It’s rhubarb season in central Ohio! I like rhubarb in jam, strawberry rhubarb pie, and my grandmother’s rhubarb crunch. But my favorite way to enjoy this slightly sweet, floral, first “fruit” of spring is in a vodka infusion. You might think I’m a lush but hear me out. Rhubarb is tongue-searingly sour and requires...
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This whole house-selling business is exhausting. I get up early to work on house projects and stay up late wondering how we will manage showings and what house we will buy. Like the addict I am, I’m making coffee a lot more regularly now. As recently as six months ago, I was grinding beans...
Read more →Freshstreet Yakitori (previously Section 8 Yakitorium) has received a good bit of press lately. The reviews are universally great but no one has picked up on exactly what makes the Yakitorium so tasty and authentic. It’s the bincho. Bincho-tan is a special hardwood charcoal produced and imported from Japan. So far as I can...
Read more →Remember when I had a SodaStream on my holiday wish list? I put it on there because when I have sinus pain and pressure, nothing is more delightful to drink than some sparkling water. But I have always hated the packaging waste of bottles of water. My friend Faith saw my list and said...
Read more →Seasonal foods are hot and heavy in the spring, summer, and fall as we eat our way through herbs and asparagus to peas and beans to tomatoes and squash. What about winter? Hot houses do produce fresh food in Ohio but there are only so many ways to eat greenhouse-grown lettuces and greens. Even...
Read more →I rarely use a drinking straw. In the entirety of my nearly 11 year marriage to Alex, we have only purchased one box of 100 plastic straws, many of which were used for crafting, not drinking, purposes. Along came Lil and our family’s straw consumption sky rocketed. Straws are fun for kids and easier...
Read more →Welcome to Peach Week! I declare it so because peaches are in season in Ohio and I love them! Before I get to the fruit of today’s post, let me introduce the creator of the recipe, Anna. Anna is a 20 year old Japanese college student staying with us for two weeks. She is...
Read more →I love a good cocktail but I despise maraschino cherries. The rubbery red-flavored spheres resemble the natural fruit in name alone. I decided to tackle creating cocktail cherries at home when faced with an extra quart of fresh local sour cherries after making sour cherry preserves. While searching for a recipe, I discovered a...
Read more →Today’s guest post comes from the man of the homestead, Alex. This isn’t a sexist classification, it’s the truth: Alex lives with two female humans, two female dogs, and four female hens. He’s the only guy around to take on demanding issues like horse racing and distillery websites. Apparently there is a race-inside-the-race held...
Read more →Alex’s brother Ben married Kim this weekend. It was a happy handmade affair featuring: home-brewed beer by Alex, a home-sewn flower girl dress for Lil by Grandma Cindy (Thanks Mom!!), home-cooked food by Kim’s brother-in-law and a Taysetee cake by my sister Heather, origami flowers folded by the bride and groom for centerpieces and...
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