Back when I lived in New York, there was a particular chocolate chip cookie recipe that was asked for at every birthday party and half-birthday party and fake birthday party there ever was. The recipe had been mine alone, as everyone knew, and “Melissa’s Cookies” were perfected over years of burned cookie edges, too-melted chocolate…
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Avocado Deviled Eggs
I’ve found there are several distinct signs of happiness: spontaneous smiling, a sudden and unexplained tolerance for traffic on the PCH, and an empty fridge because to be honest, you’re way too happy to bother filling it. Cue a truly happy me when a friend of mine sends me this text at 6 o’clock on a Sunday: “Wine and cheese at…
Read MoreRainy Day Pasta
Rainy days call for hearty dishes … like this pasta with ingredients sourced from the Newport Beach Farmers’ Market.
Read MoreExploring the Wonders of Tuna Salad
A light and easy recipe for tuna salad, with many ingredients sourced from the local Newport Beach Farmers’ Market.
Read MoreA Toast to French Toast
Today I want to talk eggs. Why? Because there are eggs that are eggs and then there are eggs that are EGGS. The ones sold by Divine Harvest Family Farms at the Newport Beach Farmers’ Market on Sundays are undeniably the latter. They’re EGGS. Delicate rounds of gooey goodness, sent into the world from the…
Read MoreSick Soup Cures All
In case you’re wondering, I’m sick. (Yes, I’m sure you woke up this morning and thought, “How is Melissa feeling today?”) Anyway, in the spirit of turning the bad to good, this ickiness at the very least presents the ideal opportunity for today’s “Make Your Market,” in which I will share an amazing soup I…
Read MoreIn Defense of the Carrot Greens
Look, I know I’m biased. I just finished this dish not more than fifteen minutes ago. Heck, I’ve still got a small piece of carrot green stuck on my thumb as I type this very word. And these. OK, it’s gone. STILL. The meal—seasoned avocado on sautéed carrot greens and onions with soft-boiled eggs—was delicious.…
Read MoreMake Your Market: Mint Tea
OK folks, let’s try something a little different for this week’s episode of “Make Your Market,” the most exciting farm-to-table, farmers’ market culinary series to ever hit Balboa Peninsula (and beyond). Today I want to talk tea. “But really, Melissa?” You might ask, because you’re used to fun recipes you can eat for dinner that…
Read MoreHey, Thanksgiving: You’ve Got Kale
This is crazy. Thanksgiving is in four days. WHERE IS TIME? And does it know how to cook a turkey in the microwave? Anyway, here we are, on Monday morning, steeped in things to do, people to see and the encroaching fear of what to make for Thanksgiving dinner. Well, good thing it’s time for…
Read MoreOn the Beet
If I had a skywriter, I’d ask the pilot to fly above the blue, morning skies of Newport Beach and write “Welcome to Make Your Market” in fluffy smoke lettering. But I don’t (although I should) and so instead, I just have this very sentence where I will say “welcome” in quotation markets to denote…
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