Cooking: Broccoli Romanesco
This classic cartoon from the New Yorker shows the attitude many folks, especially kids, have about broccoli. Broccoli Romanesco, however, intrigues kids of all ages, probably because of its "wierd"...
View ArticleCooking: Veal Stock
Nothing is more important to have on hand than stock. It's been said that a chef can cook great food without stock, but a home cook can't cook without it. It's the first thing you learn how to do in a...
View ArticleGrowing: Crimson Clover
Yes, it is a legume, but you're not going to eat it - your soil will. This is a cover crop, also known as a green manure. It will choke out weeds, prevent erosion, "fix" nitrogen in the soil, add...
View ArticleCooking: Cannelinni and Lacinato Kale Soup
This is my favorite winter soup, and it's vegetarian, even vegan if you don't add cheese.
View ArticleCooking: Risotto Con Radicchio Tevisano
When the weather turns cool, red radicchio turns intensely red. I've always preferred the Treviso, which is shaped like romaine lettuce. If you didn't plant any this summer, I saw some Treviso at the...
View ArticleCooking: Grilled Radicchio Treviso
Grilling vegetables, especially over wood or hardwood charcoal, imparts a nice smokey flavor. Radicchio, with its pleasant bitterness, is an ideal candidate. Americans tend to think bitter is bad,...
View ArticleCooking: Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup
Kabocha is a Japanese squash, sweeter than a Butternut, with a chestnut-like texture.
View ArticleSalad Years
Last year I finally decided to try to grow just enough lettuce so I could always harvest two heads a day, every day, year-round. About two weeks later, the heat wave of 2009 began, the temps soared to...
View ArticleGrowing: Romanesco
I still can't call it Broccoli Romanesco like everyone else, because it's really a cauliflower, but it's so delicious, so strange, and in such short supply that I have to grow it. It's grown just like...
View ArticleGrowing: Direct Seed or Transplant?
I grow all my vegetables from seed because I can only get the more unusual varieties that way, and also because it's way cheaper! (It's even cheaper still if you save your seed, but that'll have to be...
View ArticleCooking: Fresh Pea Soup
This is not your grandmother's split pea soup! Not that there's anything wrong with split pea soup - a couple of cups of split peas and a ham hock have warmed up many a winter's night in our house. But...
View ArticleGrowing: My Garden
I received a comment recently from a woman who said she envied the size of my garden. It's really not that big, just 27' x 27', enough for six 4' x 9' beds plus a 2' deep border bed. Plus I have a 4' x...
View ArticleCooking: Roasted Kale
I may be the last one in the blogosphere to post about roasted kale, but there are still folks out there who don't know about it, so here goes. Done correctly, the texture is divine, and while it...
View ArticleCooking: Roasted Peach Sorbet
There's a story about Chez Panisse's Alice Waters serving a perfect peach for dessert to Julia child (or Marion Cunningham, depending on who's telling the story) and whoever it was said to her, "Alice,...
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