This is my go-to if I need to feed myself fast. It can be eaten happily, for any meal, at any time. It goes deliciously on a bed of polenta with an egg on top, a side to a tomato salad with white beans, or with poached salmon and rice, or even hearty steaks.

Horseradish is an intense green, slightly bitter, a bit spicy, and delicious. If I am serving it to a crowd who might not favor the bitterness, I mix it in with other greens to sorta mellow it out - something towards a 25% horseradish, 75% other greens. I love the complexity it adds to this dish.

One of the staple ingredients in my kitchen. I actually found myself out the other day, and with a mean immediate craving for risotto, so I went to the store and bought the best looking brand I could find. It was terrible. This is one thing that is just worth making yourself. I usually make a batch a week and freeze any leftovers in well-labeled quart containers. Read my note at the bottom about the chicken feet… it really makes a difference…

The word shrub, like sorbet, sherbet, and syrup, all are derived from the Arabic word sharab meaning beverage. Pre-refrigeration, the only way to preserve fruit juices were to douse them heavily with sugar, alcohol, or vinegar.

This delicious Middle Eastern cheese can be served as a creamy dip or rolled into flavorful spheres, coated with herbs and spices, and suspended in olive oil. Whatever your choice, it is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, very simple to make, and the flavor pairings are endless.

I love garlic with a passion — vampires beware. This pesto might be a little bold to eat by the spoonful (though you’ll probably catch me doing just that), but tossed with roasted vegetables or stirred into freshly cooked pasta, it’s absolutely divine. Try spreading it on a warm slice of bread… that loaf won’t last long.

A happy childhood memory of the morning light streaming in through the kitchen window. Woken up by the smell of something delicious baking, I stumbled barefoot and butt-ass naked to the kitchen. My momma handed me a little slice of cornbread hot from the oven with a pat of butter and some honey drizzled on top. Happiness.

This cornbread’s different from that memory but it still makes me happy. It has some kick. Adjust however pleases your palette.

A few tips for this recipe: If you cannot find fresh nettles, you can substitute spinach, or your favorite dark greens. Also, make sure you wring out as much water as possible from the cooked nettles.

Many of our “familiar foods” such as cheeses, cured meats, yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, and miso all undergo fermentation, and while fermented tea might sound very weird, there are many documented benefits for bringing fermented foods into your diet.

I know you have probably heard of Mark Bittman’s No-Knead Bread recipe. It makes a great loaf, and for many people, the recipe revolutionized their beliefs about the quality of bread they could produce at home. With one loaf, they understood that they too, the home baker, could make beautifully crusted bread with an open crumb, at home, in their own oven. I love it.

This process is an adaptation of his loaf.