Tegan has been home for the summer, visiting from Abu Dhabi. We had her husband Johannes here for a bit and they celebrated their marriage with their US friends over the July 4th holiday. It was wonderful seeing everyone, some from back in high school days (Tegan’s, not mine!). Last week Tegan took Lewis and […]
Homemade Granola
Have you ever made your own granola? Don’t worry, we won’t judge if you’re an old hippie. Although I never made any in my hippie days, back in the early 1970’s I had my first yogurt topped with granola at a rustic cafe in a little upstate New York town where I went camping with […]
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 […]
French Mustard Vinaigrette
Making a Niçoise salad today with the potato salad from yesterday. So here’s the dressing I’ll be using, a simple mustard vinaigrette. When making salad dressings, taste for the balance of oil and vinegar. Each vinegar will vary in dominance over the oil. Lemon juice is the mildest with cider and red wine vinegar […]
Roasted Ratatouille
This is the time of year that I always make a big batch of ratatouille to freeze for the winter. Grab some Roma or other paste tomatoes for this. You want a meaty tomato, not the delicate (and expensive) heirlooms as a base. I had green Italian peppers from the garden, but of course you […]
Kendra’s Cucumber Salad
Kendra and Eduardo are visiting for a few days before they head back to grad school and Kendra made us a cucumber salad for our lunch. I ate it with a smile, despite my disdain of raw onions soaked in vinegar. Kendra loves sour things and worked in a Korean restaurant when she and her […]