Alex is interested in the workings of yeast for all fermented things, so he naturally fell into bread baking. At first he tried many recipes with as many failures as successes. Now, he now bakes a batch of bread twice a week to feed our family. Alex does not, however, like to get messy....
Read more →Homemade flavored liqueur is one of the simplest ways to preserve the flavor of fresh fruit. I posted a recipe for cranberry liqueur last year, but one can make liqueur with any fruit with the following simple method. Local, in season fruits make the best liqueurs because they have the strongest fresh flavor. Choose...
Read more →My aunt Deb picked and delivered a large box of pears from her farm. We ate some fresh, but soon the pears begged to be preserved before they rotted. My thoughts turned to pear sauce and pear butter, but I have a large store of applesauce already in the pantry and I’m not sure...
Read more →Don’t throw away (or compost) the innards of your pie or jack-o-lantern pumpkins! Amongst the tricky pith are treats, delicious seeds! By the way, a serrated grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool for scooping pumpkin flesh. Soak the pumpkin innards in water for a bit and then separate seeds from stringy pulp by hand. ...
Read more →In early September, I agreed to host a canning demonstration at Oakland Nursery’s Fall Festival. I said I would make a local fruit jam, figuring that I would pick up something in season the day before at the farmer’s market. With very warm early fall temperatures, fruits ripened far ahead of what’s typical for...
Read more →I mentioned in the Labor Day camping post that our campout menus are generally very simple. There’s grilled meat, cold veggie salad, fresh fruit, and always potato packets. The ‘packet’ method of cooking is a standby because it can use a variety of ingredients, virtually any method of cooking, and cleanup is easy. You...
Read more →It has been hot here in Ohio. And humid. A friend described the recent weather as “walking around inside someone’s mouth.” Indeed. Instead of enduring the wicked weather during the afternoon heat, I searched for indoor activities to occupy Lil’s boundless energy in the relative cool of the air conditioning. A few days ago,...
Read more →I could call this recipe the ‘convert kale salad’ for all the people who hate kale but love this dish. It could be named ‘Basi Italia Rip-Off’ because I first tasted the salad at the elegant Basi Italia restaurant in Columbus and have been recreating it in my kitchen ever since. Another good title...
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