A Californian in NYC - What? No lettuce in January?

Like I really have time for a blog!  Ha!  Anyhow, who is going to actually read my blog?  We live in a city where ordering in, and going out is comme il fout.  Michael (my husband) and I cook.  It's a really big deal for us, trying in our late 60's (me, in my 70th year) to stay healthy.  Plus we lucked out in the 1990's, locating our cooking teacher, Judy Witts Francini, in Firenze, who is a supreme teacher of technique, and simplicity.   We thank her every day for the lessons she has taught us.  

I have good intentions to post often, what we had for dinner, lunch, how it was all made, and the time involved.  If one reader starts to cook more frequently, that would be incredible! 

But first, a few basics:
      1.  We eat seasonally.  That means no tomatoes in the winter! Really.
      2.  When you see leeks (or occasionally fennel) in a recipe, it's our substitute for onion, a food which hates my digestive tract, and which Michael despises!  So if you like onion, by all means use an onion instead.
      3.  Pantry items which you really do need to have:  EVO (extra virgin olive oil), plain Greek yogurt (we use 0%, remember we are concerned with fat), erbe Toscane (here is the link to our guru Judy's recipe: http://www.divinacucina-blog.com/2010/12/simply-divina-tuscan-herbs.html), fennel pollen, Kosher salt, and non-food items like a mezzaluna, and a mandoline.  Most kitchen stores will have the hardware.       


 As our friend Tim says,


Later,

mezzaluna

mandoline