Pure theater that will stop everyone in their tracks. Use organically grown flowers and leaves. Gently rinse only if necessary. Serve on top of lettuce, lightly sprinkled with olive oil and your mildest vinegar; Champagne vinegar preferred. The flowers here are nasturtium flowers and leaves, chervil flowers, chive flowers, pansies and violas, dame’s rocket, and […]
Chanticleer: A Pleasure Garden
And what a pleasure it was to finally experience this fantastic garden. My friend Lisa and I went yesterday, grabbing 3 hours between rain drops (thunderstorms, actually), to walk the 1 mile path through this gorgeous paradise in Wayne, Pennsylvania. The clouded sky, constantly threatening a shower, made the greens and yellows pop while another […]
Potato Leek Soup
A classic vichyssoise probably introduced by Julia Child back in the butter and cream days. I keep those two ingredients to a minimum by using the lusciousness of Yukon Gold potatoes, cultured butter, and cream from pastured cows, hence the golden hue of my potato leek soup. German Butterball potatoes would also give the soup […]
Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms
This is for Lewis. Lewis loves oozing yolks. I like my eggs solidified with the yolks and whites thoroughly mixed together. I did dip into the spinach and mushrooms. Delicious. You can change this up for what you have at hand. Instead of shallots, substitute scallions, onions, leeks, or ramps. Use any green you would […]
Freezing Mushrooms
Top Row: Crimini, Hen of the Woods (Maitake), Golden Enoki, Lion’s Mane, Chestnut Middle Row: Shiitake, Blue Oyster, King Trumpet, Enoki, Mediterranean Oyster Bottom Row: Shimeji, Pink Oyster, Nameko, White Button There are only 2 more weeks of farmers’ markets here in Bucks County and I stopped by two to gather up as many mushroom […]
Cheesy Mashed Potato Cakes
Actually had some mashed potatoes left over from dinner the night before, a rare occurrence, and with 2 leeks and some Gruyere cheese needing some companionship, well, cheesy mashed potatoes cakes seemed to be the perfect solution. I’ve only made these once before, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, and I was not impressed. They […]
Chestnuts
I don’t know if I can ever eat chestnuts again. Let’s start at the beginning. Having just left the Mennonite farmers’ market in State College, Pa with a quart of chestnuts, I screeched to a halt along the side of the road and ask Lewis and Kendra to jump out and gather up what looks […]
Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Isn’t blueberry season glorious! They keep in the fridge the longest of all of the berries, can just be popped into a freezer bag and frozen for future smoothies, and are available over a longer growing season by planting varieties with successive harvests. Any of my recipes that contain eggs will always look more yellow […]
Tapioca Pudding with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
I’m working on the pudding recipes for the cookbook and tapioca is my favorite. If you adore oysters and other foods whose textures are indescribable (not in a good way in my opinion), you undoubtedly can be found at the little storefronts selling humongous-size tapioca floating in an even more suspicious-looking liquid. Tapioca pudding requires, […]
Strawberry Rhubarb Rose Petal Jam
Strawberry Rhubarb Rose Petal Jam Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 50 mins Total time 1 hour Recipe By: Sheila McDuffie Serves: 8 half-pints Ingredients 4 cups fresh rose petals (homegrown organic, please!) 1 cup well or bottled water 4 cups rhubarb chunks about ½-inch square 4 cups sliced strawberries, about 2 […]