We are in full on girly mode in the Savour Fare household. The Nuni is two and a half years old, and is seriously interested in the following (in no particular order): twirly dresses, crowns, glass slippers, toenail polish, my makeup, shiny shoes, and anything with sparkles. I would freak out in a feminist quandary, except I have a fuzzy memory of being VERY into princesses and makeup when I was quite young myself, and I am a perfectly acceptable adult with a career and a family and a tendency to wear Old Navy tee shirts to work.
In the Nuni’s world, her current favorite book is one called “Fancy Nancy”, about a hapless girl who LOVES being fancy — she likes to write her name with a plume (which is a fancy word for feather), her favorite color is fuchsia (which is a fancy word for purple), and she can’t WAIT to learn French, because EVERYTHING sounds fancy in French. Poor Fancy Nancy is beset by a thoroughly plain family, who thrills her one night by dressing up in accessories, going to a restaurant and ordering parfaits, which are “French for ice cream sundaes”.
Now, accuracy aside, parfaits are a very fancy dessert, and as the parent of a wee one who loves all things fancy, I thought I would accommodate her wishes and make them. As she also loves all things pink (as she regularly tells me, “Pink is my favrit color, mamma.”) I thought I would turn to the pinkest of all pink things — rhubarb. Sure, it doesn’t sport the aggressive magenta of anything made with beets, but for rosy, fancy, girly pinkness, rhubarb is your ingredient of choice.
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Tags: Kid Friendly·rhubarb
I don’t really understand the marketing of Mother’s Day. I see all these floral pastel cards and delicate lacy handkerchiefs and early morning breakfast in bed and advertisements for “brunch” and “afternoon tea” with fussy hats implied. Let me set the record straight. I am a mom, and I know a lot of moms. An informal survey of what our ideal Mother’s Day would look like involves 1) sleeping in; 2) a pedicure with some celebrity gossip magazines; 3) sushi; 4) chocolate and 5) lots of wine. Maybe this holiday doesn’t sell so well on a greeting card, but it sounds pretty awesome to me. Too awesome to be an also-ran Mother’s Day. Maybe I will name it something else, like “Saturday”. And it will fall once a week.
If your Mother’s Day veers towards the more traditional, or you’re trying to fill the time between pedicures, sushi and wine, try cooking brunch at home, and avoid the overpriced and overcrowded restaurant brunch options. (For more on this, see Brooke of FoodWoolf’s insider’s take on the restaurant Mother’s Day brunch. If you’re not feeling confident in your hollandaise sauce, or you’re a late sleeper yourself and don’t want a giant fuss in the morning, this is the brunch dish for you.
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Tags: brunch·cheese·eggs·holiday·Mother's Day
Spring has sprung. Sure, I live in LA, where a sunny day could just as easily mean December as it could April. People are always exhibiting various degrees of suntan (usually related to their house’s proximity to the beach), and flip flops are a year round fashion statement. Fortunately, I like to frequent the farmers’ markets (particularly the Hollywood Farmer’s Market, which I think is the best farmer’s market in Los Angeles), and the signs of spring are unmistakeable. Strawberries are a big tip off, trucked in from Oxnard, and so are the lilacs that are only around for the early birds. The very first tomatoes are appearing, but the vegetable that says “spring” to me is asparagus. The thin and tender stalks are all over the market.
Now, I love steamed asparagus with a little hollandaise, or roasted asparagus with olive oil, but sometimes I just don’t feel like going to the effort that steaming and roasting require. (And don’t ask me why it seems like a big deal to turn on the oven or dig out the two part steamer, but it does). That’s where pan sauteeing comes in. You don’t need a special asparagus cooker or a hot oven. Just a skillet, a little butter, and some quick knife work, and you have a dish fit for a king. The asparagus stay bright green and tendercrisp, with the flavor being undimmed by high heat roasting and undiluted by water. I like to add some leeks for a mellow oniony bite — the combination is really fantastic. Topped with some curls of sharp and grainy parmiggiano, this dish is simple, quick and delicious.
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Tags: asparagus·weeknight
