Honestly, I’m not sure what’s gotten into me. It’s June and my garden is up and growing. I’ve got leafy greens winding down, raspberries coming in, zucchini flowers begging for me to sauté them. But somehow I keep reaching for my large mixing bowl and reflexively softening two sticks of butter. Yes, it’s cookie-making that keepsContinue reading “Cookie Fever”
Category Archives: Blog
Salad Days
There’s been a stretch of hot here in Southwest Virginia and it’s spelling the end of what has been a wonderful few months of salad eating. We had red leaf lettuce from our cold frame in the chill of March and since late April we’ve been eating from a beautiful bed of mixed lettuces and endive, arugula andContinue reading “Salad Days”
Springing Forward
It’s almost here, that amazing season of promise and possibility, when the sunshine warms us and the daffodils cheer us. And the spring greens, the spindly asparagus stalks and the tiny sprouts of new life actually, for the first time in so many months, feed us. Gone are the soups and stews of winter.Continue reading “Springing Forward”
Giving Chestnuts Another Go
My first encounter with a chestnut was in my friend’s backyard. She and her family have a beautiful chestnut tree whose branches reach across their whole lot, providing shade and climbing for her three boys — even supporting a swank treehouse. So when I asked if she might have a few extra nuts for meContinue reading “Giving Chestnuts Another Go”
Celebrations
Thursday is Thanksgiving — a time to gather with family and friends, a day to indulge and relax. It’s an occasion to count our blessings and to spend time romping in the chilly sunshine and lounging in front of televised parades. It’s also the only holiday I can think of that isContinue reading “Celebrations”
Tangy Tomatillos
We pulled out the tomatillo plants a few weeks ago. I’m missing them already. For years we had talked of growing these delightful cousins to the tomato but had never found the plants when we needed them. So we’d move on, regretfully. Next year, we’d sigh, we’ll try those tomatillos. Then this spring, it allContinue reading “Tangy Tomatillos”
An Okra Adventure
My husband is the magic behind our garden. It was his idea to begin growing our food the first summer we owned a home, all those years ago. He is the planner and planter. I’m the second-wave worker, on maintenance and harvest. But every now and then, I pipe up with a suggestion. What aboutContinue reading “An Okra Adventure”
Pesto Possibilities
The basil came late to our garden this year. We planted it, same as always, but for some complex convergence of heat and rain, sunlight and nutrients and pollinators, it took awhile to get going. It was the same with the carrots. But now that a little rain has arrived, the carrots — and even moreso, theirContinue reading “Pesto Possibilities”
Grateful for Zucchini Galore
Growing zucchini can be tricky at our house. We have a small yard with a big garden and once we attract insects like squash bugs or squash vine borers, it’s tough to find a way to give our plants a pest-free zone. One year in an attempt to save them from the bugs overwintering in ourContinue reading “Grateful for Zucchini Galore”
The Raspberries Are Ready
My raspberry bushes made me so happy I could cry last week. For the first time since we bought those first woody canes four or five years ago, they produced more fruit than we knew what to do with. Bowl after bowl, day after day, we picked big, bright berries. And the next day, thereContinue reading “The Raspberries Are Ready”