palate gal

Latest posts

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  End of summer golden gazpacho

  I credit ketchup for my love of food. My dad, in his infinite wisdom, introduced ketchup as a last resort to his obstinate toddler as he coaxed her (me) to eat. While successful in the early days, little did he know that I would later identify ketchup as its own food group. For a long […]

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  Not-so-Philadelphia-but-still-great soft pretzels

  Every native Philadelphian has a special place in her heart for pretzels, and I am no exception. As Wikipedia will tell you, “in the 19th century, Southern German and Swiss German immigrants introduced the pretzel to North American.” (Thank you, Southern German and Swiss German immigrants.) “The immigrants became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and […]

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  Eggplant and rainbow chard stir fry

  Of all my material possessions, the eggplant costume hanging in my closet gives me the most joy. My mom hand-sewed it for me for Halloween in 5th grade, and I have worn it for almost every costume-required occasion since then. The typical exchange goes something like: Other person, as he or she looks up and […]

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  Grilled sea bass with mango cumin salsa

  New London is a special place. In 1943, my great grandparents purchased a house one block from the beach in New London, Connecticut. At the time, it was a summer getaway from West Hartford. Over the years, the beach house has become a hang out for my whole extended family – grandparents, great aunts and […]

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  Rosemary mushrooms with toasted pine nuts

  Every kid loves a good school field trip. Freedom from the usual routine was always highly anticipated, and we all looked forward to the handful of times each year we were able to learn outside the four walls of our classroom. My best (and worst) field trip memories: 3rd grade: Mushroom Capital of the World. […]