Chive Blossom Vinegar

A long row of magenta blossoms gently swaying in the breeze welcomes us back to the CSA in springtime. Like so many puffy prom dresses or an infinite supply of pom-poms, the blossoms have a kind of festive air, dominating the thin reedy stalks of the chive plant.  Pick a bunch for a bud vase, [...]

Read Full Post »

Seasonal Tart: Spinach, Dill and Ricotta

I love an excess of a single ingredient that allows me to experiment. Watch what you wish for! Opening day of our CSA season brought 4 pounds of spinach and 8 large heads of lettuce into the kitchen, not to mention a pound of baby bok choy and ½ pound of arugula. All those greens [...]

Read Full Post »

Spring Spinach and Herb Gnocchi

The sweet spinach of spring heralds a growing season of bountiful greens. It is the time of year when the herbs are most tender too so the pleasing combination of spinach and herbs is a natural result. Chopped and stirred into risotto, or just rice, or here, made into plump gnocchi, the greens embody the [...]

Read Full Post »

Meyer Lemon Marmalade with Tarragon

This marmalade bridges winter and spring by combining the last citrus with the first fresh herbs.  Meyer lemons are sweeter and more delicate than standard lemons and therefore lend themselves to a lighter touch. And licorice-like tarragon imparts a grassy freshness that counteracts the sugar. My basic recipe for lemon marmalade is one of the [...]

Read Full Post »

Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies

A Table in the Tarn, written by Orlando Murrin, is the story of two guys who left London to take up residency in an old manor house in Southwest France, turning the stately building into a charming bed-and-breakfast that is apparently a gastronomic destination.  Part memoir and part how-to, the book contains numerous terrific recipes, [...]

Read Full Post »

Winter Squash Risotto with Sage

Risotto is one of the ultimate comfort foods in our house. A little leftover winter squash and turkey stock from the Thanksgiving bird were transformed into a delicious dish, satisfying enough to constitute an entire meal with just a salad of bitter greens and pears on the side.  My typical proportions for risotto are ¼ [...]

Read Full Post »

Waste Not Want Not – Getting the Most from Your Food: Apple Jelly with Thanksgiving Herbs or Spices

After peeling and coring eight organically grown apples for a Thanksgiving pie and sprinkling the slices with the juice of a fresh lemon to keep them from browning, I had a pile of leftovers that could have gone into the garbage can or the compost heap, but why? They make the perfect combination for jelly. [...]

Read Full Post »

Preserving Herbs Part 9: Salt Rubs – Rosemary-Sage and Celery

Now that the local growing season is winding down, I am harvesting the remaining herbs that won’t survive the winter and preserving them. Preserving herbs is an ongoing process all summer and fall, especially since the tender ones like basil are gone, and other like mint are past their most aromatic stages. In the 6 [...]

Read Full Post »

Preserving Herbs Part 8: Making Herb Tea

I have had a love affair with lemon verbena for months thanks to a bumper crop at our CSA. At the end of the season, just before the first frost, I harvested a few bunches and hung them upside down in a dark dry spot. When thoroughly dried (a couple of weeks), slightly crumble the [...]

Read Full Post »

Preserving Herbs Part 7: Sugared Pesto – Lemon Verbena

When I was playing around with herb syrups for Part 5 of my Preserving Herbs series, I was in the middle of preserving the last basil from my garden into little tubes of pesto for the freezer. With sugar and lemon verbena on the counter ready for syrup, I thought, why add the liquid? The [...]

Read Full Post »