Last month I made tabouli from a box, which we liked so much I bought a small tub of bulgur wheat the last time we were at Agata & Valentina. Tonight I made tabouli salad from scratch and it was very easy.

For a long time I didn’t like pesto , although I’m not sure I actually ever tried it. There was simply something about it that didn’t seem right. Then I tried a bit of the pesto tortellini at Whole Foods’ salad bar and the light switch turned on. Since then ...

My favourite way of cooking a nice piece of white fish is to marinate it in some soy sauce and lemon juice, then broil it until the outside has caramelized, like the picture above. The soy and lemon combination provides enough salty-sweet flavour without overpowering the delicate fish, and broiling comes closest to approximating the charred effect of a grill. I find this method works best...

... and dense, but thanks to the high fat content remains moist after cooking. The simple preparation I used...

I spotted containers of these hairy creatures in the produce section at Agata & Valentina and had to ask the nearest produce clerk what they were. They are called rambutan , and come from the tree of the same name. Rambutan is native to southeast Asia, although they may also ...

... than to the pasta water. Cooking the pasta in properly seasoned water, combined with the saltiness...

As for the frying, usually the meat is browned, some recipes say before cooking, others at the end, before serving...

... so much money, we opt for what we call the at-home picnic. When you live in an apartment in NYC, the words “at-home” and “picnic” seem contradictory. True. We’re not eating outside, because we don ... eggs. Then we cleaned up, went to the park and sat in the sun. Then we came home, scavenged through...

-frying at home, mainly for fear of the mess. So I was surprised at how clean and simple this fry ended...

I saw this simple recipe on a television show called Tyler’s Ultimate a few months ago and thought it was a more interesting way of cooking broccoli than mere steaming. Roasting instead seals in the vegetable’s nutrients and enhances the flavor, whereas steaming allows the nutrients and flavor to leach into the water. Bettina was also surprised that the broccoli was crisp and crunchy...