Is it Christmas already?
I did some shopping yesterday with Christmas songs in the background…it’s cold, but no snow…sent off a package this morning…and here’s a box at my doorstep. Wow…oh yeah, no turkey and pumpkin pie yet…what could it be?
The Winter Pantry Box!!!
It all started on our vacation in the mountains. My 4-year old daughter had her first taste of clam chowder at one of the local restaurants during our stay. She loved it! The very next day she and her dad took a trip to the local market to load up on some good eats and there they were, huddled behind a glass case… clams, lots of live clams.
Every other Friday I receive a gift. It’s almost like Christmas for me…but I actually paid for it…and I actually LOVE vegetables. It’s a CSA box. If you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s a wonderful thing that is “growing” around the nation. Community Supported Agriculture. In the spring you sign up for a subscription,
I’m in the midst of writing a little booklet about carrots for Learn Great Foods. I have planted some in a big barrel…they are still pretty tiny, but beginning to show their colors. Did you know the tops are edible too? Mildly like carrots, but greener…somehow. The perfect garnish for a carrot dish, or torn into a salad.
The oil spill in the gulf of Mexico is devastating. With the news of the shrimp industry and other fishing endeavors affected, I was curious about crawfish. I had put crawfish étouffée on an upcoming menu. I have eaten it, but never cooked with it and realized I really don’t know much about crawfish. They are fresh water
As I was carrying up some trimmings of the bushes at the bottom of the yard, I happened to look up the hill and spotted something brown. What could it be? After depositing the brush I returned to investigate and…there it was…a perfect and very large morel! I had tried to buy some from a friend earlier this month. She had
What would the world be without garlic? I use it in almost every dish. Well, maybe not the strawberry tarts we are making tonight, but I have made garlic ice cream and roasted garlic chocolate chip cookies. All this excitement is due to my garlic garden that is growing by leaps and bounds. I planted it last fall. Covered by snow all
After a long weekend of partying, you wake up and smell that delightful toasty scent coming from the kitchen. Mixed with the smoky bacon and aroma of freshly brewed coffee…It’s unmistakable. It’s pancake day! And it’s not even Sunday. What could be happening? Oh, yeah….it’s Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday…Shove Tuesday….Fat Tuesday.
Out here in the west, while it is still in the low 80′s most of the week, we are still graced by the somewhat turning of trees and the winter flowers that are starting to bloom. The Jacaranda trees, that line the city streets, are being wrapped in Christmas lights by the city for the special day that Santa arrives. So, with fall underway and the holiday decorations up reminding us of the season,
With too much garlic in my pantry, and after planting some and roasting some to freeze, I still needed a good hit of garlic, so punctuate the season. I roasted a few heads to start. I separated them, put in a glass pie pan, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.
There is always too much zucchini in the garden. Everyone knows about that, if you are a gardener, or live next door to one. Beware of big bags of zucchini lurking at the back door. It’s kind of like the May Day event…leave the zucchini and run. I love zucchini. I even buy it at the grocery store, all through the year. I roast it, sauté it with mushrooms, cook with tomatoes, make it into bread, and add it to pasta dishes. This could be one of my favorites…in an omelet.
