Pear Spice Muffins

Every fall I pick and buy local apples by the box. But this year when area farmers were offering pears in bulk, I decided to give them a try too. Let me say that it’s a little scary to haul home 25 pounds of Asian pears — or beautifully sweet carrots or luscious ears ofContinue reading “Pear Spice Muffins”

Autumn’s Apple Cabbage Slaw

I have a thing for slaw. It maybe has something to do with my love for salads. Slaw is simply a great way to toss together lots of seasonal veggies and have the whole taste even better than the parts. It keeps well in the fridge. It’s already dressed. Slaws are big hits at potlucks. ThisContinue reading “Autumn’s Apple Cabbage Slaw”

Curried Parsnip and Apple Soup

Soup might be my very favorite way to eat parsnips, a root vegetable that’s cousin to a carrot and so much tastier than a potato. The texture of the softened parsnip purees nicely into a bowl full of creamy goodness. The apples in this bring out the parsnips’ sweet side and the curry complements itContinue reading “Curried Parsnip and Apple Soup”

Quinoa and Brown Rice Baked Apples

  Baked apples have always been a fun way to eat dessert. Each eater has her own contained serving filled with warm, oozing deliciousness. Why, I wondered, can’t we do the same with dinner? There are a few recipes out there, mostly stuffing an apple shell with onions and sausage and sage. But I wasContinue reading “Quinoa and Brown Rice Baked Apples”

Appetizing Apple Chips

Need a garnish to make your table look pretty? Looking for something new to do with all those apples you brought home from the pick-your-own orchard? Want to transform your apples into the perfect backpacking food? Well, here you go. This method of slowly baking sliced apples in your oven is simple and fun. PlusContinue reading “Appetizing Apple Chips”

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”

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”

Beautiful Beet Salad

  When the greens stretch tall and the dusty roots swell into big burgundy orbs in my garden, I start to do a happy dance. It’s time to roast and grate and slice those sweet, juicy, earthy bulbs we know as beets. There are more varieties than ever available for harvesting or scoring at the farmers market. TryContinue reading “Beautiful Beet Salad”