The strawberries are here! We love the first berries of the summer season: plump, sweet, red morsels of fruit with tiny seeds dotting their exterior. Strawberries right off the plant warm with the morning sun,
The bright green shades of spring are becoming summer, and we are enjoying a surplus culinary greens; bok choy, spinach, arugula, leafy red and green lettuce, scallions, lovage, chives, Swiss chard and kale. Whether in
“Try turmeric”, encouraged my friend Mary. “It will help with those gardening aches and pains.” Intrigued, I set you to do some culinary research. Turmeric, pronounced TER-muh-rikh, is the root of a ancient tropical plant
Each time you sit down to eat a meal; you are making a life-and-death decision. Does that sound scary to you? This is how Steven Pratt and Kathy Mathews introduce their book “SuperFoods Rx, Fourteen
The June Bon Appetit magazine is the grilling issue, and one quick read is enough to get your mouth watering. The beautiful photographs of grilled pizza enticed me, and when I read how easy they
We have a bountiful crop of rhubarb this year; lush, ruby red stalks with huge, green leaves. An herbaceous perennial, rhubarb likes well-drained soil that is rich in organic material. Our soil here at Rabbit
One of my most favorite spring herbs is chives. An herbaceous perennial, the cheerful, slender green and hollow shoots of “grass” start to appear once the soil in the ground has warmed. Soon, the edges
The halibut season opened on May 1, and several fishing vessels, including that of our friend Captain Joe, have rigged their boats with lines to fish for this delicious flatfish from the family of right-eyed
My mother loves popovers; crisp, light and golden brown, with a delicate puffed center, hot from the oven, dripping with butter and jam. A sublime combination of eggs, milk and flour that makes any dining
Satays with a peanut dipping sauce are one of our favorite snacking and party foods. Originally from Indonesia, this dish is seasoned, skewered and grilled meat like beef, chicken, goat, mutton or pork. We also
Visions of warm, summer days relaxing at the beach have me counting calories these days. As a nutritionist, I understand that when input (food in my mouth) is more than the output (exercise), my highly
I love cooking with black beans, particularly the variety Midnight Black Turtle Soup, grown by Horsepower Farm in Penobscot. The black bean is a native of South America, and is used in a wide variety
“Feel free to order eggs with abandon”, encourages the Quill’s End Farm weekly e-mail. “You need a dozen duck eggs”, declares my friend Captain Joe. “The girls at Undercliff Farm are laying now,” boasts Ruthie.
It’s time to enjoy the red cabbage in my root cellar that has survived the winter. The last few bright purple heads are starting to slime and turn black with mold around the edges. Not
My latest culinary research project has been working with goat cheese. Also known as “chevre”, the French word for goat, this cheese is usually soft and spreadable, with a delightfully tart flavor. Although goat cheese
We have a surplus of beets in the root cellar; beautiful, bright yellow flesh beets, round, red, smooth, deep red roots, and candy-caned striped Chioggia beets. Although there are small leaves starting to sprout on
I have a soft spot in my heart and on my palate for anything grown in the county; I eat Aroostook potatoes daily. For baking, nothing beats the hearty flavors of Aroostook grains: wheat, oats
While many of us here in New England associate corned beef and cabbage with Ireland, I was interested to learn that this popular St. Patrick’s Day meal actually has its roots in America. Traditionally prepared
Onion Soup or in French, soupe l’oignon, has a storied history. References for the soup date back to the Romans, and it was originally considered fare for the poor, as onions were plentiful; easy to
I love snow days, they are the perfect excuse to hibernate and cook. The simple process of coaxing fragrant aromas and delicious flavors from simple ingredients while the world around you is quietly transformed with
If chocolate is on your menu for Valentine’s Day, then the recipe for Chocolate Almond Brownies is a winner. This not-too-sweet, rich and dense treat is delicious as a bar by itself, and elegant when
Even though our favorite team did not make it to the Super Bowl, we’ll still all be gathering around the television to watch the big game. In the past 50 years, the Super Bowl has
I love doughnuts. They are my culinary downfall. Not available in pink and orange boxes, my doughnuts are warm and sugary on the outside with an interior texture that literally melts away in your mouth.
The leeks in my root cellar are holding up remarkably, considering the fluctuations of outside temperatures this winter. As a root storage vegetable, leeks like it quite cold, 32 degrees F., up to 40 degrees
