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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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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So, they are all coming to your house for Thanksgiving this year! Don’t worry, you’ve got it covered.
It’s the Monday before Thanksgiving in the U.S. and you have a houseful coming. All’s calm…for now. I’ve catered many events and gatherings, and learned along the way that anything that can be done beforehand needs to be done beforehand. Here are some tips, look through, save what resonates, forget the rest! I usually have the menu…
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Imagine my surprise! The New Vintage Kitchen featured by Word Press.
First of all, thank you Sheryl from “A Hundred Years Ago” for calling to my attention to the fact that WordPress had featured not only her lovely food site, but mine as well under their “11 Delicious Food Blog Examples” this week. Could have knocked me over with a feather! I am #11 on the…
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Late summer rerun: Need to use up all those zucchini? Never fear, Catherine’s magic chocolate cake to the rescue.
It’s a stealth cake! No one will guess there is an entire quart of shredded zucchini in this moist, deep chocolate dessert. This is a rerun of one of my popular posts from 2019. Definitely worth a second look. This is the time of year when you can find some remarkable bargains at the farm…
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Time to pause, the kettle is on. Milk or lemon?
A perfect cup of tea is whatever you want it to be! I’ve just put the kettle on for my afternoon cup of tea, and often just this small act will bring back memories, from long ago and far away, and not so long ago as well. One of the most enjoyable parts of running our small…
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Scrap Happy Planet: Fromage Fort, from refrigerator bits to star of the party!
Let’s use our kitchen scraps to create better, more flavorful meals, and help in our own little ways to cut down on food waste. Once a month, we’ll offer some little tips on using up those items that normally go in the compost bucket or trash stream. It always starts with us. You rummage through…
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Artichokes with Sunday Seafood Salad
A lovely summer salad, and we’ve got a delightful vegan alternative as well! One of the women in my life who taught me a lot about cooking, and entertaining, was my father-in-law’s second wife Pat. She was an incredible chef, owning two very popular restaurants in the heart of ski country in southern Vermont –…
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Summer Cantaloupe Soup, or is that a Muskmelon?
We wait for them all year, and they are well worth the patience. It’s a pleasure indeed when we pick up that first heavy cantaloupe of the season! They always feel twice as heavy as they should be, and a little whiff at the stem end gives you a preview of what is to come….
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Cookbook Confidential: The Moosewood Cookbook, Gado Gado, then and now
How time flies when you are enjoying great recipes! 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, and review them….
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If you don’t like the weather…
In New England, we’re told if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute and it will change. This is quite often true! So let’s just cook. In the past week, we’ve gone from temperatures below zero to shirt-sleeve weather. We’ve had snow, rain, sunshine, sleet, mud, and a howling wind storm. Yesterday morning I…
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Toasted Jack O’ Lantern Seeds
Pumpkin seeds! We have a ton when we carve a Jack O’ Lantern. Don’t throw them away, we can turn them into a delicious snack! You don’t want to waste those delicious and nutritious seeds! It’s so much fun to take those guts, separate the seeds, and make a little treat for after Halloween. But…
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New England Haddock (or tofu) in Curry Sauce served with Autumn Delights!
A little spicy, a little sweet, and a lot of the flavor of New England, and you can easily swap out the fish for tofu! October! This year most of the fall foliage turned a little early, but here, by the Connecticut River, we’re just catching up. What a vibrant, colorful year it has been!…
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Corn and Camembert Frittata with Red Pepper Sauce
You can put just about anything in a frittata, from leftovers to carefully planned ingredients. Sometimes the combination turns out just right! After a physically distant (I use that term because we are not really distant socially, just physically!) mini-dinner party for four last weekend, I had a few choice foods leftover: some Camembert, corn…
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Buttons and Bows
Button mushrooms and bow-tie pasta combine with fresh from the garden vegetables for a delightful summer salad. I remember my Mom fussing about in our kitchen and singing a silly little song about Buttons and Bows and telling me that although she liked the song it was stuck in her head and she was singing…
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Lilac Syrup
Let’s eat the flowers! Lilac season is glorious, though fleeting. I look forward to these voluptuous May blossoms with great anticipation each year. With lots of old-fashioned lilacs on my property, I know I will fill my vases every day, and the scent will fill my lungs with spring. After a long winter and cold,…
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Fregola Salad with Asparagus and Artichokes
The flavorful dressing in this fregola pasta salad lends itself to the vibrant spring asparagus. Once asparagus season starts, I’m happy! It’s not quite here yet locally, but I couldn’t wait, and used the last of the frozen asparagus in one of my favorite salads to console myself after the appearance of more snow flurries…
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Favorite Pantry Pasta
Coronavirus aside, it’s always a good idea to have a few easy, delicious recipes that use all or mostly pantry ingredients. This is one of my favorite pasta recipes. It is easy, fast, did I say easy? And it’s absolutely satisfying. Vermont is closed. The schools are closed. The restaurants and bars, library, town offices,…
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You won’t miss the dairy in this almost traditional Irish Soda Bread!
This classic quick bread is a must for St. Patrick’s Day, or any day when you need a little comfort baking that is also quick. With dairy-challenged folks in my family, a quick bread that has been adapted to use plant-based products is a welcome site, especially if it is pretty to look at! I’ve…
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Good Morning Sunshine
Imagine my surprise! I woke up this morning and had a lovely surprise when Angela at Hashtag Retired https://hashtagretired.com nominated me for a Sunshine Blogger Award! Many thanks to you Angela, it is such a nice feeling to know that others appreciate and follow one’s work! I enjoy your blog, and look forward to your…
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321 Quote Me: Food for Thought
Hello All! I have been tagged by Ribana at Popsicle Society for this amazing: 321 Quote Me with the topic Food For Thought! 321 Quote Me was created by Rory at A Guy Called Bloke Once a week, Rory will pick a random topic, post two quotes on that topic and tag 3 bloggers, who in…
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Three Cabbage Carnival Salad
It is kind of a slaw, kind of a cabbage salad, it’s full of color, and it feeds a crowd! It is summer cookout time, and we gather together, bringing food and conversation to the table. If I’m asked to bring a salad, I like to stray from the old standby recipes of potato salad,…
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Shrimp Stuffed Avocados
Serving this salad in little avocado boats adds a little bit of festive to a summer dinner. When I was growing up, I doubt I ever saw an avocado. Now, there’s hardly a day when I don’t find one on my plate in some form from breakfast to party appetizer. They are everywhere! My mother-in-law…
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Cauliflower & Potato Salad
Less carbs and calories than the classic, but with the traditional summer flavor. I loved my mother’s potato salad. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it, and she made it slightly different each time, but she always included potatoes, eggs, onion, mayonnaise, and chives. Sometimes she added peas, fresh parsley, scallions, but usually…
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Cabbage and Carrots With Caraway
Under pressure, this nutritional side dish is made quickly (and without the aroma penetrating the entire house all day) Cabbage is a cheap New England staple vegetable. In the autumn, you can find heads larger than your own at the farm stands for little money, and the winter co-ops and CSAs offer these local treasures…
