We are pie people, my family. Notwithstanding the perennial, nephew-driven, auntie-fueled, Northwoods debate about which permutation of my mother’s cupcakes reigns supreme (yellow cake, chocolate frosting—duh), we generally opt for pie over cake. I make a solid two-cruster (peach-blueberry is my go-to), but in my head, my finished product never can compare to my mother’s…
Author: Susan
Sommelier, gardener, baker, berry fiend, pickle hound, and all-around food dork.
When in doubt, go with the rosé. Or gin.
Crisper-cleanout giardiniera
Monday mornings, I try to clean out my fridge to make room for the new week’s share-box contents. So far this season, I’ve been keeping up fairly well, tossing out just a few items I never got to. Today’s partial casualty, a forgotten handful of snow peas, now two weeks aged and slimy, was hiding under a…
When Life Gives You Blueberries . . .
. . . make blueberry lemonade. And if it’s been a long (11 hours), hot (90+ degrees), perfect-storm, retail workday (pre-holiday weekend + visiting winemaker + last Saturday of our semi-annual sale + quarter-end inventory), you make an adult version. Christened by my good pal, Michael (who swears he will start blogging again soon), the Tonic…
Favas: Protein in a Pinch
I know, I know. This looks like last week’s post. Some kind of legume, some kind of pasta, maybe some kind of cheese. But when you don’t get home from work until 8:45, and when it’s one of your designated meatless days (I shoot for three a week), a couple handfuls of a protein-packed beans…
Mind Your Peas
Lots of our CSA picker-uppers were mystified by the bag of garden peas in the share-boxes this week. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. A quick web search revealed that 95% of all green peas are sold frozen or canned. I had no idea. There were always peas in our garden, and I still…
Supersmall-Batch Strawberry-Fig Jam
With strawberry season winding down and my fig tree still 6-8 weeks away from ripe, Marisa’s post yesterday seemed like a big tease. But on a dash through Whole Foods last night for bread and milk, I spied the huge (and ripe!) Black Mission figs you see above, so I decided to grab a handful,…
Peas, Pancetta, Penne (and Pink)
I’ve already had this dish twice this spring – and I’ll probably have it at least once more. Out of season, use a handful of frozen peas. And if you’d rather leave the meat out, that works, too. I only use the equivalent of a couple slices of bacon, though, so split amongst two or…
“Junebug” ice cream
The thought of making ice cream has always evoked for me the smells and sounds of my grandparents’ cellar in Marseilles, Illinois. Even when I use my Cuisinart doohickey with the canister you keep in the freezer so it’s ready when you’re ready, my brain conjures up sharp, minerally rock salt and wet burlap sack,…
10-Minute, Lemony Broccoli Soup
Though I’m still in the honeymoon phase with my month-old Vitamix, part of me still needs convincing that it’s not going to end up as this decade’s NordicTrack. This soup I whipped up to take for lunch tomorrow should save the mega-blender from coat-rack status for quite some time. 10-minute, lemony broccoli soup 1 small…
Scaped Potatoes with Basil and Lemon
What do Rachael Ray and Marc Vetri have in common? Not much. But I stole from both of them to get these glorious roasted potatoes. Ray’s mayo-free roasted potato salad includes a generous handful of fresh basil and has become a picnic go-to for me. And Marc’s instructions for Roasted Herbed Fingerling Potatoes (out of…
Boxing Day 