You wait with anticipation for those first few fruits of the summer squash, and then, before you know it, you have more than you can wrangle. It’s just about time to start giving them away, or smuggling them in an unsuspecting visitor’s car, but for right now, enjoy the harvest, and the sharing. Love the…
Category: Dairy-free
Blueberry Season, finally. Let’s make some pancakes!
They have arrived, luscious blueberries in abundance, and we can’t wait for all the delights of the season. There will most likely be some jam for the pantry, a pie, muffins of course, and blueberry pancakes first off. Of all the dishes I served up for breakfast at the inn, the most frequently requested meal…
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Maple Graham Fire Crackers
Graham crackers have been a pantry staple in my house since I was a child. My grandmother loved them, so they were always on the shelf along with her ginger snaps. She was a bit greedy about her ginger snaps, but often shared the graham crackers. My own grandchildren now love them when making s’mores,…
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Tagliatelle with Chanterelle Mushrooms, Fresh Peas, and Confit of Garlic
What a perfect time of year for those of us who love to cook, and for those who simply love to eat delicious local food. A rainbow of fruits and vegetables are hitting the farm stands, and life feels just a bit easier. Quick stir-fry perhaps, or veggies tossed on the grill. Berries are coming…
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Grilled and Chilled Asparagus & Leek Soup
The house will stay cool! We’re firmly in the middle of wonderful Asparagus Season here in Vermont! How delightful those tender and flavorful shoots. We wait all year, and this is one crop that never disappoints. It’s always the best, and we make the most of it and use those tender spears in everything possible….
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Cookbook Confidential: fast and easy RecipeTin Eats Dinner
“RecipeTin Eats Dinner,” by Nagi Maehashi, 2023, Countryman Press, division of W.W. Norton & Co. My friend Bernadette from New Classic Recipe (https://newclassicrecipe.com) came up with the wonderful idea to have an on-line cookbook club with some of her blog buddies. What a fun, and great way to choose a recipe or two from the…
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Asparagus and Crab Stuffed Boston Lettuce Cups
Boston lettuce is always fun to serve stuffed with something delicious. The little cups just beg for a special filling, and with Asparagus Season now in full swing, what could be better, especially if paired with tender, sweet crab? No one likes the slimy! We didn’t have asparagus when I was growing up because my…
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Hakurei Turnips with Baby Potatoes in Mustard Sauce
It’s always exciting when the first crops of spring-grown vegetables make their way to the farm stands, and this week’s delight was the tender, sweet Hakurei turnips. These mild turnips are nothing like the turnips I grew up with, which were larger, with extremely strong flavor, and could be unpleasantly bitter, especially the tops. Plus,…
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Let’s savor a spring salad
This time of year, my salad will be different than yours, but it will all taste of the new season. This week, we had a perfect, even brilliant, May day. Brilliant in terms of the beautiful 74-degree temperatures, no humidity, and bright light, but also the blue skies, the still air, the newly green grass…
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‘Ammesca Francesca’ with Wild Ramps and Mushrooms
Something different, with a lot of the familiar in a quick weeknight dish. I am always on the lookout for pastas that are a little different, something special to wake up those quick weeknight suppers. When it comes to dried pasta, there are hundreds from which to choose, so many delights are there to be…
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Jaina’s Apple Tart
We were in the baking mood, my granddaughter and I, and there was a bowl of apples sitting on the counter asking to be used. Since we were planning a small dinner party, dessert seemed to be the order of the day, and apples were drafted into service. What to make? Baked apples? Apple pie?…
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Kale Rabe (Nipini) with Fregola and Fennel
Kale rabe? Nipini? What in the world is that? It is always fun discovering seasonal vegetables at our local farms that are not available easily elsewhere. For the past two weeks, our CSA has included an option for kale rabe or napini. Much sweeter than regular kale, this is a spring treat that will please…
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A Spring Treat: Homemade Chive Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Greens
The ice is out of Joe’s Pond! That means spring is really here in Vermont. There are signs of spring everywhere! Flowers are starting to bloom, the birds have all returned, including the Lake Champlain seagulls that spend a week or so feasting on bugs in the hayfields after snow melt. Now we can declare…
