My summer vegetable garden was put to rest over a month ago. A few green onions, some herbs and berry plants are left. It looks barren and dormant, because it is. Continue reading
food stories
picking blackberries down on the canal
When the blackberries hang swollen in the woods, in the brambles nobody owns, I spend all day among the high branches, reaching my ripped arms, thinking of nothing, cramming black honey of summer into my mouth – Mary Oliver
mustard mint potato and green bean salad
When I was a little girl, I equated certain foods with my different sets of grandparents. I could count on my Grandma Jeffress to have things like Chuck Wagon casserole and pigs-in-a-blanket made with Vienna sausages or tacos with the lettuce wilted in the sauce and heaped with shreds of cheddar cheese. Continue reading
beef stroganoff, on a cloudy day
Mostly I cook from the hip. What does that mean? Well, I’m notoriously bad at following directions, and I’ve been known to veer off the beaten path. So, photos and a list of ingredients work as recipe “suggestions.” Continue reading
fennel + apple salad
Distinctively dark and aromatic black licorice or ropey, chewy Red Vines, which leathery candy do you fancy? Mine was always Red Vines. I couldn’t bear the thought of “real” licorice; that was until I was introduced to divinely light, crisp fennel. Continue reading
corned beef, cabbage and root vegetable hash
A container of last weekend’s St. Paddy’s day leftovers sat in the fridge. It wasn’t quite enough for a whole meal, but too much for one person’s lunch. Seriously, I hate to toss things out so that wasn’t even an option. Continue reading
french onion soup: water and onions
Captain’s Log – Day 4 of being completely surrounded by snow, and I have a few observations:
I’m drinking more than my fair share of turmeric-chai tea with milk and honey.
It’s quite a fab antidote to the icy, white outside. It contains many warming spices like turmeric, ginger, cardamom and black pepper. I know it sounds strange to put pepper in a drink, but trust me, it’s darn good. Continue reading
hot chocolate day!
National fill-in-the-blank Food Day is a thing. Being a food geek, but not a snob, I know stuff like this. For instance, yesterday was all about croissants. A beautiful celebration of flaky, laminated dough bathed in butter – oh, my. And, gloriously today happens to be equally epicurean; it’s National Hot Chocolate Day! Continue reading
time to reset what’s on my plate
I feel like I’m coming off of a food high.
Come on, you all are feeling the exact same thing. There’s been more than enough cheese platters, gorgeously delicious cookies, mounds of roast beast and glasses of luscious red wine to wash it all down. Continue reading
so long vegetable garden
So long vegetable garden. You were new. You provided produce, but October has arrived with nippy temperatures. These were the coursing thoughts as I pulled cucumber and tomato vines, the last of the pepper plants and cut back the kale which had turned into small creatures. It’s always bittersweet, deciding to toss stuff into the compost bin. Continue reading