It’s hard to believe I’ve been writing these posts for a decade of my life! How did that happen? It started out simple, a way to share my recipes with family and friends and maybe engage in dialogue with other like-minded folks. Recipes that began life in the hearts and hands of my mother and…
Category: Desserts
So when did Parson Brown become a circus clown? Midlife crisis? Perhaps he just needed some coconut cake.
I gave myself the task of recreating my mother’s Christmas coffee cake, with mixed results, mostly wonderful. Our weather has once again been all over the place 50 degrees out yesterday, rain, all the snow vanished and we have green grass again in the fields. Then, the Champlain Winds picked up again and a cold…
Share this:
Peaches and blueberries decided they wanted to be cobbled together.
Peach season is always greatly anticipated here in the north. While apple season stretches from summer through late fall, peaches are here for only a short time. But while they are here, there’s nothing like them in the world. Peachy memories When I was a child, a friend of mine had both peach and pear…
Share this:
Say strawberry shortcake, and you’ll make new friends. The cream on top is a bonus.
And if you indulge beneath a strawberry moon, what could be better? Last night, we got a double treat from the skies. First, a brilliant sunset. Then, a beautiful moon rise, the strawberry moon of June that this year was a brilliant red, in part, sadly, from the haze we are still experiencing from the…
Share this:
Holiday Encore: Sylvia’s Filled Mincemeat Cookies
Mom’s recipe started in October when we stripped the garden of its green tomatoes and made our own micemeat. I still make this (now and then) when I want the house to smell like my childhood home.
Share this:
Apple Cheddar Walnut Bread
There’s a tradition in New England to eat our apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese on top. Give it a try, and expand on the idea! It may sound strange to some, but many think it is the only way to enjoy that thick slice of pie. Way better than ice cream or…
Share this:
Late Summer Plum and Blueberry Upside-Down Cake
We’ve lots of delightful stone fruit right now, peaches, apricots, nectarines, and plums of many sizes and colors. Plums can be all over the place in terms of sweetness, but most work well in a tart or cake, and who doesn’t love it when it’s an upside-down cake with fresh fruit? Topsy turvy treat Our…
Share this:
High Summer, so lets’ make Blueberry Pie
Our blueberries are still coming on strong, large and sweet this year, it has been a most rewarding harvest. My granddaughter and I decided to make a pie this past weekend after picking for the second time, six pounds before the heat got to us. I now have lots in my freezer for the winter…
Share this:
Rhubarb, Cherry, and Red Wine Sauce
When the rhubarb gets big enough to harvest, that is always a time to celebrate spring in New England. And we’ve got a great way to celebrate! Not many people are neutral on the topic of rhubarb; either you love it, or don’t want it in any form. I am in the group of the…
Share this:
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?…
Share this:
Eclipsed!!!
The sun and moon, and weather all perfectly aligned for a once-in-a-lifetime show this week. While I’d viewed partial eclipses of the sun previously in my life, never the full-on, instant darkness, amazing show we were treated to in Vermont and many other parts of the country on Monday. It couldn’t have been better. Welcome…
Share this:
So, there are times when you really shouldn’t lick the spoon!
It started as a really nice thing to do for a friend who was not feeling well. As I start this story, let me introduce Betty, one of my dearest friends and a kind and loving soul, who is a very active community member, business entrepreneur, and one of those people who travels through life…
Share this:
Bûche De Noël A Classic Holiday Yule Log, mostly
Our Family’s Traditional Bûche De Noël Christmas Eve was filled with food, family, and festivity when I was a child, but I also loved the magic of all the food preparations that filled the week before – fussing and primping and putting everything together for the grand finale. Lots of baking Mom would make her…
Share this:
Christopher’s Burbon Butter Tarts
Sweet little butter tarts are a quintessential Canadian treat. Little pastry shells filled with butter, syrup, egg, and vanilla. They’re also the topic of much disagreement about what exactly, if anything, should be added to these little pastries; some bakers add a little extra something. Raisins? Nuts? Be careful not to declare your preference too…
Share this:
Dairy Free Corn & Maple Crème Brûlée
Corn. Maple Sugar. A candy top? What is she thinking? We only had crème brûlée once when I was a kid. My mom did a great job of preparing and baking the little custards, and carefully covering the top with sugar. She commandeered my father’s blow torch to do the brûlée part, and promptly set…
Share this:
Phyllo Nests with Blueberries and Lemon-Lavender Cream
Light, refreshing, and guilt-free. Did I say tasty? It’s blueberry season, and we’re having a really good year here! The surplus of these gems always gets me excited, and although my absolute favorite way to eat them is right out of hand, it’s fun to dress them up. Lots of blue memories Blueberries have a…
Share this:
What better way to celebrate the Summer Solstice: Strawberry Crunch Cake!
Strawberries. Sweet, luscious, red through and through strawberries. They herald the summer season of fruits, and do so delightfully as we move to the longest day of the year. Happy Summer Solstice! Here we are at the longest daylight of the year, which means twilight here until nearly 9:30 p.m., tons of fireflies, and I’m…
Share this:
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
The Spring Song in Vermont! When the rhubarb hits the farm stands, you know the first strawberries will be close behind. The two spring treasures are a perfect balancing act – the berries sweet and vibrant, the rhubarb tart and sour. The good news is that both the strawberries and the rhubarb freeze beautifully, so…
Share this:
Secret Recipe Toffee Squares: Now you know!
This is THE recipe to contribute to the bake sale; first to sell out, and always popular. And now, you know the secret. For years, my friend C. helped me stock the green room for our performing artists at the Roots on the River Music Festival. It was a great deal of fun, and our…
Share this:
Apple Galette with Whole Wheat Crust
Keep a disc of this pastry in the freezer, and dessert is simplified Much simpler than a pie, a galette is easier and more forgiving. You have only one layer of dough, flat on a sheet, filled, then the edges turned up. It is rustic, lovely to look at, and dessert can be made in…
Share this:
Dark Chocolate Covered Orange Peels
My granddaughter, Jaina, and I make these every year at Christmastime, and we give them for gifts. I think she likes the idea of using orange peels that would normally go in the compost pile! They take a little fuss, but it is not difficult and require little in the way of ingredients. When we…
Share this:
Aunt Jeanette’s Luscious Lemon Tart
This tart is all about the lemon, so don’t be shy! Anyone who knows me, knows I love lemons! To me, my idea of lemonade is freshy squeezed lemon juice and water, that’s it! I was delighted when I realized that all three of my grandchildren loved to suck on raw lemons since they were…
Share this:
Apple Purses in Buttered Cider Rum Sauce
Did you pick too many apples? Our wonderful apple season is in full swing, and after a delightful trip to the orchard this week, apple dishes began to dance around in my head as I stared at my abundant haul. The weather was sunny but crisp, definitely fall air. The leaf peepers were out in…
Share this:
Chilled Strawberry and Red Wine Soup
This is vibrant, simple, delicious, and make ahead. Who could ask for more from the last of the Autumn strawberries? My friend Ray gave me this recipe many years ago, and it always makes an appearance in our house along with the local strawberries. We often served this soup at high summer for a brunch…
Share this:
Lemony Summer Squash Cake
You could also call this a Secret Ingredient Cake because no one would guess what is hidden inside. I got the idea for this recipe because of a wonderful chocolate zucchini squash cake recipe my friend Catherine gave me a few years ago. It was a chocolate amazement that I have written about both here…
