i8tonite with Hawaiian Author and Food Writer Sonia R. Martinez & Recipe for Salade Niçoise with fresh ‘ahi
Sonia R. Martinez was born in the island of Cuba, and has always been drawn to tropical climes and cuisines. For the last 22 years she has lived on the Island of Hawai’i in a beautiful rain forest where she loves to play in the garden, grow herbs, collect cookbooks, test recipes, visiting farms; learning […]
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i8tonite: A Cheat Sheet to Eating in Stratford, Ontario
Shakespeare, swans, shopping, and spectacular eats – where are you? You’re in Stratford, Ontario! This small town is one of the most vibrant arts and food towns I’ve ever visited – and like many who visit, I long to move there. Stratford is known for being a theatre town – […]
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i8tonite: with Palm Springs’ Workshop Chef Michael Beckman
Palm Springs is known as a resort town – an enclave for second homes, secret hotel pools, and cocktails. The cocktail culture is the town’s prevailing modus operandi. With a population of a little over 50,000, it’s never really been considered a food haven. Ask a few of the locals who live in the desert […]
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I8tonite: Gratineed Cauliflower with Parmigiana -Reggiano
I was in a yet to be opened LA restaurant at a friends and family tryout. It’s a common practice among well-financed restaurants – a testing of the waters before media reviews and the paying patrons type of thing. Invited along with some media, local chefs, restaurant bon vivants and a few Los Angeles gadflies […]
Read MoreBrews, Bread and Bumps in Life
Last night, I published a blog item. In it, I was profusely apologizing about my lack of posting for the past two weeks (to my two fans). Life became life and with dinners out, work (which sometimes is about going out), seeing friends, looking for new apartments with Holly (the pitbull), JJ (the Frenchie) and […]
Read MorePantry Preferences: Plainly Preferred
As a home cook, I choose my recipes very carefully. I want them to be simple. I don’t need to have toasted fennel seeds, combined with homemade harissa, needing to stir the pot every 30 minutes to make sure the reduction is only reduced by a quarter. I’m sure most of us look at recipes […]
Read MoreAn Ode to Summer Tomato Sandwiches
As a kid, I didn’t like tomatoes. I found them not only tasteless but mushy or sometimes, hard and inedible. My mother, a good Southern woman, loved them. She was particularly fond of Tomato Sandwiches, which is a predominant lunch staple in the South. Food writer, John Kessler, wrote in the Atlanta Journal Constitution that […]
Read MoreFarmers Market Haul, Eating With Friends, & His Creamy Threesome Dip (for lack of a better name)
The Farmers Market was a light vegetable haul today. Partially, because I haven’t had time to really put my menu together for the week ahead. As noted in a previous post, I burned two dinners. However, I did purchase a lot of lettuces at the market. I love the summer for lettuces. It’s an easy […]
Read MoreFarmers Market Haul and Lulu’s Gardening Class
Let’s begin with lovely Lulu’s gardening class before we get to Farmers Market Haul. Shelley, Lauren, one of Lulu’s co-workers and Lauren’s husband, Chris, along with me, were students in Lulu’s backyard for her first-ever gardening class. Lu has been gardening since she was a child back in her homestate of Pennsylvania. It was always […]
Read MoreFarmers Market Haul and Mother’s Day Frittata
You know its the beginning of summer with berries, stone fruit and tomatoes at almost every stall in the market. I went to my favorites ABC Rhubarb, Windsor Farms, McGrath, Drakes’ Family Farm for goat cheese, and St. Mortiz Bakery for a crusty French baguette that was a perfect size. I also purchased some asparagus […]
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