It’s here. November. Affectionately called “stick season” by some here in the northeast, at least once all the leaves have dropped, the trees look barren, and all the tourists have returned home. We’re close. I prefer to call it the Season of Thankfulness, culminating with our feast on the fourth Thursday. One thing I am…
Category: Dairy-free
Let’s see, a little Vermont maple, a little French brandy, did I forget the tofu?
We finally had a hard frost this past week, three crisp and clear nights in a row actually. We woke up each morning with the fields as white as snow, shimmering in the morning light. I have to say, it was quite beautiful. The hardier flowers such as calendula and petunias are still hanging in…
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Don’t toss those brassica leaves, they taste great with your daily shot of vinegar. Grandma said.
Finally, Sunday morning, October 18, we had our first freeze of the season, and it wasn’t even a hard killing one. We knew it was coming. The night before, I stripped the last of the tomatoes, picked whatever basil I wanted, grabbed some of the last autumn roses, and called the garden year finished, well…
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Autumn has arrived, let’s clean the garden and make soup!
And here we are – 8:05 p.m. on September 22. Astrological autumn. Of course, if you are a meteorologist, autumn began on Sept. 1 and will run through to November 30. They like to keep things tidy. We are at the time of roughly equal day and night, with long nights creeping in faster now,…
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It’s the Season of Way Too Much, but we’re ready!
After a muggy, hazy day yesterday, there was a distinct chill in the air last night. We fell asleep with the window wide open and crickets serenading us, quite loudly. There’s one poor fellow who is stuck in the garage and we can’t seem to find him, three days he’s been calling out and yesterday…
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Please, don’t worry if your lion is a bit crabby.
I spied them at the farmers market this week. One glance and I knew our brilliant hot summer days might really have an end. Delicata squash. Yes, belonging to the classification of winter squash. Long keepers that signal fall is not far off, even though officially it is still around six weeks away on the…
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A little victory in the garden!
We’ve had a bit of a reprieve from the Canadian wildfire haze the last two days and what a relief. Whether from fires in Canada or our western states, air quality is on alert far and wide, and I don’t see it getting better any time soon, unfortunately. Our hay is on the ground drying…
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Celebrating cherry season, would you like to try something different?
High summer. The brilliant orange daylilies are blooming in profusion, the roadsides are dotted with baby blue chicory and white Queen Ann’s lace. Everyone’s flower and kitchen gardens look great just about now, and the Japanese beetles have not quite made it to our rose bushes yet to spoil the fun. We know they are…
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You might have to close your eyes to see the pretty in this soup, or add a little flair.
Just around bedtime last night, we had one of the most intense electrical storms ever. The rain came down so fast I had two inches of water in minutes on my stone patio, hail started bombarding the house, and the lightning flashed unending like strobe lights for over 15 minutes. The dogs jumped on the…
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Hummus and veggies for lunch again? Stop yawning, I will make it a little more fun.
It’s a good day when your roses start blooming. Rosa rugosa, a little late this year but still the first to show up for the show, is her usual fragrant and beautiful self. This is a rose you must stop and smell, it will lure you, calm you down. The original wild rugosa from Japan,…
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Once in a while in a big blue moon…
On this day, we are all living under a ‘blue moon,’ which means it is the second full moon in the calendar month. When we speak of a blue moon, we are generally referring to something rare, in this case, an event that happens every two or three years. There won’t be another one until…
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A little sweet, a little sour, life is all about balance.
I can hear my dad’s voice through all these years announcing the first emergence of the tender but terribly hardy little pea shoots in early spring. “The Peas are up!” They were eagerly anticipated every year, nothing more exciting for the northern gardener after a long winter. When we place those little seeds in the…
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Do cabbages bloom? Not as well as an onion, but yes, and they are delicious with a special sauce.
