Category: Cooking from the garden
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Why you and I should make jam
Because it’s wonderful. Because it’s not that difficult once you have the right gear and a work flow. Because I’m going to give you both of those. Because preserves make great gifts. Because when you’re done, you’ll have something to show for your work, something to put on the shelves and admire. Gear begins, obviously,…
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Figgy jam
When they simmer for a little more than an hour with sugar, lemon juice and zest, something mysterious hangs in the background, behind the smell of sweetness. Something dark, serpents in the trees and jungle-y
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Why I can (and freeze and pickle)
I enjoy preserving Stoic’s garden bounty (along with that of the Lynn St. Clair Orchard in Taylorsville) because it makes me feel like a good steward and because — of everything going on in my life — it’s the only process with a beginning, middle and end. I can actually see what I’ve accomplished, usually…
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A brilliant quiche
I’ve been doing a little wine reading lately, and a word that keeps popping up is “brilliant.” It doesn’t relate to intellect but to surprise and fortuitousness and spark, to something that is just immediately right on the taste buds. That would be this Quiche from the December (and final) issue of Cooking Light magazine.…
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Best summer soup ever!
“If I got this in an expensive restaurant, I’d be really happy with it,” said Stoic the Vast on first tasting this elegant and easy zucchini soup, adapted from a skinnytaste.com recipe. That’s our highest praise. If we’d paid real money for it (instead of “just” raising or buying the groceries), we’d still like it…
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Shakshuka! What? It’s OK — you know the ingredients even if you don’t recognize the name
The name for this Israeli dish sounds like a ’50s doo-wop group but learn it anyway. The name has its origins in the Arabic word for mixture and came to Israel with Jewish immigrants from North Africa. It’s a tasty, healthy meal with a kick. Also easy, did I mention that? The most challenging part…
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Fresh, fabulous figs
We waited longer for figs than for a baby. The latter took just under 3 years; the former, more than 25. And this year, booyah!, we have figs. Figs to eat out of hand, figs to freeze for making preserves and figs to cook. Assuming figs grew in Eden (fig leaves, remember?), why would anyone leave,…
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Holy cow! Easy zucchini-tomato Parmesan
Flipping between channels last night, I paused long enough on a PBS special about cancer research to hear an expert say something to the effect that obesity has finally passed smoking to be the #1 preventable cause of cancer!!! I think this was rattling around somewhere in my subconscious, but I’ve never heard overweight put…
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Summer sauces; tomato-fresh basil-garlic vinaigrette
I don’t know why, but it started with purchased tzatziki (cucumber, yogurt and garlic), which is really good on a chicken or tuna sandwich. Then, of course, the poppy-seed dressing and now a tomato-basil vinaigrette that’s out of this world. We’ll forget about the mayonnaise with siracha, soy sauce and sesame oil added for garnishing…
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And I don’t like chard . . .
A young friend who’s working harder than any human bean should have to, says clients buying her family farm’s CSA subscriptions often ask what to do with chard. You can cook it like fresh spinach or you can take a couple of extra steps to fix this Lebanese Swiss chard from therecipehunters.com. It may…
youcanteaticecreamintheshower 