Two years ago, Mina Stone and her partner, Alex Eagleton, opened their first restaurant within MoMA’s PS1, one of America’s largest contemporary art institutions, in Long Island City, Queens.
They gave it a homey name — Mina’s — and comforting qualities where museumgoers could ponder the thought-provoking art: simple, straightforward food reminiscent of the tavernas in Greece she’d frequented as a child.
Then COVID-19 happened, and after only a few months, they shuttered their cafe doors, sequestered themselves at home, and brainstormed their future — often over braised chickpeas, oregano-seasoned roast chicken, and other familiar favorites from her own oven.
And in the midst of that cooking and contemplation, Stone recorded the recipes she’d been cooking over the years both as a chef, and a home cook from a tight-knit Greek family with a large circle of creative friends in her progressive New York community.
Her restaurant is open again, and her recipes and journaling are now beautifully packaged in “Lemon Love and Olive Oil” (Harper Wave, $40). Its bold title sums up a style of cooking she characterizes as “direct, uncomplicated, and soothing,” as reflected in dishes such as Roasted Halloumi with Tomatoes and Oregano, Yourvalakia (Meatballs with Rice and Parsley in Lemon Broth), and Greek Frappe, the traditional instant iced coffee drink that’s a signature of Mina’s.
Stone became a private chef to support her fledgling fashion career, and found her niche in the art world cooking dinners for gallery events and lunches at multimedia artist Urs Fischer’s Brooklyn-based studio. Her simple, Greek-inspired specialties were so well received that in 2015, Fischer published and designed her first cookbook, “Cooking for Artists,” under his imprint, Kiito-San, with illustrations courtesy of some of the big-name artists she’d cooked for.
Fischer’s whimsical illustrations also appear between the gorgeous food photos and unfussy recipes of her second book, which intertwines her tricks for turning handfuls of humble ingredients into delectable meals with her personal story.
Using good olive oil and lots of lemons as her medium, Stone expresses her philosophy of cooking succinctly: “It is how we honor the essence of ourselves, and it is how we show our love.”
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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