Repairs send household into pioneer era
Friday, May 9, 2008
I’ve developed a new appreciation for the trials of my pioneer foremothers, even if my own compromised situation is a long way from replicating theirs. Contractors working in our basement removed our hot water heater and furnace last week. Then, intermittent wet weather extended a three-day project into an ordeal of indefinite duration.
Asparagus shunned by skeptics
Sunday, April 27, 2008
While I fantasize about having more asparagus than I can possibly eat, I understand that not everyone shares this passion. At the same time, I can’t tell whether the asparagus detractors are a significant segment of the eating population, as I don’t think anyone polls for this sort of thing. Without hard data, we are left to speculate, which is more fun anyway.
Boomer-friendly garden gadgets popular
Friday, April 18, 2008
Long ago, in a much simpler time, growing vegetables was a straightforward matter. When our grandparents were wielding the hoe, they worked the soil, planted their seeds and let nature take its course.
Tillers’ effectiveness, cost vary
Friday, April 11, 2008
For many vegetable growers, April is the most important month in the gardening cycle. People who do not plant early vegetables usually turn the soil for the first time in April. For them, the work they do this month will be the first opportunity to reconnect with the piece of ground they have been working for the past several seasons.
Carrots a challenge, but can be grown
Saturday, March 29, 2008
One of the vegetables that can be directly seeded into the garden this time of year is the carrot, which has developed — unfairly, I might add — a reputation for being difficult to grow.
Different techniques head off nature’s interlopers in the garden
Monday, March 24, 2008
As we begin planting this year, it will be important to think proactively about protecting new plants from the local wildlife. Given the spike in the four-legged population in recent years, defensive gardening is a must, even in town.
Difficulties increase in finding nutritious, affordable food
Friday, Feb. 22, 2008
Strolling through the supermarket last week, I spotted a cherry pie on sale for $2.99. If I pick and pit the cherries, I can make a cherry pie at less cost, but if I have to use canned pie filling, I can’t beat that price.
White chocolate makes cookie guilty pleasure
Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008
Every so often, I am confronted by what I deem to be the tastiest cookie ever invented, which features hazelnuts and chunks of white chocolate as its main ingredients.
Too-far-gone fruit isn’t necessarily a bad thing
Monday, Feb. 4, 2008
I found myself a few weeks ago with a supply of over-ripe bananas. I like my bananas with sugar spots, but these were too far gone even for me, so I let them continue to ripen until they were black.
Root vegetables add heft to hearty soup
Friday, Jan. 25, 2008
A lot of people are complaining about the weather, but I don’t mind a few weeks in the dead of winter when the high temperatures never break out of the low 30s. This is turtleneck-sweater, curl-up-by-the-fire weather.
Breakfast nutrition takes back seat to sweet tooth
Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008
For at least 30 years, I have embraced the adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I’m not sure when the epiphany occurred, but at some point my body or common sense persuaded me that breakfast was necessary enough that I prepare and eat it every morning before I leave the house.
Mac and cheese fit for winter comfort
Friday, Jan. 18, 2008
When the weather is cool, my appetite gravitates toward comfort food, which tends to be tasty, filling, fattening and unglamorous. And so it was that I decided a couple of weeks ago to indulge a craving for homemade macaroni and cheese.
Incorporating dates into diet is easier than you think
Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008
It’s not every day that the UPS guy drops 11 pounds of dates on the front porch. But that’s exactly what happened at my house the week before Christmas. This bounty of palm fruit was a gift from relatives on the West Coast, who thought a product of the California sunshine might liven up our snowy Midwestern holiday.
Recipe reminder of aunt’s legacy
Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007
Many of us complain of the stress associated with the holidays as we juggle cooking, shopping, decorating, work, travel, in-laws and so forth. At the same time, it’s almost impossible not to be intoxicated by the season, whose hallmarks are the eager anticipation and easy laughter of children and the spontaneous generosity that is in short supply at other times of the year.
