Everyone is hitting their pantry. I’m guilty of neglecting dried fruit (although dried apricots are not around long) and dried split green peas. The Spring garlic from the garden is perfect for harvesting now before it jumps into its May growth spurt. Then the garlic shoots become too woody, forcing us to wait for scapes […]
Italian Mushroom and Barley Soup with Wild Mountain Oregano
Updated January 1, 2026 Brrrr. Baby, it’s cold outside. No better time for soup than today. As I gathered the ingredients, I found I had Italian barley, Italian olive oil from our friends Ann and André, and Italian wild mountain oregano that I just scored from Metropolitan Seafood. With all local produce from the Wrightstown […]
Minestrone
This is the time of year I freeze a whole lot of minestrone for the winter months. I leave the pasta out, to keep it from becoming mushy upon defrosting and heating. That allows me to change it up at whim into a Moroccan, Mexican, or Indian stew or soup. This is what I traditionally […]
Shiitake Mushroom Barley Patties
Any mushroom will do here. The barley is such a classic combination with mushrooms, that I’m reluctant to suggest any other substitution. The addition of celery, onion, and parsley was inspired by mushroom barley soup. I added the scallions for an additional layer of flavor. Other than that, I kept these simple to allow the […]