Salsa Verde with Basil, Cilantro and Mint from Deborah Madison

Salsa Verde with Cilantro, Basil, and Mint

I don’t know about you, but we relish condiments at our house.

At times, the refrigerator seems to overflow with jams, jellies, salsas and sauces. Many are homemade, others are store-bought or gifts from friends.

There’s the jar of my mother’s fig preserves that are used only when we have biscuits and eggs for breakfast, or when I want to serve them with a cheese course. Fig preserves are too precious to slap between bread with peanut butter. For that, we use other something else, such as strawberry jam.

Maybe an overabundance of condiments isn’t a problem for you? You must be the disciplined sort who only opens a new jar of jelly when the other one is finished.

I didn’t think so.

One condiment that I really enjoy is Deborah Madison’s salsa verde with basil, cilantro and mint. The recipe is featured in Local Flavors, a celebration of farmers markets around the country. This is one of my very favorite cookbooks of all time, an essential for any cook who loves local, seasonal foods.

From Salad as a Meal: Lemon Zest Salt

Lemon Zest Salt

Patricia Wells’s learned but unfussy approach to food and writing has long appealed to me, and I have dreamed of attending a cooking class with her in Paris or Provence.

I’ve been following her on Twitter (@patriciawellsfr) as she tours the U.S. for a new book, Salad as Meal. A tweet about her friend Susie Kauck’s blog Return to Sunday Supper led me to discover Susie was giving away a copy of the book. (Turns out that Susie’s husband is the photographer Jeff Kauck, whose appetizing photos for Salad as a Meal so deftly convey a sense of place.) This is a book I would have purchased anyway, but what a thrill to win. Thank you, Return to Sunday Supper!

In Salad as a Meal, Wells offers a host of salads, all designed to be the stars of a meal, some with meat, poultry or fish, and some without. I often prepare salads as main courses during the warmer months, but choices for cooler weather are featured, as well. For completing a meal, there are recipes for accompaniments—simple breads, soups and salad dressings. (I love the lemon zest buttermilk dressing.)

Lemon Curd for the Easily Distracted

Microwave Lemon Curd

Lemon curd is a beautiful thing. Tart, sweet, smooth and just a little bit buttery. And it’s highly versatile, perfect for filling a tart crust, slathering on scones or melting into a warm bowl of steel cut oats.

There is no mystery to making lemon curd, and therefore no reason to stray toward store bought versions. The more transparent and gelatinous a jarred lemon curd appears, the worse it will taste—overly sweet, bitter and sticky.