Category Treats
The local strawberries have made their dramatic entrance, red and ripe and ready to add joy to your life. Rhubarb is still booming in my backyard, and the two flavors are a classic, seasonal combination. Because it’s so hot and humid out, I planned ahead and baked the shortcakes early in the morning. That way
There’s long been a trope, a recurring idea that meat eating is an essential part of manliness. Veggies are for girls, and possibly girly men, but real dudes dig burgers. Wicked, Healthy, Beautiful This silliness couldn’t be further from the truth, and the latest book from Chad and Derek Sarno and David Joachim has masculinity
Have you planned your Valentine’s Day yet? Forget about going out, it’s much snugglier to stay in and have your own private menu. The most important part of the meal is, of course, the Valentine’s Dessert. It must be sensuous, it must be chocolate, and if you can make it pretty, you’ve got a winner.
Do you wrestle with the decision of which pies to make at the holidays? Pumpkin, pear, apple, or even pecan sound so good, but do you really need four whole pies? This time, I’m making six different holiday tarts, each one designed to generously serve one person. This way, everybody has a delicious quandary at
Not Just For Holidays Anymore Did you know that Wisconsin is the biggest producer of cranberries? Take that California, with your sunny, temperate weather. The snowy Midwest is the source of 60% of the bright red berries that we eat by the bushel at the holidays. As we lead up to Thanksgiving, we need our
If you read last week’s post, you know that I’ve been playing around with beautiful naked barleys from Oregon. This week is another installment in the theme. Instead of making rolled barley into bars or pudding, I ground whole, naked barley into flour and made cookies. Chocolate chip cookies, just simple, easy cookies to really
Barley doesn’t get much play these days. This ancient grain was once the staff of life in some parts of the world. Analysis of archaeological sites in the Fertile Crescent find genetic evidence of it being domesticated and cultivated there 10,000 years ago. Barley is mentioned in the bible, and the ancient Egyptians made it
The rhubarb plants in my garden don’t care whether I ever get around to them. Every Spring, their crinkled leaves start growing under a coating of snow or ice, sure in the knowledge that it will soon pass. The moment the snow melts, they unfurl with great resolution and optimism. You can’t stop the rhubarb.
My Halvah Surprise The last thing that I thought I would rediscover in Amsterdam would have to be halvah. On my recent trip to the city of Canals and VanGogh, I was wandering from shop to shop, just checking things out, when I happened into a place called Sum Sum. There, loaves of smooth, velvety
If you follow me on instagram, twitter or facebook (and why wouldn’t you be?), you know that I’ve been traveling. But before I left, I made sure I had packable snacks for that looooong flight to Amsterdam. Travel Should Be Fun Aah, travel. Getting there should be half the fun, but often, it’s kind of