Storing Parsley and Other Fresh Herbs
Fresh parsley is a living thing, so I store it and other fresh, leafy herbs as I do fresh flowers. It’s best to have your fresh parsley washed and thoroughly dried before chopping it.
Cilantro Mint Chutney
Spring is so exciting for me. One of the first things to sprout up in my garden every year is mint: such a fresh and beautiful green and wonderfully fragrant. It’s so lovely and green I just had to make something with it. So I got out one of my favorite recipes: cilantro mint chutney….
Bean Thread Noodles with Veal, Tomatoes, and Mint
Above is a picture of a recent lunch that was very simple to make because I had bean thread noodles on hand. I find bean thread noodles to be a very handy pantry item. Bean thread noodles are made from mung bean starch: the same mung beans that are sold as common sprouts. The noodles…
Cooking Basics | Fall | Produce | Snacks | Summer
Applesauce
What to do with all of the apples I collected for the photo in my last post? Applesauce. Applesauce is easy to make, and your efforts will be deliciously rewarded. It’s really worth the effort, and it’s a great dish to do with young children. Kids love applesauce, and eating the applesauce that they’ve helped…
Apples for Baking
I’m not very focused on baking, so when I want to bake something with apples I find myself in a quandary, as I don’t know which are the best for baking. In my experience, some apples are reduced to mush by the baking process. Others hold up but don’t taste great. Then there are those…
Fresh, Simple Zucchini with Mint
A gardener friend once said that if she were ever a castaway on a deserted island she would want to have a squash seed with her. One seed and she could grow a large vine and plenty of food! If you’ve ever grown zucchini in your garden you know what she meant. A healthy zucchini vine…
Gluten Free | Produce | Soup | Spring | Vegan
Fresh Asparagus Soup
This is a simple, refreshing soup that’s good hot or cold. The original inspiration comes from Deborah Madison’s The Greens Cookbook. It’s a vegetarian soup that can be made vegan. You make the stock from asparagus ends and leek tops, and you use the body of the asparagus and leeks to make the soup. I’m not…
Simple, Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade
Spring is officially here and summer is just around the corner. Time for a tall pitcher of cool, freshly made lemonade! Last weekend, our neighborhood sponsored a yard sale. The kids ran a lemonade stand/bake sale to raise money for charity. It was a big success. The lemonade drew a lot of surprised comments. “The lemonade…
The Last of the Summer Harvest
We had our first hard frost last night. Just as the sun was setting I snuck out to the backyard to salvage any last frost-fragile offerings from my garden. I found several sweet peppers: some ripe and red, a couple in transition from green to red, and a few others still green. There were a number…
Dairy Free | Gluten Free | Produce | Sides | Vegan
Ibu’s Curried Butternut Squash
A friend recently asked me for a recipe with pumpkin. Truth be told, I don’t cook with pumpkin that often. I use other winter or hard squashes more frequently. So I’m offering up this butternut squash recipe in lieu of a pumpkin recipe.