EdHart.me
Orgeat is one of those classic cocktail ingredients that many people have tasted without ever quite knowing what it is, yet it plays a surprisingly important role in shaping the flavor and texture of a drink.
Tabbouleh is often misunderstood outside the Middle East. In Lebanon and Syria it is primarily a parsley salad, not a grain salad. The bulgur wheat is minimal, just enough to add texture. The flavor should be bright, lemony, herbaceous, and fresh, which makes it an ideal companion to crispy falafel.
Some cocktails taste like they belong on a summer patio. The Bramble is one of them.
There’s something about roasted red beets that feels grounding this time of year: earthy, slightly sweet, and deeply satisfying. Paired with creamy goat cheese, toasted pecans, and crisp halved little gem lettuce heads, this salad strikes the perfect balance between rustic and refined.
I’m a few weeks into the spring gardening season, even though it’s still over a week until the spring equinox and 2 weeks before the average last frost date. The weather has taken a turn for the better after a month long stretch of cold temperatures. Although my plan had me planting beets, carrots, peas, and lettuce this week, I actually planted them 2 weekends ago after the long range forecast in my weather app showed springlike conditions for the foreseeable future. So far that gamble seems to be paying off.
From Ashes to Light
This Lent, I decided to create a musical companion for the season: a curated week-by-week collection of classical and sacred works to focus on from Ash Wednesday through Easter. I should say upfront that I’m not a classical music scholar by any stretch, although I am lifelong listener and appreciator of it, and I know what’s moved me over the years.
What I’ve put together here is partly a listening journey and partly a self-education mini-course for my own learning. I started with pieces I already know and love, and then filled in the gaps with help from Wikipedia, ChatGPT, Claude, Google, and a few other resources along the way. What’s emerged is a curated musical journey that I hope will deepen my, and perhaps your, experience of this season.
It’s mid-February and I’ve started planning out this season’s seeding and planting schedule, this time with a little help from ChatGPT.
Ran across this recipe in Food & Wine. This version leans into deep, smoky flavor from chipotle chiles in adobo, softened onions and garlic, and a long simmer in rich chicken stock. Using a Costco rotisserie chicken keeps it approachable (and affordable!) for a weeknight, and the toppings turn it into something special at the table.
Best of all, this tortilla soup gets even better after a day in the fridge, making it ideal for meal prep, casual entertaining, or freezing for later. Make a pot on Sunday and enjoy comfort all week long.
This is basically a simple syrup steeped with dried hibiscus flowers. You can find dried hibiscus (often labeled “Flor de Jamaica”) in Hispanic grocery stores. It can also be found in health food stores or in the tea aisle.
This is a dish built on patience and transformation. Raw collards are tough, grassy, almost defiant. But given heat, fat, acid, and a little sweetness – and most importantly, time – they soften into something generous and soulful. The leaves surrender. The pot liquor deepens. What begins sharp and bitter becomes rounded, savory, and deeply comforting.