End of The Season Harvest

A lazy gardener, I begin each spring like a schoolgirl with my pencils sharpened. My raised beds with their mulched companion plants hum with expectation, and they do yield patio salads and pot luck suppers. But, they’re never fully realized as I slack off weeding, watering and nursing the sick for the lure of farm […]

Smashed Potatoes and Celery Root with Chive Butter

Knobby celery root doesn’t look like a vegetable to cuddle up to, which is why most Americans don’t cook it. But scratch its skin for an earthy aroma that’s celery-like with a distinctive edge. When classically paired with neutral potatoes, it elevates both vegetables, so that together they become something more than either alone. Serves about […]

Savory Pancake with Fennel Confit

(Picture from The Berkshire Food Journal, where you’ll find loads of great audio/slide show clips on farmers and chefs) Fennel is a three-in-one vegetable, each tasty but surprisingly different. Its top sports green herbal fronds, gentle and sweet. The crisp bulb has a light licorice flavor raw, but is mysteriously subtle when stewed, as it […]

Market Salad with Pan Roasted Potatoes and Local Cheese

One early summer variation with beets, radishes and feta (or blue cheese). You could also add arugula, chives, and numerous other goodies. Fresh goat cheese could be spread on a toasted baguette if you prefer. I love what I call open recipes, because they’re flexible and forgiving. Add a little more or less of this or […]

September Salad

Simple, but surprisingly good. I scissored garden arugula, young and lively, then added chives, which sit in a pot outside my kitchen door, diced Cortland apples from neighboring Taft Farms and young farmers market carrots. They all got a toss in olive oil and a hair of salt, just to coat, and then a light […]