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Archive for April, 2011

Winter squash keeps so well over the (duh) winter season that I am still using very well preserved squashes that have been mellowing in my (cold) basement since November. I’m astonished at how well they’ve survived, particularly the very large green Hubbard squash that I just roasted. At the cusp of the seasons, the combination [...]

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Candied violets are such a Victorian conceit, sweet little nuggets that deserve to be ever so sweetly and delicately placed on little cakes or lemon tarts. I couldn’t resist exploring my lawn this spring, having already made dandelion salads, dandelion jelly and violet jelly, all absolutely delicious dishes free for the foraging. It turns out [...]

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What a coincidence, the  week of the Royal Wedding. A perfect combination of tradition and today’s idea  of  the environment. Violet jelly: I transformed sprightly flowers into a glistening substance with a jewel-like violet-magenta color, and an incomparable honey-like flavor of lush flowers, subtle, slightly sweet.  Astonishing, actually. The just-picked flowers are gently shaken in [...]

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I love free stuff. Think about everything that’s free to the gardener: rainwater, sun, breeze, soil, seeds, and weeds. We’re so lucky. Even many of the plants thought to be weeds are edible. I weeded my garden of chickweed and made dinner. Lambs lettuce will be coming along soon, and purslane. Not to mention ramps [...]

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Early in the season, when the dandelions first arrive to take over our lawn, we can weed and feed at the same time. Actually “lawn” stands for a patch of green under a great big black walnut tree between our house and the street. There is some grass in the mix, but we affectionately think [...]

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Alternative Easter Basket

Happy Easter! Look what the Easter Bunny brought us: mixed salad greens growing in a great big pot of soil.  Ready to “cut and come again,” this will last for quite a while, at least until the greens in our garden are ready to harvest.  And yes, we also had jelly beans and chocolate eggs.

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It’s still mango madness at our local organic produce store where I went to search for end-of-season organic kumquats.  Lovely yellow “champagne” mangos in great stacks. So tempting. I was planning on poaching kumquats in the heavy syrup left over from the spiced mangos that I canned last week and was considering a mango chutney [...]

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Savory corn sticks are perfect little accompaniments to soup and chowder, and also make good breakfast bread served with tangy jam. I’ve been experimenting with dried dill weed and seed for the Spice Rack Challenge, with less success than snipped fresh dill, which is readily available (even organic) all year round. I have my own [...]

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The Spice Rack Challenge this month features dill, in honor of the coming spring season. The challenge in general is supposed to focus on dried ingredients. However, I like dill as an herb only in its fresh form but appreciate its dried seeds as a spice. Seasonings are often lumped together colloquially as “spice,” but [...]

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I know the dark days are over when I can pick fresh mint from my garden to garnish the ice cream made from the last jar of vanilla peaches in the pantry. So, for the last course, I thought I’d offer one of the quickest and most clever uses of my pantry stock. Jewel-like jars [...]

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