Cleaning the leeks, I wondered, what does raw leek taste like? So I tasted a bit: Whoooah, talk about serious onion flavor, not entirely pleasant. But cooked? What a difference! Steamed leeks are sweet and buttery and entirely delicious, with great leek flavor but not onion-y at all. LEEKY HUMOR True story. From my dear Auntie Karen, who's inspired and encouraged and occasionally butt-kicked me since I was seven and happily, my Uncle Ed married her into the family. (Imagine a seven-year old's swoon at the romance of a young, hip and oh-so-cool new aunt sweeping the floors of a Michigan town hall in a wedding dress.) I digress. She shared this in April: " A short note about my own veggie adventure. I wasn't that familiar with leeks, so decided to give them a try. I went to my grocery, found leeks. One bunch was small and one bunch was large, and both were the same price. So, if I'm paying 2.00 per package I'm going to get the best. The veggie guy wasn't

A rarity around here, what's special about today's recipe isn't the vegetable asparagus itself but what goes on the asparagus. It's hollandaise, one of the classic French sauces which, no doubt, you've had before, it's the sauce that gets draped over eggs Benedict. Drizzled over asparagus, hollandaise is a seasonal spring classic. Here's how to make hollandaise sauce in, of all things, a blender! Fresh & Seasonal, A Spring Classic. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Scales from Small Plates to Large Platters. Low Carb. Naturally Gluten Free.

Welcome to the latest in an occasional series of St. Louis restaurant reviews and sound-offs from my friend, the Foodie Patootie. It's an A- recommendation for Liluma in the Central West End. Enjoy! After attending an evening lecture, my husband and I recently stopped in at Liluma in the CWE for a late night bite and were pleased to learn that they indeed offer light bites as well as entrees. Diners are welcome – and encouraged – to eat as they please and need not feel guilty when ordering a couple of appetizers to serve as the entire meal. My husband ordered the Liluma Soup: this night it was a delicately Smoked Tomato Bisque ($5) with a swirl of basil pesto and it was awesome. That was followed by a great-tasting Tagliatelle Ragu Bolognese ($7) consisting of pasta ribbons with a very thin, light, yet rich (if you can imagine this combination possible) sauce of tomatoes and ground beef. I enjoyed my Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls ($5) which were hot and crispy on the outside

A Veggie Venture is hardly known for 'haute cuisine'. But some time in the last few months, I recognized -- then accepted, soon relished -- that my food style is that of a home cook, a curious home cook perhaps, a Midwestern home cook likely, but always, a home cook. In part, the understanding comes from friendship with Karen from FamilyStyle Food , who in her early years of cooking, aspired to be the next Alice Waters. ( Alice Waters ? If you've not heard of her, as I hadn't til the last three or four years, you may be a home cook too!) Last month, Karen shared how she's always wanted to cook a suckling lamb on a spit -- and I realized it's never once occurred to me that one might roast a whole lamb, let alone a suckling lamb, let alone to make it a life dream . It made me laugh ... And it makes me realize that even when we're curious about new foods, actively seeking out new recipes, new cuisines, even when we stretch ourselves with new ingredients and ne

Mother's Day celebrations seem the easiest of all to plan. Just think fresh, simple, breezy. The food is hardly the point, it's the moment to mark the gifts of all those who mother. From the Kitchen Parade archives, check out all the recipe ideas for Mother's Day celebrations . Perhaps a sumptuous breakfast in bed. Pancakes ? Of course! Or perhaps a Dutch baby ! Or for ultimate breakfast decadence, how about strawberry shortcakes ? It's a celebration, after all! Or a family gathering, maybe small, maybe filled with aunts and cousins and new babies and old memories. Start with strawberry pepper salads . Then follow with a beautiful piece of salmon glazed with maple syrup and roasted zucchini and lemon on the side. And for dessert, oh my, the choices. The raspberry cake . If the rhubarb's ripe, a rhubarb sorbet . For those with early berries, oh yes, this fruit tart, plump with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries . Swoon. Or for something light and lovel

Ah, we all love the convenience of home-delivered pizza. Now "home delivery" is available for vegetable recipes from A Veggie Venture too! Just sign up for an e-mail subscription. Once your address is confirmed, every time a new recipe is posted online (usually once a week, some times less), you'll be the first to receive a preview, right in your very own In Box. And unlike pizza, an e-mail subscription is free and has zero calories! :-) Option #1 – Recipes delivered via e-mail 1 - 2 hours after being published online. Subscribe to A Veggie Venture via FeedBurner , part of the Google machine. Option #2 – Recipes delivered via e-mail just minutes after being published online. Subscribe to A Veggie Venture via Feedblitz , a small private company. IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ – With both Option #1 and Option #2, a minute or two after you've submitted your e-mail address, you will receive a follow-up e-mail asking you to activate your subscription. You MUST activate yo

Isn't it pretty?! Plus beets and Brussels sprouts are such an unexpected pairing -- and they work, color-wise of course, but also texture-wise. The beets are dense but soft, the Brussels sprouts green and bright. And since the recipe came from Simply Recipes , I knew it would taste good too! What a great vegetable for a summer weekend supper. NEXT TIME I'll add a small bit of lemon zest, a favorite flavor brightener for both beets and Brussels sprouts. I'm also tempted to try dill or chives rather than thyme. CARB EATERS Pairing a higher-carb vegetable with a lower-carb vegetable is a good way to eat fewer carbs but still enjoy something you've been missing. Lots of low-carb eater forgo beets. But paired with Brussels sprouts, a serving of this side dish has only 5 net carbs. GOLDEN BEETS VS RED BEETS There's no doubt that the color of golden beets is spectacular -- especially because that rich gold is unusual in food. But for me, anyway, there's no beating the