We’ve had a bit of a reprieve from the Canadian wildfire haze the last two days and what a relief. Whether from fires in Canada or our western states, air quality is on alert far and wide, and I don’t see it getting better any time soon, unfortunately. Our hay is on the ground drying…
Category: Vegetables
Hummus and veggies for lunch again? Stop yawning, I will make it a little more fun.
It’s a good day when your roses start blooming. Rosa rugosa, a little late this year but still the first to show up for the show, is her usual fragrant and beautiful self. This is a rose you must stop and smell, it will lure you, calm you down. The original wild rugosa from Japan,…
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Once in a while in a big blue moon…
On this day, we are all living under a ‘blue moon,’ which means it is the second full moon in the calendar month. When we speak of a blue moon, we are generally referring to something rare, in this case, an event that happens every two or three years. There won’t be another one until…
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It’s asparagus season, so let’s celebrate with brunch!
May. Some say it’s a perfect time to live in Vermont. All the months and seasons have their own charm, but I agree that there really is something special about the month of May. In our family, it begins with birthdays. My mom, sister, and one of my brothers were all born in May, spread…
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A little sweet, a little sour, life is all about balance.
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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Do cabbages bloom? Not as well as an onion, but yes, and they are delicious with a special sauce.
Spring has been slow to arrive this year, but we are undeniably here. This week, ice out at Joe’s Pond, the definitive sign we are well into Vermont spring, happened at 6:21 a.m. on Thursday. The lottery ($1 a ticket) draws contestants from all over the world, and serves as a good fundraiser for the…
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Is it spring or still winter? Probably both, but we know for sure it’s mud season.
It’s snowing. We are well into April and it’s snowing. Poor man’s fertilizer is what they called it when I was growing up; that little cover of snow just when things are looking like winter is done. It only lasts a day, the warmer ground and air temperatures see to that, and usually we are…
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Who doesn’t love corn, beets & cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day? You heard right, I did say beets.
My father’s side of the family contributed the Irish genes to my DNA, and I’m sure that’s why I’ve always been drawn to that beautiful island. When I was growing up, all I knew about Irish cuisine was potatoes, soda bread, colcannon, and hearty stews, of course made with potatoes and red meat. Potatoes were…
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Get out of the house, then come home to something good to eat.
We’ve turned the corner and I smell spring in the air, at least some days. There’s still a lot of snow and ice to melt, but our driveway is clear and we’ve had some above-freezing days with blue skies to lighten our hearts. Next week, it’s projected a day or two in the high 60s,…
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Let’s match the color of our dinner to the sunrise.
It’s white outside. Really white. Our trees are white, our ground is white, our roofs are white, and so are our roads. Our snowbanks are still growing, and this week’s storm may have been beautiful to behold, but at this time of year, not entirely welcome except by the kids who discovered it was marvelous…
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A lion, oysters, and some vibrant chestnuts? Voila! Dinner!
I’m easily distracted this time of year. Inside a little more than I would like, outside it is mostly cold with a bitter wind, but we’ve had a break in the weather with above freezing temperatures, blue skies, and lots of sunshine. My solar panels are earning their keep. Staying put, for now But there’s…
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Too snowy to get to the grill? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
On Christmas Eve this year, my son was outside at the grill, shorts and t-shirt clad, as gentle snow fell all around him. Undaunted, a native Vermonter is made of cold hardy stuff; he expertly grilled the steaks for the meat eaters, and they were delighted. At least he had shoes on so I didn’t…
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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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What to cook when your fingers are frozen and you fall asleep by the fire.
Well, they had thawed out by the time I actually started cooking. It’s been cold. Winter is here, and temperatures have been unseasonably lower than usual, just 1 degree F. when I woke up yesterday, certainly more frigid than recent years in early December. Time to go to the fair So, what do hearty Vermonters…
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What to pair with the grey early December landscape in New England? Color! We need some vibrant color!
November may be over, but the grey skies and landscapes remain, and our days continue to dwindle to what seems like precious few hours of light. Today is the meteorological beginning of winter, the three coldest months of the calendar year. We always question if we are ready for it, but it definitely is an…
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What’s that lovely aroma? Certainly, it’s not cabbage braising, right?
Oh, we knew what was coming for dinner the moment we stepped through the door after school. Cabbage. Cabbage braised for an hour until all the life was let from it. Cabbage, with its distinctive aroma that lingered, and lingered. Oh the memories! Little ways around it Mother made it edible by adding a drizzle…
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Monsters under your bed? No, just some friendly winter squash.
When the seasons turn in New England, it happens all at once, and we’ve definitely got winter knocking on our door right now! While I’m still looking at green grass, most of the leaves have fallen, and today they are calling for sleet. Shivers. I just lit the fireplace, and the dogs might not get…
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Let’s create a dip and make up a name! It would be unique, memorable, unless someone else beat me to it.
Would you like some edamole with your corn chips? We do it all the time, make a mash up of two dishes and rename it. Like a pizza filling stuffed quesadilla becomes a pizzadilla, or a crescent dough doughnut becomes a cronut. Sometimes we just refer to it within our family because it’s a bit…
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Please don’t be bitter; there’s always a way to sweeten up life, and beautiful vegetables, too!
Let’s start with radicchio! Add a little sweet, a little sour, and you’re there! All’s right in the world. We seem to keep drifting between late summer and fall, bright blues skies and finally some rain. Today, I took a walk with the dogs without a sweater, even though I woke up in the morning…
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Autumn arrives, with three beautiful sisters at its side!
And before you know it, fall slips in between the blasting heat and threatening frost. She’s that quick, and always armed with a few tricks up her colorful sleeve. One day shorts and sandals, the next, sweaters and frantic picking of the remaining tomatoes in the garden. Today, we finally have blessed rain to help…
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Pasta on a rainy night? Perfect! And we’ll add some autumn ‘Squash Sauce’ to keep it interesting.
Nutty whole wheat pasta. A creamy sauce made of sweet delicata squash. Some savories, and greens from the garden. A comforting dish for a rainy night. It finally rained. Not the longest rain ever, and certainly nothing to cause the flood-damaged to worry, but a sweet summer rain that sounded like music of the angels…
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Let’s make this easy: One pan or dish, no recipe. Are you with me?
We could call the The Season of Ease. At this time of year, we have vegetables of every possible type, sometimes in great abundance, and dinner is easy. When my kids were small and I relied heavily on my garden, supper in the summer was often a collection of whatever vegetables were in abundance on…
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How to make quinoa taste delicious!
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,…
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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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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…
