Strawberries, chocolate, hazelnut, and a hint of orange make this a memorable breakfast. My guests at the inn always loved crêpes, any kind of crêpe, sweet or savory. When it is strawberry season, and they are starting their annual bounty so nothing else will do, of course. It’s a show-off kind of breakfast that is remarkably…
Rhubarb and Jalapeño Marmalade
Nothing says Spring like the arrival of rhubarb! My granddaughter brought be an abundant bouquet of freshly pulled rhubarb this week. It was magnificent! The beautiful, ruby stalks are frequently paired with strawberries, also in season at the same time, and usually in a sweet application –– strawberry rhubarb pie or crisp, muffins, coffee cake,…
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Sweet and Spicy Broccoli and Pea Salad
Not quite Mom’s Broccoli Salad, this one’s a little sweet, a little sour, a little spicy, and a lot flavorful! My mom used to make a broccoli salad in the summer that included a mayonnaise dressing, lots of bacon, apple, walnuts, and purple onions. Everyone loved it, but I thought it might be nice to…
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Ramp, Morel Mushroom, and Potato Chowder
This is the taste of the season, welcome on the chilly nights of spring. But if you have a heat wave, you can also eat this soup chilled. As a New Englander, I love a chowder. But at this time of year, I’m not thinking clams or corn, but the beautiful greens of spring. Greens,…
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Spring Pea and Asparagus Salad with Radish Top Dressing
If you love peas, you’ll love this salad! Spring means the return of fresh, local green things! Fiddleheads, ramps, spring lettuces, radishes, pea shoots, and the much-anticipated asparagus. How we love those first spears, pulled fresh from the earth! There will be grilled and steamed asparagus, asparagus soup, asparagus in stir fries and salads, served…
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Cod with Roasted Vegetables, Olives, and Marinara Sauce
This is a quick and simple recipe that is weeknight easy or Sunday dinner delicious, in fact, we had it this weekend! Everyone in the family loves this. When you start with potatoes and onions, add some zucchini, some lovely herbs, then offer up the marinara and fresh cod, how could you not have a…
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Tempting Trio of Spring Treasures
Could there be anything more perfect than finding wild fiddlehead ferns, ramps, and asparagus all in the same day? The blossoms on the trees are just popping out in lacy, pale green wonder. The grass in the fields is beyond green as well, and the odd freshly tilled field scents the air with earth and…
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Lemon “Half a Pound” Cake with White Chocolate Frosting
Our family loves anything lemon! The more lemon the better. So, a birthday cake for my granddaughter this week featured lemon in several ways! I have often turned my mother’s pound cake recipe into a lemon pound cake, so delicious, but it does make a lot. For smaller gatherings, a half a recipe makes a…
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Stuffed Swiss Chard
It’s the end of our Winter CSA, but we still have lots of veggies to use! It is the end of our winter CSA, so I stocked up on a few favorites to tide us over until the farm stands open and the season begins anew with radishes and lettuces from our fields, plus a…
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Shrimp and Arugula over Jasmine Rice
A spicy scampi-type dish that you can also make vegetarian. The base of this dish is a flavorful rice, topped with either shrimp or tofu which have marinated in a lemony, garlic, and paprika bath. It has a lot of the flavor of shrimp scampi, with the rice holding its own here. It is easiest…
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Haddock Quenelles in Saffron Fish Broth
Light, fluffy dumplings swimming in a flavorful pool of delight, inspired by a character from the past. Dec. 31, 1985, was memorable on several counts. First of all, I made a lavish New Year’s Eve feast inspired by the vintage cookbook “Francatelli’s Modern Cook” 1887, a revision of earlier editions. I had picked this up for…
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Spring Parsnip and Leeks Au Gratin
It is a happy day the first time we see local spring-dug parsnips for sale! Sometimes you find them at the co-ops, a neighbor might bring you a few, but more often you’ll see a pick-up truck at a parking area on the side of the road. Usually, the same person year after year, and he…
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Oatmeal Rum Raisin Bread
Mostly savory with a touch of sweetness from the raisins, this humble little loaf began its life in 1939. Thumbing through an old cookbook from 1939 “The New England Yankee Cookbook” I came across an oatmeal bread recipe, simple in ingredients, and it made four loaves! Although I love my usual oatmeal bread (recipe here)…
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Broiled Pink Grapefruit with Brandied Cherries
This recipe is simple to put together, and was one of the most popular starters at the inn in citrus season. We don’t often think of eating grapefruit cooked, but the quick visit under the broiler both softens and sweetens the fruit. The cherry flavor is a great companion. For my birthday recently, my niece…
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Mushroom and Miso Ramen Bowl of Delights!
