Yes, it can be done! I wouldn’t steer you wrong. The first time I made quinoa, I remember not liking it very much. It tasted bitter to me, with a funny off taste. It’s such a nutritious seed, a complete protein with all the essential amino acids present, so for the vegetarians in the family,…
Category: Side Dishes
Surprise! Thirty-seven pounds of summer squash. Free for the taking. Would you like some?
I made a little mistake when we set out for vacation last week. Although I asked my dear niece, who was kindly house and dog sitting, to water the garden on our absence, I forgot to ask her to pick any summer squash that were ready. They do grow quickly this time of year, and…
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Just a little bump in the road, but good food makes it better.
Life certainly hands us many lemons along the way. Luckily, it’s one of my favorite flavors, sourness and all. My little glitch this week was a mishap in my kitchen that dislocated my shoulder. Don’t ask me how it happened, it is outrageously silly, and I get absolutely no sympathy when I tell the story….
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Anyone care for a little summer sunshine in a bowl?
It was hot and I had a hankering for a chilled gazpacho, one of my favorite summer lunches. I usually make a half gallon of it at a time, and we enjoy it throughout the heat wave. However, the beautiful field tomatoes are not ripe here yet in any abundance, so I decided to give…
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How to tame a silly garden serpent!
They are everywhere this time of year in the north. Garlic scapes. They look like little serpents curling out of their baskets, but although they are strange to behold, the good news, is they are delicious and useful in many a dish with a subtle garlic flavor and lovey texture. The garlic tries hard to…
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Add a little snap to your supper? Sounds good, horseradish, please.
Well it’s a hot one! This week’s heat wave has sent many a New Englander and beyond to the lake or into the house for refuge as temperatures hovered in the extremely humid and high nineties, kissing 100 with the heat index. This is not the time for prolonged meal prep, especially when even the…
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With a little ginger, some sesame, all is right in the world. Toss in scallions, and the trio is complete.
It’s a sauce, a dressing, a topping, and no matter how you use it, you’ll go back for more. Sesame, ginger, scallions. A trio that often travels together around the world. We love the flavor of each separately, but combined their individuality is transformed. Add garlic, and all is right in that world. There isn’t…
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A different take on peas and carrots? We’ll also add some spice and tantalizing greens to keep mother happy.
Last week was the 100th anniversary of my mother’s birth, definitely a time to pause in thought. The month of May is always filled with memories of my family. Not only was it the month of my mother’s birthday, but also my sister’s and youngest brother’s birthdays, a favorite aunt, Mother’s Day, and the month if…
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Finally, spring delights are on the way, even the weeds!
Spring has been a long time coming this year. We’ve had lots of rain, few blue-sky days, cold temperatures, and slow to blossom fruit trees. The latter is probably a good thing since there was a frost in some areas last week. Frost during blossom time is not a good thing! But the steady drizzle…
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If your parsnips are still in the ground, methinks it’s time to dig them up!
Although we think of parsnips as mostly an autumn crop and enjoy them all winter, when I was growing up, most gardeners left the bulk of these biennials in the ground until spring so they would sweeten during their winter’s rest. First or last, it doesn’t matter Technically, spring-dug parsnips are not the first crop…
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The calendar says it’s time for spring cleaning, so let’s be done with all those gnarly stored vegetables. I’ve a few tricks in mind.
Spring cleaning. It was a ritual in our house growing up. Mother would choose a perfect weekend in late April or early May, and turn the house inside out, from top to bottom. No surface was spared scrubbing and polishing. Linens on the line The washing machine did not stop all day long. Curtains were…
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Let’s make a big pot of tasty chili, but first, we’ll break a few rules!
Beans or no beans? Meat or no meat? This four bean mushroom chili is all good, and feeds a crowd! It’s’ spring break time for many schools, and my eldest granddaughter arrived this weekend with several of her friends to celebrate their time off. It’s always such a pleasure to have them around, and my…
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A Bloody Plate even a Vegan will Love!
Blood Oranges are in season, let’s have fun with them! This is definitely a mid-February recipe, using beautiful root vegetables from our local farms, as well as the delightful citrus from the south that brightens up wintertime in all parts of the country. We need all the color we can get right now. Wake up…
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Corn meal mush you ask? It sounds funny, but you can spell it ‘polenta’ if you like.
