[I]’ve written before about how peanut butter was the nutritional foundation of my youth. For a time, early on, it’s all I would eat. My mother, concerned about my gaunt frame and lack of interest in other foods, took me to the doctor. “All she wants to eat is peanut […]
[I] would wager that, in the spring, when grocery shoppers across this country get a hankering for strawberry shortcake, strawberry pie, strawberry…anything, that don’t give a moment’s thought to the fact that most of the strawberries they’re buying come from the productive fields of California, from Oxnard to Watsonville. My […]
[O]f all the unrest in recent years, the war in Ukraine has unsettled me significantly. Perhaps it is the timing. As we just seemed to be stepping forward, out of the shadow of a horrifying and destructive pandemic, we began to witness new horrors waged on a particular people, who […]
[B]unny butts have weighed “heavily” on my mind for the last year or so. Having re-entered rabbit parenting after some time away from it (adopting a colorful, fluffy, lively fellow named Zydeco), I’ve become more aware of the popularity of rabbits from their humans who post about them on social […]
When I consider what the point or theme of my blog is, I can only find one real thing. While others with blogs make clear their theme or niche, I find what my blog is is me, making things I want to make or have always wanted to make. It’s […]
Every year around St. Patrick’s Day, Irish Soda Bread is on my mind. It’s too bad that it isn’t on my mind more often. Soda bread is tender, tangy, slightly sweet, and served fresh with butter, there isn’t much better. While traditional soda bread, served as a round loaf with […]
Armed with freshly ground cornmeal from a local historic grist mill (see previous blog entry), I pondered ways to use it. I loved a good cornbread, but I had made many pans in my day, so I was up for something different. One Sunday, I Iooked to something cozy and […]
Our lack of rain this winter had me nervous and twitchy. I wanted to inspire more precipitation and thought I might get some sort of magic from visiting a place where water was not only flowing, but a source of power and purpose. [I ]turned to the Bale Grist Mill […]
Occasionally, I stumble across a recipe that reminds me of the versatility and homey comfort of muffins. I don’t make them a lot, and I should, particularly when I find an easy, flavorful version like the Lemony Yogurt Muffins from “Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple,” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; […]
Back in the day, the cookies — dropped from a teaspoon — were softer, rounder and, yes, smaller, and the world was good. I discovered this recently when I revisited a retro recipe for oatmeal cookies. [A] wee bit of ground cloves (along with a generous dose of cinnamon) gave […]