Fresh and dried mushrooms make this soup flavorful and packed with nutrients. Mushroom soup is earthy and satisfying. Miso soup is also filled with great flavor and comfort. Combined, I think they are delightful together, really complex in flavor, and satisfying to the bone! Bunapi shimeji mushrooms are also called beech mushrooms because they live…
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Irish Cream Cheesecake, dairy free
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Although the March Winds are blowing and the temperatures below freezing, we had several glorious days last week where it felt like spring and we could enjoy being outside in our shirtsleeves. So fleeting these delights! Once I heard the forecast of possible 60 degrees, it took me about one minute…
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Roasted Carrots and Blood Oranges
The secret ingredient? Kombucha! When I head to the market, especially these days, I try to have a list or at least a pretty good idea of what meals I am shopping for, a plan! However, sometimes we find something beautiful and need a little course correction. I was looking for some fresh broccoli, and…
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Cherry Tomatoes and Grilled Artichokes over Couscous
A quick meal that is filled with flavor and nutrition! I love sauces made from cherry tomatoes. They are easy to make, sweet and delicious, and taste quite a bit different than their larger cousins. When shopping this week, I found some beautiful yellow and red cherry tomatoes, stems and all, and they just begged…
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A Celebration of Maple Sugar Season
It’s our state tree, our state flavor, and this time of year is it also our first crop. The sap is running! We love hearing those words. Our first crop of the year in Vermont is maple! It is also our first real evidence of spring in this cold climate. When I hear that the…
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Jacob’s Cattle Beans with Pasta and Greens
I love a bowl of beans! We grew up with Mom’s baked beans, a staple side at every family gathering, and often a weeknight supper. We also loved her creamy stewed yellow-eyed beans, cooked with salt-pork and served with milk to add an even creamier finish. I’ve cooked just about every bean I could find…
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Free chairs, romance novels, fabric scraps, and sourdough starter
New Englanders are known for our thrift, which is sometimes an almost obsessive need to reuse and recycle. That’s a good thing! I drove to the market recently and passed by a house with a chair on the lawn with a “FREE” sign sitting on its threadbare cushion. It was not an unusual site as…
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Baked Nantucket Bay Scallops
A quick and easy recipe that lets the flavor of these beautiful scallops shine through. I have been scallop greedy this winter. Some years, New England bay scallops, especially Nantuckets, are hard to find or really expensive because they truly are rigidly protected and the absolute best in the world. They were still expensive this…
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Apple, Onion, and Cheese Party Sandwich
A little sweet, a little savory, and full of flavor, this sandwich can please a crowd and yes, you can make it vegan quite easily. After this long entertainment drought, I’m certainly looking forward to having family and friends over, and it’s never too early to plan for a party. While a big gathering is…
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Refrigerator Vegetable Stew
With just a little hint of the warmth of Provence, this simple vegetarian stew is quick to put together and will make your house warm and inviting while it simmers. This has been a winter of cold and grey, with frequent snows and rains or sleets. Lots of time to stay in the house, light…
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Seared Sesame Tuna and Swiss Chard
A warm salad, starter, or light lunch, this dish is filled with flavor and texture. This dish is really simple and quick, taking just a few minutes in the kitchen from start to finish. It is delicious warm or at room temperature. The dressing makes the dish, and you can use it on any fish…
