Elle Republic

Here's a super salad dressing that makes even the simplest plate of greens memorable. Walnut oil lends the salad a light nutty flavor and blends well with watercress, Belgian endive and postelein. Postelein is the Dutch name for winter purslane or miner's lettuce; a delicious but often overlooked wild green, resembling tiny lily pads and having a similarity to young baby spinach in taste. The leaves are tender, juicy, and...

Spinach Salad with Tahini-Dressing, Sumac Pita and Pomegranate. Introduce your taste buds to something tasty tonight! If you're not already familiar sumac, it's a taste treasure often used in Middle Eastern cooking. It's also one of the main ingredients in the tangy, herbaceous spice mix za'atar (along with roasted sesame seeds and dried herbs). Sumac has a bright, tangy lemon taste and has long been used in Europe in...

Glorious Pesto. A marvel of simplicity, I love this Italian green gem. Fresh, versatile and more than just a sauce for pasta, it’s can be used in any number of kitchen creations. It's truly is a treasure of Mediterranean cuisine! Since pesto consists of nothing more than a few key ingredients, the quality and variety of what you use really does matter. Select young herbs and young garlic (it’s much...

My friend Magali writes that with chilly winter temperatures in Geneva so she has been enjoying a lot of pasta these days. Yes, don’t we all do that? Cold day, forget a salad, let’s go for something a little more heartwarming and satisfying, right? So from Geneva with love: Pesto Genovese Pasta. Traditionally, it’s prepared with a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. I have one and rarely use it....

In my 20’s I didn’t eat red meat at all, just the occasional chicken breast and a whole lot of fish. Being a “Westcoast Girl”, fresh fish and seafood (sushi among all!) was a mainstay of my diet. That, along with my love of a good, fresh salad. These days, with my favorite Schwabe having three growing boys who are eager for a hefty meal with a good portion...

This was one of those unintended successful dinners. I had planned to make a nice homemade corn chowder, however that takes time. Yes, the kind with real corn and soaked black beans. The no shortcuts kinda corn chowder. And actually the kind of chowder, sans the chowder, since what defines chowder is that’s it’s actually a thick, rich soup made with cream. Mine is without cream. So I guess...