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We hope you enjoyed our 3-part video series on local, organic, and sustainable food in San Diego! Now for something a little different: a cooking segment that shows you how to make one of my favorite dishes, classic Ligurian pesto.

I can’t be around sage leaves without manhandling them. Rubbing a few suede-like leaves between my fingers is like my own personal herbal perfume for the day. Fresh basil in the summer; smokey thyme in the fall; piney rosemary in the winter. Fresh herbs make me want to cook, including in the raw, like ripe summer tomatoes with a sprinkling of mint, basil, or chives; a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a splash of vinegar or spritz of lemon, and a little sea salt. Add a tear of crusty bread. Done: perfect summer snack. Here, 20 recipes to inspire you with fresh herbs.

It happens to all of us. You’ve been running around all day and suddenly you’re starved. So starved that you could take down a bag of potato chips, eat a frozen pizza, or—say it ain’t so—find yourself rationalizing a fast food drive-thru. There’s no time to cook—you’d eat a dish towel before the food is ready. Drop that towel. Here, 10 of my favorite snacks that can be made in minutes. (Remember: these are best achieved by always keeping certain products on hand in the pantry and refrigerator.)

Aurelio Barattini, a Tuscan chef who owns the restaurant L’Antica Locanda di Sesto in the town of Lucca, agrees with LTBB about the high quality of Martelli pasta, which is made nearby. He came up with a recipe especially for us, made with Martelli’s maccheroni (my favorite shape, too!):

I’m afraid, like Minetta Tavern, Locanda Verde is also guilty of hype over hope. Maybe the marked improvement over Robert DeNiro’s former restaurant in the same space, Ago–an all-around disaster–is putting stars, literally, in people’s eyes. Yet chef Andrew Carmellini, who won a Michelin star in 2009 for his food at A Voce, continues to receive awards and recognition for his latest venture. Or maybe we just ordered the wrong things? A Time Out New York food editor recently told me it’s all about the desserts. Well, I tend to like what precedes them, too, especially if there are awards involved.