Start with sixteen cloves of garlic, boil them for a quick thirty seconds in the skins and then drain with cool water running over them. Slip them out of their skins and back into the pot with two cups of water, pepper, salt, a half teaspoon of sage, half teaspoon of thyme, a bay leaf, four sprigs of parsley, four cloves, and three tablespoons of olive oil. The actual amounts of all these things are pretty much up to you. Boil for thirty glorious minutes as the smell of garlic fills your kitchen. In the meantime, beat up three egg yolks and then drop by drop beat in about four tablespoons of olive oil. (Voila, homemade mayonnaise) Once the pain has spread from wrist to upper arm to neck (I think my technique is lacking), add the first cup of the strained garlic soup into the mayonnaise bit by bit to avoid cooking the eggs too much. Once this delicate (not so delicate) maneuver has been maneuvered you can quickly mix in the rest of the water. Serve warm.

Since my family is hoping to sell our home, we’ve been living in a bare pottery barn home with distinguished accents. It’s like actually trying to be that woman in the add who is lounging in a position that seems impossible to replicate in a room that seems designed for two dimensional viewing. But cooking this garlic soup added body to the entire house through its ability to nourish, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Bon appetit.

5 teaspoons baking powder

6 large eggs

12 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (if using table salt decrease to 1/4 teaspoon)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

5 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons grated orange rind

Icing:

3 cups confectioners powdered sugar

4 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Multi-colored nonpareils (hundreds of thousands)

To make icing: combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently until lukewarm. Brush over the tops of cooled cookies. Sprinkle with multi-colored nonpareils.

2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

To make dough, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Whisk eggs in a bowl, add melted and cooled butter, vanilla, orange rind, Black Anise seeds, and combine with flour mixture to make a soft but not sticky dough. Knead lightly to mix. Cut pieces of dough and roll into a rope about 1 inch in diameter, then cut pieces approximately 6 inch lengths, roll into snail shape and pinch lightly together. Bake until puffed and golden about 20 to 25 minutes.

Romaine Lettuce

Celery

Sugar snap peas

Broccoli

Carrots

Almonds

Dried cranberries

Cherry tomatoes

Red grapes

“Pipe Rigate” pasta

 Proportions to your taste.

Dressing: olive oil, cream of balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, sea salt, pepper

Carrot

Red onion

Ginger

Cilantro

Mandarin orange with juice

Rice Vinegar

Mix and Enjoy!

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher slat (if using table salt decrease to 1/4 teaspoon)

1 1/2 teaspoons lightly crushed Black Anise seeds

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and Black Anise seeds. In another bowl, whisk olive oil, milk, and orange zest. Add the olive oil mixture to the flour bowl and stir until a smooth dough forms. This dough crumbles easily. I used a technique from another cookie recipe. Using a rounded bowl soup spoon, press dough firmly into bowl of spoon, slide off and place on cookie sheets about 1/2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes and until golden. Remove from oven and place cookies on a cooling rack. Cool completely.

In large pot bring water to boil, add wild rice, cook for ~25 minutes and add white rice and cook until both are done ~20-30 minutes more. Drain and hold in sieve to cool slightly. While rices are cooking, prepare other ingredients. Turn warm rices out of sieve into large vessel. Moisten liberally with olive oil and balsamic and add some salt and a lot of freshly ground pepper. Stir well. Add all other ingredients (you may hold Feta for individual additions if someone you are serving is lactose intolerant). Taste. Adjust seasonings if desired. Serve, or chill then serve.