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Honey-Ginger Carrot & Parsnip Latkes
Today is a special day for me. It was four years ago that D and I went on our first date. And what a first date it was. It started with a long stroll through the Philadelphia Museum of Art where we sat by the monastery courtyard fountain and he took my hand for the first time. Then we had a late lunch at More Than Just Ice Cream on Pine Street. He had the guacamole; I had the grilled cheese with tomatoes; and we both agreed that water is the only drink we ever order out. We shared an enormous slice of the house special: apple pie al la…
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Herbal Tea Recipes
I spent this past weekend handcrafting my loose-leaf herbal tea blends using the herbs I’d grown and dried myself. I have to say that I’m pretty pleased with this year’s selection. For starters, I have made 10 blends this time compared to the one blend last year. But more importantly, some of these new recipes yeild some of the best herbal teas I’ve ever tasted (and I’m a big herbal tea drinker). In particular, the Floral Fantasy Tea and the Spiced Anise Tea are outstanding. All herbs were grown in my own garden using organic growing practices (no chemical fertilizers or pesticides whatsoever). I handpicked the herbs so only the…
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Ground Cherry Pie
Wanna join a cult? Don’t raise your eyebrows at me! This cult is one you’ll want to be a part of, trust me. It revolves around a small golden orb that appears out of a papery vessel that fell out of the sky. Really! I swear! Alright, before half of you click the little “X” in the upper corner of the screen, I’ll stop being goofy. I’m talking about ground cherries (Physalis pruinosa): a crop that was new to me this year and one that’s got me smitten. I was very curious about ground cherries after my mom sent me an article on them out of a newspaper dedicated to…
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Corn and Tomato Bread Pudding
I don’t know about where you are, but around here, the smell of fall has been in the air all week. It’s especially heavy in the dewy cool morning light. I smile like the Mona Lisa when I’m walking to class or working in my garden. I’ve pulled the light sweaters out of the cedar chest. What is it about autumn that just makes life a little sweeter? And is there anyone out there that “hates” fall the way some people hate winter or summer? I can’t imagine disliking cool nights, crisp mornings, and warm (but not hot) sun in the afternoon. With the advent of autumn on my doorstep,…
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Rosemary Olive Oil Potato Bread
Two weeks of non-stop bread recipes. Aren’t you people satisfied yet?! I actually now have five more bread recipes waiting in the wings for a third week. Won’t somebody please save me from myself?! We will be taking a brief intermission from bread next week though as I have an original recipe for a Valentine’s Day treat that’s not bread-based. Since I like to keep my bread weeks pure, a change in theme is necessary. Enough with the administrative mumbo-jumbo. Let’s talk about this sumptuous loaf of Rosemary Olive Oil Potato Bread. All the bread I’ve been baking lately has been superb, but there have been two clear front-runners. Last…
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Week of Bread: Pumpernickel
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Week of Bread: Pumpernickel
Ah, pumpernickel, bread of my boy… D’s favorite bread is pumpernickel, but it is by far my least favorite. Or should I say it was my least favorite until I made this recipe, which I tried for D’s sake. Ironically, he doesn’t like it. What’s this bread preference switcheroo got to do with you? I’m using my little household’s case study to prove that homemade pumpernickel may be worth trying even it you aren’t a fan of the stuff from the store. Conversely, this very tiny focus group (perhaps I should include the cats next time to bump up the credibility of my research?) serves as evidence that if you…
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Rosemary Olive Oil Potato Bread
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Dulce De Leche
Finally! Today I get to tell you all about my homemade dulce de leche. I’ve been absolutely bursting at the seams with anticipation, chucking the last of the cranberry recipes at you. That’s not to say those weren’t worthwhile. Oh no no. It’s just that this recipe for the creamy dreamy caramely treat from South America can’t be kept under wraps for long. So do you have a minute for me to tell you a little story about how I came to be on a quest for the perfect dulce de leche recipe? I really hope so because it’s worth telling. It all started in April of this past year…
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Turnip and Roasted Garlic Mash
Alright, I’ll be honest here folks. The creative juices just aren’t flowing today. It might have something to do with the celebratory scotch last night, or it might have to do with my long-time-coming admission to myself that I just don’t like turnips all that much. Yep, you heard me right. I don’t like cooked turnips. I tried and I tried. I roasted them. I put them in soup. I put them in potpie (which I do admit wasn’t all that bad). I fried them. And now I’ve finally mashed them with roasted garlic. If roasted garlic can’t endear them to my taste buds, nothing can. Oddly enough, I don’t…
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Bittersweet Greens
With both the farmers out of town this weekend, I didn’t need to spend Sunday at the Headhouse Market. Instead I took this extra time to leisurely harvest some flowers for drying and to take some end-of-season photos of the farm. With all the hustle and bustle that my typical Sunday mornings at the farm require in the hurry to get to market, I hadn’t slowed down enough lately to notice how the season is coming to an obvious halt. I’m no stranger to the changing of the seasons, having grown up on a farm that ebbed and flowed with the shortening and lengthening of the days. But somehow this…
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Apple Dumplings
I’m starting to feel like a broken record here but it’s really true…I love cooking with my mom. Besides the fact that she’s a great cook herself, she’s got all this amazing know-how that you just don’t find in cookbooks. And she has a couple of recipes that I don’t dare mess with on my own. I’m talking about those childhood favorites that never taste the same when you attempt to recreate them yourself as an adult. I don’t think I’ll ever make mac & cheese on my own. It’s a shame really because I love mac & cheese and when the dreaded day comes that my mom is no…
