Jodi Moreno 8/21/12 Jodi Moreno 8/21/12

raw, vegan

I probably wouldn’t describe myself as someone with a green thumb. It’s not that I am not one with nature, or have no instincts when it comes to plants, it’s probably more because I approach growing things the same way I approach cooking. I prefer to go in blindly with little direction and see what works and what does not.

I planted my first garden this summer and it was very apparent that this approach probably does not work as well in the garden as it does in the kitchen. Or maybe it does, depends on how you look at it. I did make a lot of mistakes, and I learned some key lessons from those mistakes, so maybe that will make my garden next year that much better? I sure do hope so.

Last summer I volunteered one day a week at The Stone Barns Center for Agriculture in their dooryard garden hoping to learn a little from the experts: the passionate farmers and gardeners who work there. I did learn to make a killer trellis from found objects, and I learned about all kinds of plants and vegetables that I had never heard of, but most of all I learned that I had a lot to learn.

It was kind of overwhelming, especially for someone with very little knowledge of gardening. So when it came time to build and plant my garden this summer, I decided that I was not going to try and learn everything. I was just going to plant some seeds, give it some love, and see what happened.

The result? An out of control amount of zucchini, cucumbers that are popping up in and around my grape tomatoes, and enough pumpkins to charge for hay rides and pumpkin picking in my backyard this October. As well as a bunch of lettuce that never surfaced, and carrots and scallions that I’m certain were eaten by some sneaky little creatures.

Jodi Moreno 8/14/12 Jodi Moreno 8/14/12

blt lettuce wraps // shiitake "bacon", lettuce, tomato & a chipotle mayo (vegan)

If you have not heard of or tried shitake bacon until now, then I am so happy to be the one to share this totally awesome little secret with you. If you have made shitake bacon before, then you already know how shitake mushrooms magically taste just.like.bacon when baked in the oven on low heat for 1 hour. Amazing, right? I think so.

The first time I tried shitake bacon was when Alexandrea Jamieson came to speak at one of our classes at NKCS ... and my mind was blown. Of course, being an ex-bacon lover I was skeptical. Nothing can ever really (naturally) replace or imitate the taste of bacon, right? Wrong.

Now granted, it's not like having a large greasy piece of bacon, think more like bacon bits. But for certain purposes like in a salad, over eggs, or in this BLT lettuce wrap - it does the job quite well.

Jodi Moreno 8/10/12 Jodi Moreno 8/10/12

what i'll be cooking this weekend (8.10.12)

Jodi Moreno 8/7/12 Jodi Moreno 8/7/12

cherry chia seed parfait // raw

Jodi Moreno 7/31/12 Jodi Moreno 7/31/12

summer succotash: okra, corn, chickpeas, lentils, and eggplant

I have so many things I want to tell you right now.

First of all, something happened a few weeks ago but I have not shared it with you yet. Michael and I moved. This wasn't just an around the corner kind of move, this was a major move to another city, to another state.

NYC. Yep, another big life change us, because we did not have enough big life changes going on this year. However, this change seemed to bring everything together. Completed us ... well, for now at least.

And now that we are (new) new yorkers, I feel it is suiting that I share this next story with you. A funny accident that happened two days ago. Something that has probably happened to every new yorker at least once or twice ... at least that's what I've been telling myself.

Michael and I took Bayley for his late night walk and forgot our keys. Both of us. We have no doorman.

As an ex-country folk, we are not used to carrying our keys around everywhere we go. We always would leave the door open, or the keys under the mat. If you've ever lived in the suburbs, you know that drill. We are also not used to leaving the house (or apartment in this case) to walk the dog late at night. That's what backyards are for.

So we did what you do when you lock yourself out at 11:30PM, and we called a locksmith. Once the locksmith broke the news that our door was officially unbreak-in-able, we marched ourselves to the nearest dog-friendly hotel, checked in, turned on the olympic highlights and had a big laugh. It was definitely bonding moment for our little family.

It is that kind of night that you remember forever, and hopefully from now on we'll also always remember that as long as we live in NYC without a doorman at least one of us needs to bring a key when we walk the dog.

The last thing that I want to share with you is my obsession for succotash. Some people might call it a bean salad, or an everything but the kitchen sink dish, however, I love the word succotash. It efficiently describes a dish that is made up of corn and some kind of bean (usually a shelling bean, but any bean will do) along with other vegetables of your choice to create a main or hearty side dish.

I'm always experimenting with different succotash combinations, especially in the summer when the corn is ripe, sweet, and so so good. I was recently reinspired by a succotash by love and lemons, and after a trip to the union square greenmarket I came up with my own unlikely combination of okra, lentil, eggplant, corn, and chickpeas. It was so was so good, I made it again, and again. I hope it will inspire you to do the same.

Jodi Moreno 7/26/12 Jodi Moreno 7/26/12

seillans, france // a beautiful little wedding on bastille day

Jodi Moreno 7/24/12 Jodi Moreno 7/24/12

simple tomato bread with flaky sea salt

Jodi Moreno 7/10/12 Jodi Moreno 7/10/12

strawberry peach cobbler

Ahhhh Summer. I never want it to end.

I love spending mornings at the beach, and afternoons in the pool.

I love going to the farmers market and picking out uber ripe tomatoes, and super sweet corn.

I love eating lobster and drinking rosé.

I love wearing flip flops and bathing suits.

I love having cocktails at sunset and eating dinner outside.

I love summer foods. Summer fruits, summer vegetables, and summer recipes.

There are some recipes that are strictly for summer. And some that are just better in the summer. Fresh fruit crumble is just better in the summer. Simply because the fruit and berries ... are .... fresh.

On a trip to the farm stand the other morning, I was so happy to find my first bunch of squishy ripe peaches, which just happened to be sitting right next to a pint of bright red, beautiful, ripe strawberries. Heaven in a little green bio-degradable container.

ripe peaches + ripe strawberries = delicous summertime dessert

And we all know what happenes next .....

Jodi Moreno 6/20/12 Jodi Moreno 6/20/12

italy (part 2) ravello & a recipe for the best ever tomato sauce

On the second leg of our trip, we spent a few days in a little mountain town called Ravello which is perched high above the Almalfi coast. Ravello is home to some of the most breathtaking views in the whole world, and one very special cooking school.

If you want to learn real, authentic, no-fuss Italian cooking, what better way to do it than in the home of an Italian woman who has been cooking professionally for decades for some incredibly famous people like Frank Sinatra and Jackie O.

Mama Agata is the beloved woman at the heart of the cooking school. Her daughter Chiara, the soul of the school, is the one who runs the day to day, assists and translates for her mother who speaks very little english. They teach out of their home, perched high on a mountainside overlooking the Mediterranean, which has been in their family for over 200 years.

Mama's recipes are simple, clean, and all about the ingredients. Her technique has been perfected in both her kitchen as well as her garden. On their property their garden stretches down the mountainside where they grow everything from capers, to lemons, and of course plenty of tomatoes. In August, the family closes down the cooking school so that they can harvest and preserve their tomatoes so they have plenty to last through the year.

After a day of learning, helping mama cook, and wandering through her gardens, it was time to sit down an enjoy our lunch. It was a meal I will never ever forget. The eggplant parmesan was the best I have ever had, and the pasta dishes were so fresh tasting and absolutely incredible.

The most important lesson from the day ...... that good food comes from the heart. Love is the secret ingredient in every great meal. This was evident from seed to plate at mama's home, and will be something I strive for in every meal served in our home.