slivered. You can chop them if you like. They need to be small enough to fit the figs.

No.

I stuff figs with chocolate and almonds, then let them sit in a mixture of dried bay leaves and sugar for a week. Shake the container once a day every day. Makes for a great light dessert.

Tomatoes, butter, oregano, sea salt

heirloom tomatoes, Sungold tomatoes, plum tomatoes, herbs, melon, stone fruit, zucchini, new potatoes, butter, corn next week I'll have to save room for eggplant and okra

Pho, with lime juice, Thai basil, bean sprouts, plum sauce and pickled jalapeno peppers

Zucchine con acciughe e capperi ("zucchini with anchovy and capers") Oven-roasted tomatoes Pasta con salsa di mandorle e bietole ("pasta with chard and almond sauce"). Adapted from: http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/942 (with heirloom parsley instead of basil, twists instead of strangozzi and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese instead of Grana Padano).

Probably miniature vegetable tians and serve that as an appetizer It's the season for that kind of thing.

I'd call it a sauce because that's what it looks like to me.

I decided to finally make mejadra (page 120) for Meatless Monday. 1 1/4 cups brown lentils, and eventually enough water to cover them with room to spare After about 15 minutes of simmering. Ottolenghi's trick of frying onions coated in flour continues here. I still think this step is tedious, but I wanted to make the recipe as written so I could say I tried it and found it wanting. Next time (and there will be one, b/c I think the recipe is otherwise faboo), I'll slow-cook them over low heat until golden brown. Looks food pornolicious though. I ran out of black cumin seeds, so need to buy some more at Kalustyan's. Clockwise from left: rice; coriander seeds; a mixture of ground cumin, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground turmeric, sea salt and granulated sugar; olive oil (quantities for all are provided in the recipe). Toast the coriander seeds over medium heat... ...then add the rice, spices, oil, salt and sugar to the pot. Stir to the rice in the spice-and-oil mixture until the grains are well-coated... ...then add the lentils and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low and steam, covered, for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the lid and place a clean towel under it, then reseal and set the pot aside for 10 minutes. Resist the urge to inhale the aromatic steam and bask in unadulterated glory. Fluff with a fork and fold in the crispy onions. Mejadra, with yogurt, cucumber and filfel chuma. The yogurt and cucumber salad is on page 299. Basically Greek yogurt, 1/2 thinly sliced cucumber, sea salt, fresh mint and a heaping teaspoon of filfel chuma. I find sometimes that Ottolenghi overcomplicates his recipes ... anyway, I liked my pared down version. I wanted a hint of garlic and lemon, and the filfel chuma served nicely instead of the 1 crushed garlic clove called for in the original recipe. This is definitely a keeper, and it's on my "re-do" list. It seems I've been making mujadara wrong all this time (for years actually). The steaming part was new to me,.

Mejadra, with yogurt, cucumber and filfel chuma

Oh wow, that is hardcore. You've definitely piqued my interest.

So, I had pasta e ceci last night. I was craving lentils but I didn't have any in the pantry and opted for the next best thing. Normally this is something folks usually have as the weather cools down, in the autumn and winter. For me, it's just an excuse to eat more carbs. I never met a carb I didn't like. Canned chickpeas are fine; soaked and cooked from dried is even better. If using canned, drain and rinse the chickpeas. Clockwise from left: chickpeas; 1 clove garlic (sliced); 3 heirloom tomatoes, coarsely diced; 1/4 cup fresh heirloom parsley, finely chopped. Warm garlic in olive oil.... Add parsley and fry for a bit...some recipes add rosemary and parsley, or rosemary, oregano and parsley; use whatever you've got on hand. Adding some chopped pancetta (bacon) or red pepper flakes adds more layers of flavor. Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt and black pepper. The tomatoes will eventually break down... ...and look like this: You can leave the tomato coarse or break them up with a wooden spoon. Then add the chickpeas, a little more salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes so that the flavors blend. Then add enough water to cover the chickpeas and simmer for 5 more minutes. Then add cooked pasta that's slightly underdone; it will finish cooking in the pot. I like orzo or ditalini; you see twists because that's what I had available. Taste for salt and pepper, then serve at once. Some people drizzle extra-virgin olive oil while others (like me) pass cheese at the table. Pasta e ceci ("pasta and chickpeas")

That may be so, but it was only when JO appeared on the scene that I first heard of the term. Anyway, whenever I hear "spag bol", JO is the first person who comes to mind.

spag bol = spaghetti bolognese, thanks to Jamie Oliver who calls it that. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/05/dining/the-chef-jamie-oliver-spag-bol-for-italians-real-and-imagined.html personally speaking, the thought makes me gag but for other people, that's probably not so bad. de gustibus, etc.

There was a food truck called "The Jamaican Dutchy" that used to park on East 51st Street between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue. Had goat curry once. I don't remember much about the flavor. It must not have been particularly memorable, apart from the number of bones. Not high on my list, in any event.

I'm not disputing that they are. The question was asked whether one uses or doesn't use a microplane grater, and if one doesn't, why. For my purposes, my substitution works just fine and it's not a universal.

I don't use one because I neither NEED one nor WANT one. I use a vegetable peeler whenever I need citrus zest, then I perform a chiffonade cut.

I don't.

Baked eggs with foie gras Fagiolini e pomodoro ("green beans and tomato")