spinach frittata with herbs recipe | writes4food.com

Spinach frittata with fresh herbs.

Spring’s finest ingredients — farm-fresh eggs, spring greens and tender herbs — come together in this beautiful frittata recipe. Great Meatless Monday dinner option with fat slices of buttered toast and a glass of white wine.

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pasta with swiss chard pesto and creme fraiche recipe | writes4food.com

Pasta with chard pesto and creme fraiche.

Here’s another taste of California Wine Country cuisine for you: a bright, velvety, gorgeous pesto made with Swiss chard, enhanced with the creamy tang of creme fraiche. (Who knew?) Get this recipe for pasta with Swiss chard pesto, inspired by our recent travels!

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Arugula green garlic pesto.

A glut of overgrown arugula in my garden — combined with some beautiful green garlic I scored at the farmers’ market — went into a big batch of spring arugula and garlic pesto this week. It’s fantastic over pasta, or as a condiment for grilled Italian sausages and new potatoes. Get the recipe!

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baby kale caesar salad recipe | writes4food.com

Baby kale caesar salad.

When I spotted a bin full of beautiful purple and green baby kale at the farmers’ market recently, the farmer and I agreed it would make a terrific caesar salad. And it did. Of course, you could use the traditional romaine lettuce, or do a mix of baby lettuces and salad greens like arugula. Don’t be afraid of the anchovy or raw egg — both are essential to caesar dressing. Give this a try while greens are still in their adorable baby stage. Get the recipe!

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Beautiful roast chicken salad in a jar.

This recipe is an old favorite, clipped from a Williams-Sonoma catalog a bajillion years ago. We’ve made it for dinner a number of times, and then I hacked it as a salad-in-a-jar, which is perfectly lunch-able. The roast chicken and tart apple play beautifully with the spicy pecan dressing. Get the recipe!

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Beautiful winter panzanella salad.

Typically, panzanella is a summertime salad of toasted bread, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. But here’s a perfectly wintery spin on this Italian favorite, with hearty multigrain bread, roasted butternut squash, walnuts and a kiss of sherry vinaigrette. Perfect with roast chicken or grilled pork. Get the recipe!

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Clean-out-the-larder minestrone.

I call this ‘clean-out-the-larder’ minestrone, because you can make it with whatever leftover or not-enough-for-a-meal vegetables, fresh or frozen, that you have on hand. Dump everything in a pot, simmer, and voila! Soup! Get the recipe (plus 2 secrets for excellent soup).

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