On a cold winter day, nothing warms quite like gumbo. And in the heat of summer, gumbo is a great way to stir together so many flavors at their peak of ripeness — tomatoes, peppers, and of course, okra. We had such a bumper crop of okra last summer that I blanched and froze some forContinue reading “Okra Gumbo”
Author Archives: christinanifong
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
In a good summer, we grow zucchini, lots of zucchini. I love it baked into breaded rounds, diced and added to pasta or other veggie dishes, fried by the panful. But what I end up doing with most of what our garden grows is shredding the zucchini, tucking it into ziplocks stored in the deepContinue reading “Chocolate Zucchini Cake”
Strawberry Balsamic Jam
I make and can strawberry jam most years. It’s a great way to preserve berries that all ripen at once. We eat the jam on peanut butter sandwiches, in jam bar cookies and sometimes just straight from the jar. We also give it as gifts. This year, for my first batch, I used my friend Laura Latham’sContinue reading “Strawberry Balsamic Jam”
Bulldog Tofu
This recipe, like so many of my favorites, is really a framework to support a meal of creativity and whim. It’s different each time I make it, depending on what’s growing in the garden or what I can pull from the freezer. It was passed along to me by a friend who got it from aContinue reading “Bulldog Tofu”
Jam Bars
These have to be one of my most requested cookies — and one of my healthiest dessert recipes. Made from our homemade jam, oats and whole wheat pastry flour, they boast protein and fruit and not so much sugar. But my kids don’t care about that. They like them for their buttery, naturally sweet taste.Continue reading “Jam Bars”
Creamy Coleslaw
Every time I set out to make coleslaw, I end up reinventing my recipe. Not because I want to so much as that I don’t have a recipe I love, so I am forever pulling one offline or out of a cookbook, making it mine for the night and then not writing it down. There is, ofContinue reading “Creamy Coleslaw”
Silken Turnip and Potato Soup
One year, after a bumper crop of turnips, I was searching for ways to cook them when I came across this lovely dish. Despite including no milk or cream, this soup is so rich and tasty. I cooked it for a neighborhood potluck, afraid no one would come near it if I ’fessed up aboutContinue reading “Silken Turnip and Potato Soup”
Turnips Anna Livia
When the weather turns cold and the tomatoes are done for good, it’s root vegetables that begin to star in my dinners. As much as I love butternut squash, pumpkin, potatoes and beets, turnips are the vegetables that grow most easily in my garden. And they store even better. So it’s turnips I have learnedContinue reading “Turnips Anna Livia”
Minestrone
When it’s cold out, there’s nothing that feeds the body and soul so well as a good hearty soup. And I’m not sure any soup fits the bill so well as Minestrone, an ancient Italian soup that includes pasta and beans, onions and tomatoes and whatever you’ve managed to put up from your summerContinue reading “Minestrone”
Snow Cream
I didn’t grow up in a particularly snowy place and I had never tasted snow cream until I had kids of my own. But now I won’t let a winter storm go by without making a batch. It’s decadent, yet so simple. And let me tell you, there is nothing easier than harvesting snow! BeContinue reading “Snow Cream”