[A]s stone fruits, berries and even apples come into season (their true season), one realizes it is also the dawning of pie season. We tend to link pies to Thanksgiving most often, but it is the heart of summertime that pies, made bursting with fresh fruit in season, are at […]
[W]e all know of lavender’s aromatherapeutic and cosmetic advantages. Try pulling yourself away from a lavender-scented candle or just dare yourself to be stressed out when you have the soothing fragrance of lavender on your skin. It’s heavenly. But if you have never tried eating lavender in some form, now’s […]
[W]hat does it say about the world we live in that each time I have typed the word “crepes,†my computerized autocorrect wants to change it to “creepsâ€? I realize that crepes are not on the radar very often — how could they be? I made these decadent little creatures […]
[P]robably the most curious item I’ve ever seen brought to a potluck was a tortilla espanola. It was served in a basket, wrapped in a towel…a potato and onion omelette, so firm it was cut in wedges and could be eaten by hand. Having consumed more eggs over my years […]
[H]ave you ever juiced a key lime? You can get blood more easily from a turnip or paint from a marble. Yet, I spent an afternoon recently wrangling with these tiny green but potent creatures, feeling oversized myself, giant wooden reamer in hand, as I violated nearly a dozen limes […]
[I] wanted to feature a spring bread in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, preferably a scone. But my mind kept going back to something I baked several years ago and hoped to return to again. Was an Apple Scone Cake — a layered scone and apple creation — a bread, […]
[P]eople may joke about the Irish and potatoes, but the true story of what happened to the Irish in the 1800s is no laughing matter. If you know anything about the Great Famine, you know the Irish were oppressed on their own land, forced into tenant farmer-hood, working on properties […]
[S]ay what you will — or say nothing at all to remain nutritionally chaste — but fried dough is a thing unmatched. Looking beyond any wickedness, how can one say that a hot doughnut, a hushpuppy, a fritter — all warm from the fryer — is anything but a good […]
[C]ertain things quell a troubled soul like no other. Comfort foods — they have just the right combination of taste, texture, color and smell to bring immediate relief and send all worry and strife scurrying. If I could choose just one comfort food — or one dessert, for that matter […]
[O]f the vast array of grains available to cook and bake with on the market, I continue to return again and again to a favorite — oats. The old standby, the stick-to-your-ribs standard, that reminds one of childhood and the comforting warmth a bowl can bring. So humble, yet versatile. […]