June 29th, 2009 / comments
I entered a ‘Pay it Forward Giveaway’ hosted by Joanne of Applecrumbles.
When I entered this giveaway, I agreed to carry on the tradition begun by Peggy of Pantry Revisited.
To be eligible for this giveaway you need to have a blog, leave a comment at the bottom of this post about your favorite kitchen utensil, and agree that if you are the winner, you will carry on the tradition and host a similar giveaway.
On Bastille Day, July 14 th, I will assign numbers to each comment and draw a number from my favorite sauce pan and my original watercolor painting shown above will be mailed to the winner, any where in the world.
By the way – my favorite utensil is my seventeen centimeter Wusthof santoku knife.
June 27th, 2009 / comments
Garlic scapes, the curly stems of hard neck garlic, appeared for the first time this season at the farmer’s market on Saturday.
When young, tender and bright green, each scape is topped with an immature seed pod that looks like the beginning of a byzantine dome. If not harvested, the stalk eventually straightens and becomes too tough to eat.
To use, discard the seed pod, slice the stem into segments and add to any stir fry or omelet that would be improved by the subtle garlic flavor.
Garlic scapes keep for at least a week in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.
June 24th, 2009 / comments
I began a couple of hours before dinner because the dough needs a few hours to rise and rest. Here’s how I did it: … read more
June 22nd, 2009 / comments
[donotprint]Inspiration is a curious thing. Dinner last night was inspired by a head of organic, iceberg lettuce from the farmers' market.
This huge head of crispy, sweet lettuce made me long for Bún Nướng, a Vietnamese salad with noodles and grilled pork.
Never mind that I didn't have the right rice noodles, pork or spring roll. I was inspired and wanted to use the grill that came with my new range!
Along with the lettuce I did have asparagus, a red pepper, a red onion, a jalapeno pepper, garlic, ginger, and limes in the frig; shrimp in the freezer; and, fish sauce, rice noodles and peanuts in the pantry.
Here's how I did it:[/donotprint] ... read more
June 19th, 2009 / Comments
I was working in my studio when Rosie began barking insistently. Assuming that the big brown truck had come to deliver the new grill for my Electrolux range I went down to check. No truck, no package, no people, and, Rosie was standing at the door to the terrace staring intently toward the weedy hill just past the garden.
‘Must be a deer or maybe turkeys.’ I thought. Following Rosie’s lead, except for the barking, I looked up at the hill and after a moment the sweet face of a Jersey cow munching weeds came into focus.
Cow, cows!
Four of them – two mamas and two calves, but how? we have no cows living within half a mile of us in any direction.
The only idea I had was to phone the non-emergency police number. I explained my predicament and the helpful police officer said “I’ll check my list of missing cows,” quickly followed by, “wait a minute, I don’t have a list of missing cows,” and then came the perfect Vermont question, “Are they bothering anyone?”
An hour later, a tractor arrived, the cows were liberated from the paddock where they had been welcomed and watered by our neighbor, Susan, and led away, back home, up the road, to rest, graze and share the the tales of their adventure with the rest of the herd.
I LOVE VERMONT!
Perhaps my postings about raw milk, yogurt, and butter were the real reason for their visit………
note: If you would like to read about how I used the magic of Photoshop to put the cow in the garden
*click here*.
June 16th, 2009 / comments
Here’s how I did it: … read more
When I entered this giveaway, I agreed to carry on the tradition begun by Peggy of Pantry Revisited. 
