My garden is bursting with jalapeños. I didn’t realize just how many until I cleaned out the spent cherry tomato vines. There were loads of jalapeños hiding under there! Many of them had ripened to a beautiful red. They’re really fiery, hotter than their less ripe green neighbors. I think the flavor is better & a little smoother…
Warm September Farro Salad
Don’t you just love September? Here in Upstate NY, the garden bursts with beautiful tomatoes, beans, herbs, and more, and the local orchards have early apples. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day on the first day of Fall when I made this hearty salad. What fun to combine everything September in a bowl! It’s pretty warm…
Monster Spearmint (& Call for Recipes)
Just 2 winters ago, I bought some mint at Whole Foods to use in a recipe. I had some left over, and it was particularly fresh & gorgeous. I thought, “Why not?” & stuck a little stem of it in my Aerogarden to see if I could root it. It looked like this: It was pretty…
Fresh Pumpkin Pie
I’m just a hobbyist cook. But I do know there’s one thing I do better than some professional chefs, and that’s pumpkin pie. How do I know this? Because a few years ago, a local reporter interviewed chefs for an article on pumpkin pie. All the chefs used canned pumpkin. All of them. Now I ask you, have…
Fresh Whipped Cream
The perfect topping for the perfect pie doesn’t come out of a can. And really, it takes less than 5 minutes to whip some cream yourself. Unless you only have a hand mixer, in which case you’re either about to get some exercise, or you’ve already decided to skip this post & head to the…
Single Pie Crust
Flaky? Who, me? Butter? Shortening? A combination? It seems every pie baker has a strong opinion about pie crust. For me, it’s all about the flaky texture – which means shortening. I flirted for a while with butter & combination crusts, which do win hands down on flavor, but I keep coming back to the flakiness you…
Fresh Pumpkin
Fresh is best! Always. It is well worth a little extra time & effort to prepare fresh pumpkin for your pies & other baking. The flavor is brighter and the texture is less dense than canned pumpkin, making for much better baked goods. Of course, you can also serve it as a vegetable, just like any…
Radish Salad With Summer Squash
It’s raining radishes! They make a perfect base for this summer salad. It’s got a great complement of crunchy, sweet, and snappy, a perfect side for Black & Bleu burgers from Primal (seriously, if you’re in the 518, pick up a couple of these delicious burgers. Cracked pepper seasoning around the outside, bleu cheese incorporated into the burger. Perfection!)…
julienne.red 