Water into Wine
As the rain started to turn the mounds of snow into rivers of slush today, the sky signaled the impending “in between” season – that restless time after gentle snowfalls and cross country skiing mark full-blown winter, but before the green buds and singing birds get us excited for warmer weather. It’s only February and […]
The ABCs of the CSA
Your glass-of-wine count might be higher than the number of degrees on the thermometer right now, but if you’ve been wondering about getting a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) produce share this summer, it’s time to get your fleece-covered butt moving – spots at good farms can sell out by mid-February. First, an ode. Even though I […]
Grocery time machine: A 78-year-old circular
My mother-in-law recently found this newspaper circular from Danahy-Faxon grocery stores in Buffalo, NY. The date: August 6, 1936. The copy, illustrations, and prices: fascinating. From what I could find, the 130 Buffalo-area Danahy-Faxon stores were the result of a July 1929 merger of two local family enterprises – a series of meat packing plants and […]
Add a little heat
Red chili flakes are one of those spices that I tend to reach for more than I realize. A few shakes go into soups, pasta sauces, egg bakes, chutneys, pizza – you get the idea. This year I tried making my own batch of chili flakes using dried red peppers from my garden and my […]
Tea, please.
After Christmas, Kevin’s birthday, New Years, and all the parties in between, I’m pretty much ready to run my liver through a deep soak cycle or two in the washer when January rolls around. By now I’ve consumed a small vineyard’s worth of wine, several varieties of bacon-wrapped-cheese-stuffed-what-have-yous, and one metric ton of sugar (and […]
The freeze and the thaw
This past weekend it snowed enough to soften the edges of the landscape into the easy lines that liken it to a plush, white, lumpy comforter. It’s 12 degrees outside. And I cooked with corn that I met and fell in love with in the sweaty, barefoot soil of August. How? Freezers. Yes, plural. […]
Massaging kale
Alright, why are we kneading leafy greens? That’s crazy talk. Once you’ve sampled massaged kale, though, it won’t sound that crazy. The basic premise is this: instead of cooking the kale, which leeches its water-soluble nutrients and can lead to a seriously smushy, limp mess, we use acid, salt, and our hands to soften the […]
Corn that has been popped
I have had a popcorn problem for a long time. By problem, I mean two things. 1) I love it, and it’s my go-to snack whenever I’m not really hungry, just craving savory flavors and need something to mindlessly pick at while doing a task that makes me sit my ass in a chair for […]
Giving thanks for pickles
Does anyone remember coloring the cornucopia pictures – the “horn of plenty” – in elementary school? They featured a basket-like horn with a bunch of Pilgrim-y harvest items spilling out – pumpkins, nuts, potatoes, squash, indian corn, onions, the occasional apple, and, if the illustrator got really board or simply didn’t know his New England […]
Root cellar: creepy stairs become cold storage
Kevin built a root cellar in the basement last weekend. Which is weird, given that we’re city folk and don’t have acres of land from which to harvest bushels of carrots to see us through the winter or anything else remotely important like that. But we built one anyway. Disclaimer #1: We are not doomsday […]
Old school turkeys
Every year around this time, my brain automatically brings up a vivid but strange image from my past. I’m crouched down in a muddy pasture, trying like hell to keep my fingers from freezing, surrounded on all sides by several dozen turkeys. They’re wearing dark, creepy feathers and making sounds that are a mix of […]
Getting rid of the fear
Wanna know what? I started writing this blog, on and off, two years ago. And I never shared it with anyone until now. Why? I’m still not sure. Probably a combination of fear (what if it sucks?) and reality. A little too much reality, really. In time since I started secretly writing here, I lost […]
