A Jar to the Rescue

This blog is about real food. The kind we stir up with the fresh produce we receive each week from Freshness Farms, lovingly tend in our backyard gardens, and seek out at the local farmers’ market. It’s about steering clear of the packaged and shrink-wrapped stuff we all have a bit of (yes, all of us), tucked into the dark recesses of the freezer and cupboard. Dastardly stuff that all too eagerly beckons—like a sultry siren perched on the rocky shores in a Greek tragedy—at our most vulnerable moments, when time and energy are in short supply and the troops are ready to eat. Let’s face it, these are not often the real food moments we proudly boast about on Facebook.  As I said, this blog is about real food. Mostly real. After all we’re human, and humans succumb to sirens, now and then.

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A Gluten-free Guest: Roasted Seasonal Vegetables with Pesto

Gluten-free is one of the hottest cooking topics around—and no longer the exclusive realm of those with celiac’s disease or gluten-intolerance. More and more diners are looking for strategies to cut down on wheat and grain products.  With that in mind, this week I’m delighted to welcome guest blogger, E. Chloé Lauer, an expert on gluten-free cooking and nutrition. Chloé has an enthusiasm for clean eating that’s infectious, and her approach is both practical and easy. And simply delicious. Chloé’s recipe prompted me to take a peek at our archives, to see how we stack up in the gluten-free world. You’ll notice a new gluten-free tag in our recipe index this week (right side bar), that should make it easier to identify wheat-free recipes. Watch how the category grows as I slog through the files over the next few weeks. 

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Zucchini and Chard Soup with Basil

I don’t typically post recipes on the weekend.  Family life is full plus my publishing cycle centers on delivery day.  Occasionally there’s an exception though, when we cook up something truly special that makes use of the week’s delivery in a way we hadn’t anticipated earlier in the week.  A dish that warrants sharing.  This soup follows that pattern.  It was born of a crisper drawer loaded with leafy greens and a growing pile of zucchini, as the usual cadre of go-to recipes fell flat with my audience.  Something entirely different was needed.  A reach.  Despite its obviously healthy complexion, even those who wouldn’t normally give green soup a chance in this house were welcoming.

Zucchini and Chard Soup with Basil

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Fall’s Soothing Comfort

September is a month of change.  It’s that way every year, nonetheless we’re nearly always caught unawares.  It’s understandable really—shell-shocked as we are by back-to-school and the implosion of family life as we’ve known it for nearly three months.  Our happy existence has been replaced by an abyss filled with early start times, carpool spreadsheets, homework and school uniforms that no longer fit—crowned by a teetering stack of five-pound textbooks.  Worse yet is the demise of free time.  The grumpy teens.  And parents. In short, we’re in need of rescue.

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Fennel’s Mellow Side

Fennel’s my friend.  Though in truth we haven’t always been on great terms.  It wasn’t until I witnessed a mellower side to the licorice-licked vegetable, that I opened my heart.  Chalk it up to a 60s-and-70s-era Midwestern childhood—where vegetables were boiled and served straight up without much embellishment.  Butter, yes.  Maybe a sprinkling of salt. Choices were simple then. Carrots, peas, string beans. For an occasion, there was always broccoli.

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