May 16th, 2010 / Comments 0
With the vagaries of spring weather there is bad CSA news and good CSA news. The bad – the asparagus won’t be ready to be harvested until next week.
The good – my bag had a cheddar cheese, fiddlehead quiche along with a lovely nosegay of fresh herbs, spicy greens, eggs and lemon balm.
Carol Stedman’s quiche are delicious and she was willing to share her recipe. Here it is: … read more
May 14th, 2010 / comments 2
A few summers ago, I spent a week at a retreat on Cape Cod. Before each meal we shared a time of silence and then a short grace.
This ritual provided an opportunity to settle, a pause in the hubbub of energetic conversations. I have posted the first of a series of grace cards on the PIN – Print It Now page of this blog as a gift from me to you. The link to the PIN – Print It Now is at the left under the painting of the green grapes.
May 13th, 2010 / comments 5
I wanted to use the rhubarb that came in my CSA bag to make something incredible. I like rhubarb in pie, as sauce, in quick bread but my goal was to make something exotic with this reliable, New England, early spring offering. The most exotic ingredient I found in a recipe was nutmeg. Nutmeg – sure I like nutmeg and use it when I make a rhubarb pie but it wasn’t the zing I was looking for. When I wondered what Julia (Child) would do, I thought of butter. And when I wondered what James (Beard) would do I thought of butter and cream. An idea was coming into focus.
I would poach rhubarb in butter and sugar and then nestle it into meringue shell and top it with whipped cream to make a rhubarb pavlova. Here’s how I made it: … read more
May 9th, 2010 / Comments 0
Today’s CSA bag had eggs, granola, garlic scallions, spicy greens, and lemon basil and rhubarb.
This picture shows you the assortment but not the quantity. As a part of a Vermont CSA where the weather forecast held the promise of snow last night and I had to retrieve the duvet from the cedar chest, the scallions, basil and lettuce from a sustainably heated green house are welcome proof that spring is here.
May 5th, 2010 / comments 6
Last May, I made a perfect Mother’s Day brunch even though I had forgotten that it was Mother’s Day. I had found strawberries and local yogurt at the market and decided to make a sweet Yorkshire pudding for Sunday breakfast for our friends Annie and Andre who were spending the weekend with us.
Andre and Charles had shared an office and architectural practice in Washington, DC, and Annie and I were pregnant at the same time. We talked late into the night about Annie’s current theatrical role, Andre’s newest project, Charles writing, my blog and shared the latest news about our children. Bleary eyed, we agreed to continue our conversation at breakfast.
We began with cups of tea and coffee and considered how we would spend the day. Breakfast was a cooperative affair – Annie set the table, Andre worked a Sudoku puzzle, Charles cleaned the strawberries and cooked the sausages, and I made the sweet Yorkshire pudding.
It was easier than making a traditional breakfast of eggs and bacon, pancakes, or omelets, and more festive than bagels and cream cheese. The batter, a combination of eggs, milk, and flour, is similar to a crepe batter and not temperamental. It will wait patiently until everyone is awake, showered, coffee’d and ready to eat, to be put into the oven to bake. Half an hour later – breakfast is served!
Here’s how I made it: … read more
May 4th, 2010 / comments 4
This weeks newsletter includes a link to a free Mothers’ Day card that you can download and print. I call it a PIN – the acronym for Print it Now.
To get the link to print the card – click on PIN – PRINT IT NOW in the column to the left and then use the link that says print Mothers’ Day Card.