Gifts for a foodie: No, not a blender
Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007
Because cooking can be viewed as either a pleasant diversion or domestic drudgery, giving kitchen appliances as holiday gifts can brand you as either a hero or a heel.
Hot soups: the cure for chilly weather
Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007
On a chilly evening or weekend afternoon, there’s no more fitting meal than a steamy soup made with seasonal ingredients. And if the soup is quick to prepare, so much the better. It just means you can return to curling up under your afghan with a book or a favorite TV show that much sooner.
Twist on pecan pie adds flair to tradition
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007
Shockingly, just 12 days separate this column from Thanksgiving. For those who will be wearing the apron on Nov. 22, this means that a finely choreographed production is about to commence. Anyone who has been through this holiday ritual knows that organization and advanced preparation are key.
In seaport, diners connect with food
Monday, Nov. 5, 2007
Many of us, often the urbanites among us, live lives disengaged from the source of our food.
Food service grounded
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007
Whenever I fly, I pine wistfully for the time when planes flew half-empty and a person could stretch out, maybe nap across two or even three seats. We didn’t care about carbon footprints or business efficiency in those halcyon days of yore. But now more humans are wedged into smaller airplanes, and I find myself exceedingly grateful to be short.
Recipe capitalizes on pumpkin season
Friday, Oct. 12, 2007
I tend to view the stretch from Halloween to Thanksgiving as one segment of the culinary calendar. In part, that’s because the weather in October and November is so distinct from summer and winter, which precede and follow. Those two months are their own season.
Apples deserve autumn reverence
Friday, Sept. 28, 2007
As I was pondering this reverence that people have for the apple, I decided that the apple had two things going for it. First, there are the apple’s practical benefits, namely its portability, durability and long shelf life without refrigeration. For this reason, the apple has been a staple of the sack lunch for generations of workers and school children.
Brownie substitution tasty, but not low-cal
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007
I subscribe to several cooking magazines, and one of the best for dessert recipes is Cooking Light. Leafing through this magazine, which purports in its very title to focus on light foods, is an adventure in irony.
Cooler air ushers in fall, winter fare
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007
I am convinced that the seasonal change in food preferences is more than habit or custom. There’s a physical component that I suspect is a holdover from a time when we, like other mammals, had to pack on a little more insulation to make it through the winter.
Fresh lime key flavor in cheesecake variation
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007
One of my favorite desserts is the key lime pie, and another is the basic cheesecake. For some time now, I’ve been hoping to find a reliable and straightforward recipe for a lime cheesecake that would combine the best characteristics of both desserts.
Bedtime just as crucial as awakening in garden
Friday, Aug. 31, 2007
With the temperatures stuck in the 90s and this year’s vegetable garden petering out, it’s hard to think about replanting next spring. But in fact, work we do in the garden over the next month or so will make a difference in how our vegetable crops fare next time around.
Culinary icon takes cake with classic recipe
Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007
I recently was in need of a recipe for a substantial cake to give as a thank-you gift, but it had to be a recipe that was simple to make because I was pressed for time. My first thought was of a carrot cake recipe that I became attached to more than 30 years ago.
With yellow wax beans, flavor depends on prep
Saturday, July 28, 2007
I’ve fallen in love. The object of my recently ignited affection is a yellow wax bean called Goldito.
Sweet, fresh peaches base for delicious dessert
Friday, July 13, 2007
I rounded a corner in the supermarket the other day and was nearly knocked off my feet by the aroma of hundreds of ripe peaches. Nothing smells as sweetly seductive as a ripe peach, as far as I’m concerned.
Basil, tomatoes an aromatic, flavorful mix
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
When I load up my purchases at the nursery in the spring, I always set the tomato and basil plants in the same flat so they will rub against each other on the way home, filling my car with an amazing explosion of perfume.
