Couscous with Mint Pesto

By Jess Ziman

Pasta with pesto has always been one of my staple comfort foods but it can get a little repetitive when it’s your go-to meal.

To change it up, I like to substitute couscous for the pasta. Couscous is also a wheat grain but the texture and flavor are very different from pasta. While bland on its own, couscous absorbs flavors much better than pasta.

Couscous is also quicker cooking and requires no draining. You simply pour boiling water over the couscous, bring it to a simmer, turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.

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Spago House Dressing

By Andrew Hunter

This is salad season and we like to take full advantage of summer’s garden crops. Fresh summer vegetables are so delicious, they need an equally delicious dressing.

Our favorite is the house dressing at Spago, Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant in Beverly Hills, where the stars dine.

This time of year, when the temperatures are soaring, salads are always a welcome addition to the family table. We love to buy the season’s freshest veggies that we find at the market to make salads like the recipe in our Farmer’s Market Tour post.

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Chill Out with Mache and Cherry Salad

By Lori Powell

We are experiencing yet another heat wave and I’m not sure about you, but I am in no mood to cook today. That’s completely odd for me to say, but true! Usually I have to be stricken ill not to want to cook.

Along with people, not a lot of crops are happy in this heat. I’m not quite sure what happened to the cherry crop but they are amazing in the Northeast this year – super-dark and sweet. Also, they keep you cool if you eat them chilled.

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Beet The Heat Salsa

By Katie Barreira

I usually prepare this deliciously unusual salsa with roasted beets, but when temps are topping out at 100 degrees, I’m going nowhere near the oven. And thanks to Melissa’s peeled and steamed beets (found in the produce section of your grocery store) there’s no need; the sweet little vacuum packed, ready-to-eat beets are perfect for a no-cook version. Scoop up this colorful condiment with yellow corn chips, toss it into a green salad with crumbled goat cheese or, spoon over grilled fish.

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Snake Dogs

By Andrew Hunter

Stretching for miles in a sprawling Los Angeles canyon is Griffith Park. We love Griffith because there’s an observatory, museums, hiking, biking, swimming, horseback riding, a working historic train, and a multitude of snack shops that keep us well nourished and hydrated during our strenuous weekend activity.

The crown jewel of snack shops is “The Trails,” a shack built to blend into the landscape. It’s the California hippie version of Manhattan’s Shake Shack. If you’re in Griffith and can’t find “The Trails,” just look for the long line of people waiting for a slice of pie, a lavender cookie, a sprout sandwich, or if you’re Ben and Nick, a Snake Dog.

Snake Dogs are like pigs in a blanket, only much cooler – a frankfurter wrapped in a coil of puff pastry, then baked so it looks like a snake slithering across the picnic table. We’ve started making Snake Dogs at home. Here’s a recipe so you can pack Snake Dogs in the picnic basket for your next trip to the Griffith Park where you live.

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