Vermont food from a country kitchen

Thanksgiving Leftovers Make Sweet Potato Rolls & Turkey Gumbo Soup

November 28th, 2013 / comments 5

Last November, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, I opened the fridge to get a slice of lemon for my morning cup of tea and was overwhelmed by bowls, containers and aluminum foil wrapped packets of leftovers. Charles had been in charge of clean up the night before and, with the help of a couple of other non-cooks, had done a splendid job but the overstuffed fridge needed immediate attention.

The turkey carcass was precariously perched on a jug of gravy and a bowl half filled with roasted cranberry sauce. Mashed sweet potatoes flavored with chipotle peppers and mashed white potatoes rested side by side in one container and a forlorn slice of pumpkin pie wrapped in plastic sat on a small bowl of gingered whipped cream. After I found the lemon for my tea, I began to deal with the wealth of leftovers by topping the piece of pie with the whipped cream and eating it.

I made run-of-the-mill turkey sandwiches dinner-worthy by making sandwich rolls with the leftover sweet potatoes. These yeast rolls are not difficult to make but need to rise twice before baking so I got started as soon as I’d read the paper and emptied the dishwasher. Here’s how I made them:[/donotprint] … read more

Roasted Cranberry Relish

November 28th, 2013 / Comments 1

A gathering for a holiday or a family celebration that centers on a meal provides the perfect opportunity for a food fight.

I don’t mean the kind that involves a cream pie in the face, champagne sprayed around the table or peas slingshot across the room. I mean friendly, family disagreements about the best cranberry sauce. Should dessert be apple or pumpkin pie? Are creamed onions or a green bean casserole mandatory? Will there be chestnuts in the stuffing? Most picture perfect holiday meals exist only in magazines and movies, with a group of strangers presented as family, dressed by stylists, sitting at a perfectly decorated holiday table. Real holiday meals are an opportunity to share a favorite recipe and no one will complain that the second version of cranberry sauce has spoiled the symmetry of the table.

My favorite cranberry relish was inspired by a recipe from my friend Lynda. I added a chili pepper when I made it last year. Here’s how I did it: … read more

CSA Week 1 – Celery Root Salad

July 29th, 2013 / Comments 0

In our house, a day when something special happens is what John Lennon called ‘a red lettuce day’. Last Thursday was a double red lettuce day because our CSA started and we got a head of red lettuce in our share. CSA is short for Community Supported Agriculture.

It’s a simple and delightful way for us to connect with the seasons, enjoy fresh, local produce and … read more

Roasted Rhubarb & Rhubarb Pie

May 29th, 2013 / Comments 1

Rhubarb heralds Spring in Vermont. Pink sprouts push up from the cold earth.

rhubarb+w+blue Roasted Rhubarb & Rhubarb Pie
‘Still have snow?’
‘Is the sap running?’
‘Are the mergansers back?’

The familiar litany of questions heard around town – at the post office, the Creamery, the market, and at community dinners. And then the rhubarb appears – over night, huge green leaves pop up. The first garden harvest of Spring. Although technically a vegetable, I think of rhubarb as fruit, the primary ingredient in one of my favorite pies, as a lovely sauce eaten alone or topped with a dollop of yogurt (see post below), or starring in a chutney or relish.

Today I baked rhubarb with sugar and a bit of butter and finished it with heavy cream and fresh nutmeg. Very easy, yummy and with rhubarb from my garden and cream from the Farmer’s market,

rhubarb+09 Roasted Rhubarb & Rhubarb Pie

Here’s how I did it. … read more

Rhubarb Syrup

May 22nd, 2013 / Comments 1

With wonderful Vermont water and an amazing Soda Stream I have a nearly, never ending supply of soda water so I’m always experimenting with homemade syrups to create non-alcoholic drinks. Last week, as I was gratefully harvesting rhubarb from a garden overgrown with weeds, I was inspired.

Rhubarb Soda

Rhubarb syrup is a lovely shade of soft pink, even though the rhubarb stalks from my garden were mostly green. … read more

Rhubarb Crumb Cake from a Vermont Kitchen

May 22nd, 2013 / Comments 0

Even though our garden is overrun with weeds, the rhubarb is undaunted this spring. I made a rhubarb crumb cake to take to lunch with friends and it was a great success. This cake is quick to make and can be made the day before it is served.