When it all catches up with you, a plate of comfort is just what the doctor ordered! Perhaps Pearl Onions and Mushrooms over Corn Meal Mush? Sometimes we had it for breakfast when I was growing up. Corn meal mush. It is really delightful, especially if drizzled with a bit of real maple syrup or…
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King Mushrooms, a wonderful excuse to make your own hoisin sauce!
King mushrooms are a beautiful thing to behold, those huge mushrooms one finds when wandering through an enchanted forest. Locally grown now! Luckily, you don’t have to go that far to find them as they have become widely available and can often be found at farm stands and co-ops. Also known as King Trumpet or…
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So, should we invite Brussels sprouts to Thanksgiving?
They are big and plump this year, little cabbage-like buds that you either love or hate. Actually, you can feel both ways about Brussels sprouts since so often they are cooked to death to grey mush and smell up the house. That’s the way I had them growing up at my aunt’s house, an unforgettable…
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Let’s review a Spanish cookbook and make tapas tonight for supper!
Our Cookbook Club is back in business! In early 2023, Bernadette from New Classic Recipes started a cookbook review club. We’d review a specific cookbook selected by the group, post a recipe and decide whether (or not) that book deserved space on our (physical or digital) shelves. After a brief pause, we have resumed our…
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Marvelous Miso Mushrooms perk up any meal!
The weather has been all over the place the last month. We finally got a hard freeze, but it was followed by 70-degree F. weather last week which brought all the ticks out of hiding. Then it turned cold again, good to get rid of the ticks we thought, but here we are at 65…
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Roasted Lemon and Garlic Potatoes
Potatoes. I grew up on them. They appeared on our plates most evenings in some form or another because they are also my dad’s favorite. We enjoyed them mashed, boiled, fried, baked, twice-baked, puréed, roasted, and scalloped, and were part of just about every soup, stew, casserole, or pot pie. They were always there, and…
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We often celebrate the unusual in Vermont, including our state vegetable the heirloom Gilfeather Turnip
Trumpet Pasta with Turnips and Mushrooms The official state vegetable in Vermont is the Gilfeather Turnip. A funny name for a simple root that doesn’t call attention to itself, humble in appearance, drab in color, softball sized but sweet and mild in flavor. Its ancestry is muddled, part turnip? Part rutabaga? A hybrid? Mutant? It’s…
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After the frost, the menu changes for the season, let’s start with cabbage and squash.
Roasted Cabbage with Pears & Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Mash We had our first frost last night, or rather a freeze. The cherry tomatoes have finally stopped producing, and only the hardier herbs, fennel, and Swiss chard remain in the kitchen garden unscathed. It was time. The irony is that the weather is turning again,…
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Let’s chase a rainbow, then make a vibrant Autumn Salad from all the colors!
There’s no doubt that Autumn is in full swing here in Vermont. The leaves are at their brilliant best, my backyard is surrounded by red and yellow, and temperatures are dropping, especially after the sun goes down. We still haven’t had a frost, but with the night temperatures in the high 30s and 40s, it…
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Scrap Happy Planet: Leftover Rice could feed the planet!
Once a month, we’re going to look at ways to reduce food waste and keep our planet happier by using all those scraps that often end up in landfills and contribute to our environmental problems. We’ve rolled up our sleeves before to save these resources, and now’s the time to do so again. Sunday or…
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Summer Sidekicks, while they last…
The Autumnal Equinox is almost upon us, but with the temperatures still steamy hot, we’ll hang on to summer a little longer. With the temperatures back in the mid-80s this week, summer has decided to hang on as long as possible this year. While the Autumnal Equinox is on Sunday, the 22nd of September, marking the…
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Love a big bean with lots of flavor? Try Beer and Mustard Braised Romano Beans
It’s such a delight at this time of year to stroll through the local farm stands with all they have to offer. We still have the best of summer, the summer squashes, berries, corn, tomatoes, cukes, greens of every kind, and we have lots of the fall crops coming in as well. Yesterday, I watched…
