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

This is the last of the series of colorful salads and although these salads are long way from that chunk of iceberg lettuce and bright orange splash of salad dressing, I know that Nana would love them all because, to her, everything I did was perfect. Everyone deserves a grandmother like that!

The crimson red of pomegranate seeds adds color, flavor and loads of health benefits to a cucumber salad. Here’s how I made it: … read more

Garlic scapes, strawberries,  kale, spicy greens, eggs and dandelion greens.  The garlic scapes and kale are going to be added to a quiche. You can find the recipe here. The strawberries are lovely naked.

Along with asparagus, spicy greens, eggs and purple scallions I got a jar of lovely green buttermilk, spinach salad dressing.

The dressing is a lovely shade of green and is made with local, organic buttermilk, sunflower oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, spinach, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.

Full disclosure – I added chive blossoms are from my garden for a little hit of color in the photo.

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