Spring has been slow to arrive this year, but we are undeniably here. This week, ice out at Joe’s Pond, the definitive sign we are well into Vermont spring, happened at 6:21 a.m. on Thursday. The lottery ($1 a ticket) draws contestants from all over the world, and serves as a good fundraiser for the…
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Is it spring or still winter? Probably both, but we know for sure it’s mud season.
It’s snowing. We are well into April and it’s snowing. Poor man’s fertilizer is what they called it when I was growing up; that little cover of snow just when things are looking like winter is done. It only lasts a day, the warmer ground and air temperatures see to that, and usually we are…
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How ya’ doing dumpling? Just fine, enjoying the homemade life!
One of our favorite little lunches is a plate of Asian style dumplings, filled with something bursting with flavor, and dunked in a sauce with even more. While rural Vermont does not boast the best selection of dumpling grazing spots, there are a few companies out there who offer some of these homemade delights in…
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Who doesn’t love corn, beets & cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day? You heard right, I did say beets.
My father’s side of the family contributed the Irish genes to my DNA, and I’m sure that’s why I’ve always been drawn to that beautiful island. When I was growing up, all I knew about Irish cuisine was potatoes, soda bread, colcannon, and hearty stews, of course made with potatoes and red meat. Potatoes were…
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A lion, oysters, and some vibrant chestnuts? Voila! Dinner!
I’m easily distracted this time of year. Inside a little more than I would like, outside it is mostly cold with a bitter wind, but we’ve had a break in the weather with above freezing temperatures, blue skies, and lots of sunshine. My solar panels are earning their keep. Staying put, for now But there’s…
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Snowed in! Time for soup and hot chocolate. There’s plenty.
When I was a child and a snow day was called, there wasn’t much better in the school year. A free day of no study! My brothers and I would head out to the sandbank across the road, sleds and flying saucers in tow, and we’d play outside until we nearly froze to death. It…
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Can we really eat locally in the dead of a northern winter. First, get out of the house!
Can you really eat locally in the dead of winter in the frigid climate of northern New England? Or, more accurately, the question is, can you do so and not be bored to tears eating nothing but beets and other roots? Yes you can! That one’s easily answered in the affirmative at least for our…
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Just like mother use to make – kind of, almost!
Deep in winter in the north, we need soup. Lots of soup. And if we can recreate a memory in the process, even better! It’s been bitter cold here the last few weeks, but today, the temperature is predicted to hit 32 F., and that means maybe a little of the ice on the patio…
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And thus, a New Year begins.
And here we are. 2026! The beginning of January is a time to look forward, with a glance or two back in the rear-view mirror, but only just long enough to see if we need any course corrections. Do you make resolutions? I gave that up long ago, at least fastening my resolve to a…
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Sylvia’s Oatmeal Apple Rum Cookies and the silly saga of how they grew up.
A misunderstanding led to the greatly evolved oatmeal cookie we all love When I was first on my own, I made my mother’s oatmeal cookies several times but they were never quite the same as hers. Although they tasted great, they didn’t look right or have the same texture; they were flatter and not as…
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What to pair with the grey early December landscape in New England? Color! We need some vibrant color!
November may be over, but the grey skies and landscapes remain, and our days continue to dwindle to what seems like precious few hours of light. Today is the meteorological beginning of winter, the three coldest months of the calendar year. We always question if we are ready for it, but it definitely is an…
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Write down those family recipes! They really might not be paying attention while you cook.
The dishes served to us as children tend to linger in the back of one’s mind, carved there by repetition, but truly embedded with aroma and taste; it takes just a whiff to send you back in time. Sometimes it is hard to recreate a dish because taste buds and even the memories themselves change….
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Monsters under your bed? No, just some friendly winter squash.
When the seasons turn in New England, it happens all at once, and we’ve definitely got winter knocking on our door right now! While I’m still looking at green grass, most of the leaves have fallen, and today they are calling for sleet. Shivers. I just lit the fireplace, and the dogs might not get…