Founding father’s methods blossom in modern gardens
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
I found myself in central Virginia last week, I did what any red-blooded American vegetable gardener would do: I took the Monticello garden tour. While most people think of Thomas Jefferson as the author of the Declaration of Independence, vegetable gardeners know him for his contributions to organic gardening and to garden design.
Busy bees keep gardens growing
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
All vegetable plants that produce a bloom depend to varying degrees on bee pollination to produce fruit. For those of us who have spent our lives being fearful of stinging insects, this is tough news to hear.
‘Seasoned’ straw makes best mulch for vegetable gardens
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Most people wouldn’t lament the fact that they had run out of partially rotten straw, primarily because they wouldn’t keep the stuff around in the first place. But I do and I did run out, and for me, this was a minor tragedy.
Heavy rains keep gardeners at bay
Saturday, May 12, 2007
How quickly a saturated garden will dry out depends on a number of factors, including the type of soil you have (sandy soil drains better than soil that is high in clay), how level the garden is (low spots create pockets where water collects) and whether the area already has been tilled this season. Ground that has been aerated with a tiller tends to let go of moisture a lot more quickly.
Vine-ripe tomatoes turn heads, tempt your taste buds
Saturday, May 5, 2007
The No. 1 reason people plant vegetable gardens or go to farmers markets is for the tomatoes. Over the years I have struggled with language, trying to find a way to describe the irresistible flavor of a home-grown tomato that has been allowed to hang on the vine until the moment of optimal ripeness.
Carrots: The lazy gardener’s best friend
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
As a general rule, carrots are the easiest vegetable to grow in the home garden and the hardest to mess up — as long as you take a few specific steps at the beginning of the spring planting season.
Garden becomes battlefield in war on rabbits
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Every time I come up my driveway at night and park in front of my house, cottontail rabbits scatter in the headlights. The gardener in me knows this is a bad sign — a very, very bad sign. I don’t have to dig too far back to summon memories of bean plant stumps and holes in the soil where lettuce plants used to be.
Daylight-saving gardening: Practical do’s and don’ts
Thursday, March 8, 2007
When Congress changed the date on which daylight-saving time would commence, it’s unlikely that the needs of vegetable gardeners figured into the decision, but this is one constituency that will benefit from the shift of sunlight to the latter part of the day.
Spring the time to retool garden
Monday, March 5, 2007
Just as we occasionally change the carpet and drapes in the living room, it also makes sense to remodel the vegetable garden.
Clever reader defies tomato-free winter
Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007
If vegetable gardening has a downside, it’s that eating vine-ripened tomatoes ruins us for lesser specimens. Having tasted the real thing, we can never truly enjoy a tomato that was picked before its prime.
Sale sweetens stuffed pepper recipe
Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007
The stuffed bell pepper may be something of an artifact. It certainly was ensconced in the repertoire of 1960s family meals — back in the day when mothers prepared casseroles for dinner instead of microwaving frozen entrees. The stuffed bell pepper may have developed a bad rep by keeping company with the tuna casserole, but it easily can be updated, particularly if you have red and yellow bells available.
Cold weather calls for a veggie compromise
Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007
No sooner was I plunged into deepest winter than I found myself craving fresh vegetables. The incongruity in this situation should be obvious, given that our winter appetite is supposed to lead us to tubers and root crops and less so to the green and leafy veggies that sustain us in warmer seasons.
Global warming’s silver lining could be longer growing season
Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2007
My cilantro bed, which usually reseeds itself about three times each year, from early spring to fall, came alive during late December when daytime temperatures got stuck in the 60s. While the heat wave didn’t last long enough for the seedlings to get more than an inch tall, I see this as a flashing neon sign of what’s to come.
Classic soup sticks to ribs
Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007
Some foods belong to the season. This is certainly true of the summer produce that comes from the garden, and it also applies to the deep-flavored and stick-to-the-ribs dishes that are so appealing on a cold winter evening.