Apple Oat Scones

For the month of September I search and tasted and tested, every apple combination I could think of. I wish I could say they were all delicious. (They weren’t.) But this recipe was like: Walk away before you eat them all. People grabbed them for breakfasts, lunch boxes, snacks and desserts. I’m sure it helpedContinue reading “Apple Oat Scones”

Doe Creek Farm Apple Pie

I recently wrote a magazine story about Georgia Haverty, who worked on her family’s apple farm in the early ‘80s and then returned to her land in the beautiful Virginia mountains in 2011 to start a pick-your-own operation. When I showed up to interview her, she was making crockpot apple butter and had a loaf ofContinue reading “Doe Creek Farm Apple Pie”

Broccoli and Burrata Arancini

Score another one for the kids! My son picked an arancini recipe out of a cookbook this summer when it was his turn to make dinner. Turns out, we all love Italian rice balls. Who knew? But really, what could be better than transforming cheese sticks into dinner! I used that basic recipe as aContinue reading “Broccoli and Burrata Arancini”

Peach Crisp

This is the recipe that almost didn’t come to be. I feel like I’ve been working on it all summer and only now have I circled around to something I’m happy with. It began with an old family recipe, one I’d made many times, a cobbler that I remember adoring as a child. But whenContinue reading “Peach Crisp”

Happy Summer!

Here’s hoping your garden is bursting with tomatoes and zucchini and green beans, cucumbers and peppers and melons. Maybe you’ve dug some potatoes. Or headed to a local farm to pick blueberries. Or stocked up at your farmers market, bringing home enough sweet corn to roast on the grill today, as well as cut offContinue reading “Happy Summer!”

Ginger Berry Smoothie Bowl

Smoothies are most often an after-school snack at our house. But these smoothie bowls combine the best of a smoothie and a bowl of cereal. They could be a great snack, but make an even better power breakfast. Feel free to mix and match both smoothie ingredients and toppings to keep things exciting and toContinue reading “Ginger Berry Smoothie Bowl”

Mixed Greens and Berry Salad

I created this recipe to hand out to participants of a class I taught on surprising ways to eat your berries. It was a hit. The biggest takeaway might have been how pleasing it is to mix all kinds of bold flavors in with your spinach or lettuce. Yes to arugula and to mustard andContinue reading “Mixed Greens and Berry Salad”

Make the Most of Your Herbs

I love herbs. All of them. Mint, oregano, rosemary, thyme, lavender, chives. We grow them as flowers and greenery, as bushes and ground cover. Some of them fill in as quiet background plants, others steal the show in their corner of the yard. I have a dedicated herb garden just outside the back door; the basilContinue reading “Make the Most of Your Herbs”

Linguine with Garden Herbs and Clams

We are seafood fans in our house, but we are also well-aware of how fragile the edible ocean is these days. For more than a decade, I’ve been referring to my Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Guide to help me find environmentally friendly seafood. In the past several years, as eating local has become my guiding principal,Continue reading “Linguine with Garden Herbs and Clams”

Maps Make the Perfect Gift

I have two nieces graduating from high school this month so I’m in the market for a couple of memorable, meaningful gifts. Something to decorate the new dorm rooms, perhaps. Maybe a reminder of home for when they’re far away. As I begin to search for inspiration, one concept keeps popping up at every turn: maps. AsContinue reading “Maps Make the Perfect Gift”