organic field This new section was developed in response to viewer requests. My goal is to provide recipes that incorporate fresh (read: seasonal and local), organic, whole foods that are full of wonderful taste and nutrition. During the spring/summer/early fall growing season, I will pay more attention to seasonal recipes that use the abundance of fruits and vegetables from our gardens, trees, and bushes.

Look below for recipes in the following categories: summer, fall, winter, spring, celebrations, and harvest (putting up, canning, freezing, and otherwise preserving the harvest).

Here's my promise: I either created, developed, or fine tuned each of these recipes, and have made them several times (except for the recipes from the noted blogs and Web sites). When the recipe calls for an exact ingredient or amount, I will note that. If you can fudge a bit, then my recipe will be more general.

If my family, friends, or culinary clients did not like the recipe, then I will not publish it. I'm not passing along my failed recipes! I have more than 1,000 recipes, so it'll take me some time.

Just click on the recipe and a separate Read & Print recipe page will appear.

Food blogs and sites--links to my favorite food and culinary lifetsyle blogs and Web sites with plenty of recipes

mattbites.com is an internationally recognized blog from a man who is obsessed. Matt Armendariz resides in my old stomping ground, SoCal, and write and shoots (photos) for his visually appealing and super entertaining blog. Great archives, solid recipe sharing, and his photos are reach out and grab delicious! Here's Matt's site: mattbites

p.s. I can't seem to get enough of this site. Every time I revisit it, I am blown away by the visual perfection, the tastes that jump out from the screen, and Matt's unassuming yet top-of-his-game fashion of describing his culinary joys and experiences. Taste it...go ahead, you'll like it.

101 Cookbooks was my first favorite site. Food author, photographer, recipe maven, cook, whole foods guru (these are all my descriptions) Heidi Swanson writes about the recipes that intersect her life and interests. Living in San Francisco, my home for ten years, I live vicariously as she shops in the City's famed Chinatown and sources bags of freshly grown produce from just south of the Bay. Her James Beard Award nominated book Super Natural Cooking is now a staple in my kitchen, and I often recommend it to others and purchase it for gifts all the time. I encourge you to sign up for her online newsletter as well. Her research is solid, her pictures are earthy and real, and her recipes will remind you of what food really tastes like. Here is Heidi's award winning site: 101 Cookbooks

......these are recipes that I use everyday. Most of them are my originals. If not, then I credit the chef.

Summer Recipes

Summer Bounty Appetizer: Spinach and Garlic Scape Hummus on Croustade

Summer Bounty Appetizer: Spring Pea and Chive Risotto in a Lettuce Wrap

Mid-summer Italian picnic salad

Spinach-Ricotta Gnocchi

Savory Summer Tarts Three Ways

Summer Beet Gnocchi Salad

Fall Recipes

2009 --three new butternut squash recipes from the chef

2009 Zucchini Extravaganza

Fall 2009 Cookbooks that will inspire you!