Eating Irish

In the next week or so more folks will think of eating Irish than at any other time of year. They’ll buy their Guinness and boil their potatoes. Corned beef and cabbage will grace many a table and fish and chips will be ordered in many a pub. But once St. Patrick’s Day has passed,Continue reading “Eating Irish”

Feeding Picky People

  I’ve been cooking dinner for picky people for a long time, now. Thankfully, my husband is not one of them. He’s a pretty low-key kind of guy who has followed along on all manner of food adventures (Let’s try kombucha! Fermented carrots! Maitake mushrooms!) And has often come away embracing the once exotic. But my kids are aContinue reading “Feeding Picky People”

Mushroom Adventures

It was about this time of year, several years ago, that my husband and I decided we were ready to take on a new botanical project. The garden was winding down and the season of dreaming of spring was nearly upon us. Maybe a catalogue came in the mail? I’m not sure what our inspiration was. ButContinue reading “Mushroom Adventures”

Celebrating the Season

For my family, this week began with Halloween, continued with two kid birthdays and will end with back-to-back parties on Friday and Saturday. And, as we all know, it only gets crazier from here. I have, pretty much every year, dreaded these busy months of travel and connections, of events and hosting, of anticipation and tears andContinue reading “Celebrating the Season”

A Hankering for Honey

Right around mid September in these parts the heat of the summer winds down, and for those who keep bees, it’s the perfect time to gather that golden elixir they’ve been nurturing for months. So the beekeepers haul out their equipment and prepare for a sticky weekend of cutting open portions of their hives — not too much, mindContinue reading “A Hankering for Honey”

Wisdom from the Flock

It’s been about a year now since a quick stop at the hardware store to pick up some, you know, duct tape and grass seed, turned us into part-time poultry farmers. Not that I blame my husband. Those little balls-of-fluff are enough to melt any man into a can’t-say-no-kind-of puddle. And those downy cuties madeContinue reading “Wisdom from the Flock”

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”