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Wild Rice Salad with Luscious Lemon and Merry Mint
We had a lovely family gathering to celebrate Spring and Easter this past weekend, with lots of family, cooking, good food, egg coloring, and enjoying the sunshine. It’s always nice to have (most of) my whole brood together, including some of my nieces and nephews. A thieving crow! I colored eggs with my two granddaughters,…
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Cookbook Confidential: “Simple” by Yotam Ottolenghi
“Simple,” by Yotam Ottolenghi, 2018, Ten Speed Press, California and New York. My friend Bernadette from New Classic Recipe (https://newclassicrecipe.com) came up with the wonderful idea to have an on-line cookbook club with some of her blog buddies. What a fun, and great way to choose a recipe or two from the books, cook them,…
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Spring Mixed Mushroom and Spinach Chowder
Spring is definitely here, but local spring crops are still a ways away, and snow squalls and flurries stubbornly dotted our week. There was some sunshine here and there, but snow stuck to the grass and trees and made driving a bit unnerving. This weekend, we’re due for more uninvited snow and an icy mix,…
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Juniper Scented Haddock with Green Olive Sauce
If you like a dry martini made with gin, you’re going to love this one! I’m not sure why juniper berries aren’t more popular here in the United States. Such a deliciously floral and citrusy spice, it has a unique flavor that blends well with so many things. If you like gin, you’re experiencing the…
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Whole Wheat Scones with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil
When you’ve been away, even just for a few days, it’s always nice to get back in the kitchen and make something healthful! When winter holds on, even a mild one like this year, we can get in a rut and realize we are staying in the house way too much. Even when the days…
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Sole with Mandarinquat and Fresh Mint Sauce
Mandarinquat? What in the world is that? At the co-op last week, in the beautifully vibrant seasonal citrus section, there was a bin of “Mandarinquats.” I had never seen or even heard of these beauties before, bigger than a kumquat, smaller than a Mandarin, and a bright orange. They exuded such a beautiful aroma, I…
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Rutabagas! A Favorite Winter Mash-up.
What a funny name, rutabaga. It makes you want to cook with it just so you can say it. A sweet root brassica that is hardy in the north and hearty on the plate. They are also really good for your heart as well, so it is win all the way with these, even though…
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New England Lobster Étouffée
Mardi gras is tomorrow, and I’m always looking for something from the south to help celebrate the day. We take seriously all the celebrations we can in mid-February, and tossing beads and dancing to a Zydeco band is right up there with Valentine’s dinners, and the first maple sugar on snow celebrations. Oh, that flavor!…
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Herbed Whole Wheat Naan
Don’t you love it when a new recipe just delights everyone? I had a big group of my family coming for dinner, and decided on a curry with all the trimmings. The curry was loaded with lovely local veggies and wild shrimp, a family favorite. Basmati rice, cucumber and winter radish raita, and curried green…
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How to tame a sweet potato…
I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with sweet potatoes. I love that they are extremely nutritious, full of so many vitamins and minerals – beta carotene, vitamins E and C, B vitamins, potassium. They are high in fiber and protein, and they are a winter staple that is also quite appealing on the plate. So…
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Cookbook Confidential: A glimpse at Jewish Cookery and culture around the world
Cookbook Confidential: Roden, Claudia, (1996) “The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York,” New York, Knopf My friend Bernadette from New Classic Recipe (https://newclassicrecipe.com) came up with the wonderful idea to have an on-line cookbook club with some of her blog buddies. What a fun, and great way to choose a recipe…
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Grilled Cabbage Winter Stew with Smoked Paprika Olive Oil
Apparently, this has been a good year for cabbage, and I’m not complaining. If you live in the north, you have plenty of local cabbage available, always a staple crop. A lot going for it Big heads, green or purple, stay beautifully crisp all winter, and bulk up our farm shares along with the many…
