Brown Rice Risotto with Peas and Potatoes

A celebration of the beautiful spring pea, with a healthful twist on my regular recipe, and full of flavor! When the peas start coming fast and furious, we’re all happy. Few vegetables are more perfect and versatile as the pea, and none more fleeting in its season, all the more reason to cherish. The sugar…

Meyer Lemon and Herb Hummus with Confit Garlic

So many possibilities! What do you like? Anyone who has been to my kitchen knows there is always a bowl of hummus in my refrigerator. It is often lunch, a snack, sometimes even breakfast or supper. We have it on a salad, offered up with cucumbers or endive leaves, smeared on rye crackers, or dressed…

Coaxing Spring one Root at a Time

Spring turnips and radishes are the flavors of right now.  It has been chilly this week, but we’ve had some breaks of sunshine in the spring rains. These blessed showers brought the green grass, and the trees are starting to leaf out as well. Perfect weather for the daffodils and tulips. It does the heart…

A Spring Salad of Three Peas and Some Pods

Peas are the star of this delightful spring salad, but the Meyer Lemon and Ginger Vinaigrette is one you’ll surely use again! A large salad can really set the tone for a holiday meal, especially if it is one that is a little different and makes its own statement of the season. Spring salads can…

New England Stewed Yellow-Eyed Beans with Greens

      This New England classic tastes like no other bean, and can be slow cooked all day on the stove, in the oven, or in a slow cooker. However, you can make them in a fraction of the time in a pressure cooker, or multi-cookers. My mother was known for her baked beans, a long-baked…

Quick Cod Curry with Mushrooms

A colorful weeknight dish that takes little time but packs tons of flavor! We didn’t eat a lot of curry in our house when I was growing up. Typical old time New Englander, my father liked things on the plain side, but my mom loved spices and heat. Dad usually won the battle, telling my…

Radish & Sesame Winter Salad

There’s sesame in three ways in this lovely salad! After the holidays are over, all I want to eat is salads and light meals. My body has long since told me to behave, and I certainly listen as I turn the page on the calendar. While we try to keep things fairly healthy even during…

Stir-Fried Tempeh with Peppers and Onions

This nutritious ingredient is all about possibilities! You’ll always find a package of tempeh and one of tofu in my refrigerator. They are stable for quite a while, and make for a really quick weeknight meal when somehow the day has gotten away from the someone who shops and going to the market ended up…

Last corn? Time for a classic corn chowder

In New England, we measure the seasons by the crops, and this is one of the best! When Corn Season is upon us, we can’t wait to taste that wonderful sweet first bite. Often, the best flavor is usually not found at the beginning of the season, but a few weeks in. But this year,…

Swiss Chard with Black Beans and Local Corn

Greens and beans and lots of local corn to keep it interesting! Summer is definitely winding down! I spotted some pumpkins and fall radishes at the farm stand today, and even though it was a humid 84 degrees, those signs reminded me that the change of season is on its way. After the heat and…

One last zucchini recipe for the season, no apologies…

We’ve enjoyed them every which way we can, and still they grow with glee. This recipe is just for fun.  Ever since my own children were little, we made zucchini boats at this time of year. They enjoyed making them as much as eating them, and we’d stuff all kinds of extras in the little…

A little fire, a little smoke, and a few pretty vegetables

Campfire Chioggia Beets with Summer Vegetables, Garlic, and Lemon features a classic technique with a little lively added! Our camping trips with my parents always centered on playing in the water and enjoying the food. When we weren’t boating or eating, it seems like we were talking about what we were going to eat next….

Baked Grouper with Herbs over Polenta

A half hour dish that tastes like a lot of fussing! I love making a little fuss on Friday nights, a celebration of the beginning of the weekend! My sister usually comes over, sometimes we invite a couple of friends too. While it is great to begin with a feast, sometimes we’re a little tired…

New Potatoes and Green Beans with Ginger and Mint

Potatoes with ginger? Green beans with mint? Both combined, along with garlic and sesame oil? Why not? July was always rob-the-potato-hills time in our garden growing up. Dad was the vegetable gardener and potatoes were his favorite to grow. He loved the whole process from planting the seed potatoes, hilling them up, and harvesting. About…

Parsley and Parmesan Broth with Crabmeat Salad

Full of flavor, and we didn’t waste a thing! One of the joys of having an accomplished chef and restauranteur for a mother-in-law was the abundance of knowledge of little techniques along the way from her, often just by eating what she served. It was always incredible, always memorable, and never skimped on calories, carbs,…

Tomato and Fennel Summer Salad

Here come the tomatoes, and my first fennel! I picked my first cherry tomatoes from my plants this week, and this is what really marks summer’s beginning to me. Of course, the farm stands are full of beautiful heirloom fruits of many colors, tempting me into making Salad Caprese with local fresh mozzarella, Bruschetta with…

Sea Scallops and Baby Potatoes in Purgatory

Any time of day, this flavorful dish is a crowd pleaser! We love eggs in purgatory, the Italian version of shakshuka, a spicy tomato sauce in which eggs are simmered. It is a delicious breakfast, brunch, or supper dish, that is popular around the world.  Let’s make a swap! But for a different take on…

Celebrate the Season with a Luscious Lighter Strawberries Romanoff

This is a much lighter version of the old standby, with all the flavor and beauty. Strawberries are our first fruit of the season, and we wait all year for these beautiful little gems. Sweet, sometimes with a tart edge, red through and through, there is something magical about the aroma of macerated strawberries when…

Leek, Asparagus, and Fennel Soup

Served hot or chilled, this soup is the flavor of Asparagus Season! Asparagus season is fleeting here in the Northeast, but we celebrate it with great flair. There are even asparagus festivals to celebrate this vegetable with every possible cooking method! Raw, baked, roasted, boiled, braised, sautéed, steamed, stir-fried, and grilled, any way you cook…

A Spring Fling! Roasted Cod and Sugar Snaps with Rhubarb Sauce

Spring treasurers unite for a memorable meal! Spring in Vermont means lots of delicious happenings, including vibrant red rhubarb, and delectable sugar snap peas bursting with freshness. Combine these wonderful ingredients with locally grown shiitake mushrooms and sweet Atlantic cod, and you’ve got a winning dish. Not for everyone Rhubarb is one of my favorites,…

New England Steamer Clam Chowder with Fennel

We call it chowdah, a regional staple with the flavor of the sea.  A friend of mine asked me for a clam chowder recipe recently, and I told her to check my blog. However, there wasn’t one there! I checked my family cookbook, and I didn’t include one there either, lots of other chowdahs, but…