Stinging Nettles. What, you missed that day in Professor Slughorn‘s class? Though raw stinging nettles will indeed hurt you for a few minutes if you touch them with bare hands, you don’t need a magic wand or copy of Advanced Potion-Making to transform those-who-shall-not-be-handled into a terrific—and nutrient-dense—workhorse green. A couple-minute blanch is all it takes…
Tag: csa
A Dandy Lunch: Spring CSA Frittata
Everything here was from the last couple shareboxes to arrive in the Winter Season (though we’re bound and determined around here to consider it SPRING): eggs, a wee red onion, portabellos, an aged, gouda-style cheese, chives, and the crown jewel, a bag of dandelion greens. So many CSAers I know don’t bother with the “weed…
Let them eat (parsnip-carrot) cake
Even those of us who love parsnips and carrots suffered a little root fatigue this winter. The carrots were a little easier to work through—so sweet for snacking (or soup or pancakes)—but the ‘snips required a bit more effort. I do love parsnips, but, right or wrong, they’re typecast for me, relegated to a supporting role…
Cabbage, Salt & Gramma’s Secret Ingredient
“Time.” That’s all she ever asked for. Once glasses were filled, grace was offered, and platters were passed, “Time” was Gramma Crawshaw’s stock answer to any host’s query, “What does anyone need?” You could count on it. Just as you could count on her bringing the finest, hand-cut coleslaw to every holiday gathering. Itsy bitsy little slivers of cabbage and carrots. Uniform,…
Mrs. Peel’s Popcorn
Popcorn was off limits for most of my early teens. Seems like ten years, though it was more like four, which is still an insanely long time to wear braces. Some forbidden foods were not a big give-up—jelly beans and Jujubes never did much for me—but corn on the cob and popcorn? That seemed cruel….
Miso en Place
My meals are often made out of sequence. Well, partially made, anyway. On the days I work the closing shift, if I want to boost my odds of eating a better dinner than carry-out slices or a bowl of cereal or a scrambled egg or two (and believe me, that happens often enough), I have to…
There will be blood oranges
I know, I know. They’re not local. But here in southeast-PA’s Zone 7, no citrus is. With the short-seasoned blood oranges, ruby grapefruits, and Meyer lemons, though, I’ll stomach the carbon-footprint guilt. They just pair so beautifully with what is local and available now: Dark, leafy greens. Yes, even in the midst of the region’s…
Meat-radish carpaccio
“Green Meat Radishes.” Huh? LFFC’s weekly share-contents email had me headed straight to Google. Turns out I did know what they were—I’d just never heard them called that. They’re a green version of the gorgeous Watermelon Relish, which—who knew?—is also called a Red Meat Radish. Raw, the flavor reminds me of Daikon, with just a…
Alsatian Chicken Stew
Is there a smell better than leeks sizzling away in bacon fat? Probably. Somewhere. Maybe. But on a cold winter’s night, with flurries out the window and snow-capped mountains on TV, I can’t think of one. Here’s an easy, one-pot chicken stew—a riff on Nigella Lawson’s riff on Coq au Vin—whose leeks and bacon and…
It’s in the Bag: Popcorn on the Cob
“Do I hang that on my door?” Nope. That’s popcorn. Real popcorn.
Boxing Day 