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. Then, you decide if the book is worth you…
Category: Vegetables
Finally, we have asparagus! Now, let’s make some mayonnaise.
They’re here, and what a glorious season it is in the north! That first bite of fresh local asparagus is like a gift from the heavens. There are certain vegetables I only eat when they are in season. I’ve learned disappointment is likely to follow if I’m tempted to buy corn on the cob or…
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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…
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When Life Hands You Dandelions, Make a Salad, but Let the Experts Make the Wine
Pest or gift, they live in our memories in so many ways! Long before the peas grow and blossom and fruit, when tomato plants are just inches high, and well before even the radishes are ready to slice, the weeds begin to grow in the garden and lawn. If the weeds happen to be dandelions,…
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Tangy Endive Salad that can take a year to make, or just a few minutes…
A light and refreshing side to those hearty cold weather meals. At this time of year, daylight is precious, the weather chills and we tend toward heartier suppers. Soups, stews, casseroles, all help to warm the body here in the north country. A welcome addition to any winter supper is a side salad that refreshes…
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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…
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Orzo and Radicchio Salad Cups with Honey Lime Dressing
Summertime, and the living is easy, at least a little longer. We love a chilled salad, something packed with flavor that we can enjoy over a few meals without any additional cooking. Pasta salads are always at the top of the list, whether a humble macaroni salad, or colorful pasta primavera. They feed a lot,…
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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….
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After the Beach Salad with Low Fat Herbed Ranch Dressing
We’ve indulged, and now we want goodness that still tastes good. This ranch dressing recipe has no saturated animal fat, but tons of garden-fresh flavor and tang. There are many days when all I crave is a beautiful green salad, especially if we’ve been out of town and eating less healthful than we should. Last…
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How to stuff a sweet Italian
The sweet Italian frying peppers have hit the farm stands and they beg to be used in many different ways. I’m stuffing mine with smoked trout and chèvre for a delightful treat. A recipe often begins life with a flavor combination found in something totally different. I found the most beautiful sweet Italian frying peppers…
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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…
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Scallion and Patty Pancakes
Right about now, you’ve probably got a lot of summer squash to use! Did you plant too many summer squash? Did your neighbor? At this time of year, summer squashes are bountiful so we’re digging out our recipes for ratatouille, roasted vegetables, zucchini bread and cakes, and any number of other dishes to use up…
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Grilled Napa Cabbage with Spicy Avocado Dill Dressing
A simple salad with the delightful high summer flavors of dill and smoke! When I was growing up, my Aunt Jeanette had a marvelous stand of self-sown dill plants by the edge of her garden. Her dill was happily shared with those in the family making pickles or dilly beans this time of year. I…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Ramp and Spring Radish-Top Pesto of Possibilities
Spring is here with great flourish, and we’re celebrating every minute. It’s been a cold spring, so we’ve had to wait a little longer than we’d like for our early seasonal delights. Wild ramps and fiddleheads are now here in abundance, spring-dug parsnips of course, and the first of the seed-planted radishes and their beautiful…
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Baked Tofu with Mustard Cream Succotash and Fregula
Heavenly. Creamy. This dish made with veggies tucked in your freezer is good for you too! The garden is offering up a few chives right now, and this weekend I’ll tuck some lettuce in the cold-frame to at least give the illusion of gardening season starting. The squill is blooming, the daffodils are budding, and…
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Roasted Baby Carrots with Pickled Ginger and Fresh Mint
Everyone in our family likes carrots, and I’ve made them a hundred ways! Here’s 101! This recipe of roasted carrots with a ginger mint topping is one of my favorites. Quick, easy, inexpensive, and you make use of the tops as well as the root, every inch of the healthful vegetable! This recipe was actually…
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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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Swiss Chard with Potatoes and Yellow-Eyed Beans
These New England staples combine for a memorable winter supper that is packed with flavor and nutrition. Our family’s favorite green in the garden when we were growing up was Swiss chard, and it remains one of my personal favorites to this day. In addition to being tasty, it is easy to grow, you can…
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Potatoes with Pesto, Peas, and Wild Rice
How could any dish with potatoes and peas not be delicious? This is my new favorite side dish. First, the centerpiece is potatoes, my desert island food, so no dish could start off better. I’ve used colorful baby potatoes here, but you can use any potato you love, just cut them into bite-sized pieces. This…
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Weeknight Mushroom Tetrazzini
If you like a Tetrazzini, you will love this vegetarian version that is filled with mushroom flavor. There’s a baked version with crispy top as well! Like much of the east coast, we had a beautiful snowfall this week. I love a snow day of cooking or baking, making a big mess in the kitchen…
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Braised Golden Beets and Winter Radishes with Meyer Lemon
We’re deep in winter, and that means not only root vegetables but luscious Meyer lemons as well! Do you like beets? Many people love them, but I have to admit that I’m not a fan of the big fat red beets, perhaps because I had so many as a child. I want to love them,…
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Winter Veggie Stew: A study in orange
This soup is flavorful and warming, and on a cold winter’s night, a welcome supper. It has been grey here in Vermont. Tuesday, we had a bit of sun for a while, but for the most part, the last two weeks have been black and white with a bit of holiday red tossed in. The…
