carrot top gremolata

a while back, when i started taking home carrots with really beautiful greens, i had to think up ways to use them.  so i started with pesto, which was obviously delicious what with the toasted almonds and parmesan cheese i added, but then i went in search for something a little more healthy. i had seen the word gremolata used a lot on the tender greens menu, and looked it up because i was curious.  it turned out to be just the mixture i was dreaming... Read More

whole lemon and ginger tea with honey

between the farmers market and chinese medical school, i get a lot of different recipes relayed to me in short little snippets – usually no more than 15 words or so.  off the top of my head i think of the sweet pickled carrots and daikon or the okra and miso marinara, both of which the farmer i work for told me about.  but there are many, many more that have found their way into my diet. this recipe is one someone at my school gave me on... Read More

lemon cucumber and heirloom tomato carpaccio

i get so excited when heirloom tomatoes come back in season that i quite audibly squeal.  i don’t know if it’s the short season – only about a month and a half if we’re lucky – or the unique taste that can’t be found in conventional tomatoes, but they are the one veggie i dream about all year long. i consider the heirloom tomato to be the darling of the farmers’ market.  out of all the produce that cycles... Read More

lemon curd with brooks cherries

i get nearly all my fruit from sweet tree farms. they sell next to us at the silverlake farmers’ market so we often trade veggies for fruits, and they have the most incredible stuff.  it’s all organic and in the summertime their stand it overflowing with all sorts of types of stone fruit – plums, cherries, pluots, apricots, peaches and nectarines!  the first cherries of the season were big, plump and very sweet; and apparently... Read More

baby potato salad

every year growing up my family would dye hard boiled eggs a few days before easter, then on sunday my mom would crack open all the remaining ones to mash them up in a big bowl of colorful potato salad.  nowadays i take my potato salad eggless and mayoless (unless it’s vegenaise), but that doesn’t means it can’t still be colorful and delicious! these baby red potatoes were so cute at the market it couldn’t help but take them... Read More

cilantro lemon orzo with toasted almonds

this is one of those recipes that happened on accident, based on the limited contents of my fridge.  thankfully, the lemon and cilantro’s bright flavors compliment the hardiness of the whole wheat and toasted almonds in all the right ways.  at first i thought it might be a sort of pasta salad, served cold and perfect for a picnic or packed lunch.  but as i couldn’t resist nibbling on it immediately, i realized it could also be served... Read More

grape lemonade

this drink remedies two problems i have with processed grape drinks.  first, i think grape flavoring is gross – tasting nothing like natural goodness of grape juice – because the “grape flavor” is simply a chemical compound that is synthesized in a laboratory. secondly, most drinks you buy in a supermarket are loaded with sugar or high fructose corn syrup, which can give you a sugar rush and subsequent sugar coma like nothing... Read More

zucchini pizza with homemade lemon herb tofu goat cheese and gluten-free crust

this recipe was inspired a few weeks ago by a post over at smitten kitchen.  i am constantly in awe of her creative recipes and stunning, crisp, clean presentation, but like to think of my own way to make the same dish. based loosely on a creamy pasta sauce with tofu i once made, i created my own way to make homemade tofu goat cheese that even gets soft and melty!  the first time i served it up was to non-vegans who thought i had used cheese. underneath... Read More

lemon lavender cookies

when i first had the idea for this recipe i wanted to call it a lavenderdoodle.  i was inspired by the simplicity of snickerdoodles – basically a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar – so i wanted to make a version with lavender instead. but the final result ended up much more subtle, not resembling a snickerdoodle at all.  they are a simple sugar cookie with hints of lemon and lavender.  it is great as a tea cookie. Read More  Read More

savory brussel sprouts

i don’t understand why brussel sprouts get such a bad rap.  if cooked right they can be just as delicious as any other green veggie, all you need to do is steam them a little to soften them up and then sauté away with your favorite flavors. to me, lemon is a requirement when cooking brussel sprouts.  pepper always goes well with lemon and of course i like to put garlic in just about anything i can.  when sautéed, these little sprouts... Read More