There is More to Turkey Than Roasting it for Thanksgiving
I have to confess that I do not have the proper respect for Thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy that food-centric holiday. It’s just that – not having grown with it – I am not enough imbued with...
View ArticleOn Sauerkraut and Other Fermented Food
I had never eaten homemade sauerkraut until I started to make it last year. I can’t say that I really like the store-bought canned stuff – but I really like a Reuben sandwich, and you do need...
View ArticleRoasting a Spring Lamb
Roasting a whole lamb in the spring is the epitome of the outdoor party (although a whole pig comes pretty close too). We just did that this week-end for the benefit dinner organized by Flavor...
View ArticleFast Food My Way (Tongue it is!)
We eat plenty of fast food here – especially for lunch. Don’t believe me? well… take a look at the picture of one of our not unusual lunches. Green salad from the garden (Pick early in the morning,...
View ArticleLe Temps Des Cerises
It’s sour cherry time – or rather, sour cherries are just over here in the Virginia Piedmont. A kind cherry tree owner offered me their tree to pick, and I gratefully enjoyed the privilege. But as the...
View ArticleOctober 29 And It’s Snowing
October 29 and it is snowing – wet heavy snow. Plenty of leaves yet on many trees — although the birches are denuded by now. Still, some under story trees or ornamental ones like crape myrtle sport...
View ArticleThoughts on Canning Tomatoes
Students who take my canning class tell me that one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to canning is … surprise!… time. (the other is the commendable desire not to sicken one’s family) I will not...
View ArticleWhen You Have Green Tomatoes
Just dug and cleaned baby ginger When I have green tomatoes and baby ginger, I make Green Tomato Jam With Baby Ginger. Because, I have pickled green tomatoes and made green tomato relish in the past…...
View ArticleA Black Currant Streusel Cake With Black Currant Compote
So far, it’s been a good year for berries! A cold winter and abundant spring rains have given the plants what they want. You will not hear me complain about the past winter nor about the rains (yet,...
View ArticleForaging for Wild Summer Berries (and Shrub recipe)
Wineberries – and a few wild blackberries Who hasn’t plucked and munched on a handful of wild blackberries or huckleberries while hiking? Didn’t it feel like a tiny treasure hunt, the taste of wild...
View ArticleLard: make it at home. A pictorial guide.
Despite Thomas Jefferson’s efforts 200 years ago, olive trees don’t grow in Virginia. Erratic winter weather with nightly lows in the single digit temperatures followed by days at 70F — as well as hot...
View ArticleA Smoked Duck Breast & Blackberry Salad
Blackberry time is here. The canes in the garden have started to produce, and should all go well, continue to produce for another 4 weeks. Which is good, because blackberries (and eggplants) are one...
View ArticleStrawberry Mousse Forever
The strawberry mousse is one of of those desserts that is so simple, so utterly reliant on the goodness of strawberries that it is either spectacular… or a total let down when made with sub-par...
View ArticleA Favorite Way to Preserve Zucchini
One of my favorite cookbooks is “My Calabria” by Rosetta Constantino with Janet Fletcher. A favorite cookbook is one I want to read, which draws me into the author’s world, tell stories that are...
View ArticleSeasonal Homemade Paté
Paté is a much better use of chicken livers or turkey livers than making stock (Which they make cloudy, anyway) – and you might even be able to feed them to members of the household who profess not to...
View ArticleA Buckle Cake For All Seasons
A similar post was initially published as “End of Summer Cake” on August 31, 2011 When it comes to cake, knowing a few formulas is the key to be able to produce delicious desserts with what you have –...
View ArticleA Vibrant Kale Pasta Sauce
Kales are a mainstay of the garden from mid-fall to early spring, with their winter hardiness, and their ruddy beauty. The various leaf sizes, colors, shapes, and textures seem to be almost endless,...
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