Roasted vegetables with ricotta salata and Italian parsley
Japanese turnips, summer squash, new potatoes and cherry tomatoes tossed with a bit of salt and olive oil, then roasted at 350 F for 1 hour. Sprinkle with ricotta salata and chopped Italian parsley before serving.
Well, raw, but not in the way you think. 
Spaghetti con salsa di pomodoro*, radish and sugar snap peas with ricotta salata and herbs
*Otherwise known as “thin spaghetti with uncooked tomato sauce” — Yellow Jersey tomatoes, shallot, summer squash, salt, pepper, lemon zest, tarragon and extra-virgin olive oil. Dice the tomatoes, shallot and summer squash. Combine in a glass or nonreactive bowl. Add a pinch of kosher salt, some freshly milled black pepper, the lemon zest and some chopped herbs (basil is best but tarragon or marjoram will do in a pinch). Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil over the vegetables. Stir and check seasoning. Pour the sauce over cooked spaghetti, toss to coat and serve immediately.
Use only the freshest in-season tomatoes when making this dish.
Click here for the radish salad recipe.
Minestra di capelli d’angelo, asparagi e spinaci — Angel hair, asparagus and spinach soup
Angel hair pasta is a long, thin noodle with a round shape. It is also known as capellini or capelli d’angelo. This extremely fine pasta is excellent with light, delicate sauces as well as seasonal fresh vegetables or in soup. Several traditional Italian recipes call for angel hair pasta, and the pasta is readily available in most supermarkets. You can also make it by hand, although producing pasta of adequate thinness requires time and patience.
4 cups water, chicken stock or vegetable stock
1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed and sliced on a bias
1/2 lb. spinach
1 lb. angel hair pasta
unsalted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
kosher salt
white pepper
onion chives
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Bring water or stock to a gentle simmer in a large pot. Add pasta and cook until pasta is al dente — about three minutes if using fresh pasta, or six to eight minutes if using dried. Turn heat down to low.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Briefly sauté asparagus and spinach until vegetables take on a bit of color, about two to three minutes. Check seasoning. When pasta is done, add vegetables and pan drippings. Simmer for an additional five minutes to let flavors blend.
Stir in 1 lightly beaten egg. Check seasoning. Serve immediately, passing grated cheese and herbs at the table.
Japanese turnips
Radishes
Mutsu apples
Mutsu apples, also called Crispins, are a variety of heirloom apple first developed in Japan and now increasing in popularity in the United States. An excellent dessert apple, Mutsus are extremely juicy and their flavor strikes a perfect balance between sweet and tart.
Fettucine with sheep’s milk ricotta, wilted spinach, wild mushrooms and nasturtium flowers
This blog will have its three year anniversary in a little over six weeks so I thought I’d pull some of my favorite food photography in the intervening period. You can browse all of these pictures and many more on my Flickr account on right-hand side of your screen.
Dinner tonight is a surprise. Talk to y’all later.
Fried clam bellies and oysters, tartar sauce (Tides)
Seared hamachi, black radish, celery, Granny Smith apple (Hearth)
Heirloom tomatoes
Roast scallops, grapefruit and asparagus salad (Little Owl)
Gnocchi con sugo di pomodoro
‘Deconstructed’ German potato salad
Chiaogga beets
Seared scallop, parsnip puree, hen of the woods mushrooms, caviar viniagrette (Hearth)
Trio of gelati (Otto)
Asparagus, coconut, black mustard seeds, kokum (Tabla)
Grilled lambchops (Tabla)
Frying hushpuppies (2008 BABBQBP)
Spareribs closeup (2008 BABBQBP)
Pastrami closeup (Katz’s)
The Spreading Taint is the largest LGBT-friendly guild in World of Warcraft with over 2,691 unique guild members as of this writing. That comes out to about 6,897 characters of which the vast majority belong to nine sub-guilds under the Taint umbrella. Game parameters restrict the number of characters that a guild can hold to 500 characters. As you can see, we’re on track to become the largest guild in-game worldwide.
I joined in Sept. 2006 and haven’t looked back. It’s been a wild ride for the past two years and there’s more to come.
This morning, a bunch of us met — some for the first time, at a get-together at Jing Fong in Chinatown. This being a foodblog, there’s lots of pix of food and if you’re lucky, maybe a bear or two. 
By the way, because I feel strongly about privacy rights, I’ve only posted my guildies’ character names rather than their real first names. Better for all concerned in my opinion.
Kaimetsu
Quorniya
Left: Devetaki
Right: Quorniya
Other
Left: Whitley
Right: Quorniya
Cressida
Finlandia
Steamed pork buns
Shrimp dumplings
Chicken and Chinese mushrooms in rice wine, with ginger and scallions
Left: Conpoy and baby corn with vermicelli noodles
Right: shiu mai
Steamed egg custard tarts
I went food shopping at Union Square Greenmarket afterwards while the others went sightseeing.
Contributions to the Fellowship