The Hollywood Farmers Market inspires me. This Grilled Squid with Miner's Lettuce Salad & Mint, Parsley, Anchovy Pesto is proof.

I didn't wake up this morning thinking that this was what I wanted for lunch. But a trip up and down Ivar filled my bag with all the ingredients (except the garbanzo beans) that I needed to fully realize this recipe. I guess it's been sleeping inside me for some time. Waiting for its moment.

It's moment came when miner's lettuce showed itself to me. It was right there. Just across the street from the Hollywood branch of the public library. Saying, "Look at me, I am an ingredient you've read about but have never used before. Lettuce make some trouble".

It was practically a illicit proposal, I'll have you know. I mean I always knew greens were hot. But these greens were smokin'! How could I resist? I am mean if lettuce could talk, this lettuce was screaming, "Take me as I am, or watch me as I go."

So I countered, "If beauty were time, you'd be eternity." After all, if you know me at all then you know "I can resist everything except temptation!"

GREG

This is the final entry in my week long series of summer salads. It's a Farro & Tomato Salad with Basil & Anchovies and it comes (practically word for word) from Judy Rodgers.

I tend to be a tinkerer when it comes to recipes (if I follow one at all) but there are some cooks whose style and choices just click with me and the way I like to do things. Judy Rodgers is one such cook. She thinks about food and it's preparation. She gets all wonky about technique. So I know that every step and every ingredient really is all it needs to be. No more no less. I can't improve on that kind of methodology, so I don't even try.

Especially when it comes to an ingredient like farro. It's an ancient grain. But it's new to my kitchen. It's been a staple to the masses since Roman times, but suddenly the chic set has embraced it too. I first had it at one of Mario Batali's New York restaurants in the 1990s (in the form of a pan-fried cake) but this is my first attempt at cooking with it at home.

If you are unfamiliar with farro, well it looks a bit like brown rice. But it's a closer cousin to barley. The best version is the whole-grain version, partly due to all those healthful advantages. When you buy farro look for whole-grains that have been partially processed and have the brown outer hull removed. These are called "pearled", "perlato", "semiperlato", or "decorticato".

It's this simple. Life can be simple. Food can be simple.

You might not believe me, but one of life’s simple pleasures is a plate of deep fried anchovies. I served mine with crusty bread, cherry tomatoes, and a simple glass of wine. This is eating at its most elemental. First there is bread and wine. I think they are classic elements, like earth, water and air. But anchovies belong on that list too. Because there is no escaping the simple truth– when you eat anchovies, you are eating a fish. Man has been eating like this since biblical times. I am sure you know the story of fish, bread and wine.

But today anchovies are grossly misunderstood. I think it is because in the last few generations we modern folk have gotten too far away from understanding what our food is and where it comes from. Sure we get it on an intellectual level. A fish is a creature that comes from the sea. But even those of us who love fish often won’t touch a fish that actually looks like a fish. No bones, no skin, no scales, no heads, no eyes. Certainly no eyes! So the idea of popping a whole fish in our mouths, bones and all, sends a little modern day shiver down our spines.