I drove home last night down and off the mesa in a snowstorm, huge flakes in massive flowing patterns in front of the head lights. This morning, I loved waking early and pulling up the blinds. The first snow of the season always gives me a burst of excitement. Then, the sun returned, light snow…
Category: Cooking
Pumpkin Dal…and the North Fork Valley International Food Club
Last year a group of foodie friends in the Paonia area created the North Fork Valley International Food Club, a monthly gathering featuring cuisines of the world, selected by the whim of a dial spun on a roulette board of a couple dozen different countries. From Thai, to German, French, Moroccan, Brazilian, Japanese and many more, the chosen Saturday…
Buckwheat Elderberry Muffins with Lemon and Ginger ~ November Tea Time
November remembers…..ahhhh….. June in the garden: ….and the months flew by…. right into the last elderberries of the season. I first created this recipe last year, and wanted to pull it out again. If you don’t have access to elderberries, try dried currants, or chopped dried cranberries. Actually, these muffins would be great with a mix…
Butternut Squash Soup with Leeks, Anaheim Chilies and Dried Italian Plums
Fall. I am finally up for it! I made an autumn wreath from fresh sage and fire thorn berry clusters the other day for my front door. Welcome! After a kinda unsettling bout of digestive funk, I am finally comin’ round, I hope, and having some energy to get back into my work, harvest nearly…
A Sunny October Day – and GF Chocolate Dipped Almond Biscotti
Loving the light this October day, especially with a freshly made chocolate dipped biscotti in hand, sitting under this tree in my backyard. under an October sky – cool and crisp – with Biscotti to eat! Discovering, baking and revising gluten free recipes, then basking in the afterglow of finished goods such as this fresh…
Amaretto Pear Preserves
Pears and almonds go together like childhood friends. It’s true! This pear preserves recipe has a wonderful depth added by flavoring with a little Amaretto (Italian almond liqueur), fresh nutmeg, and honey. So easy, and lushly delicious, like these pears it was made from this afternoon. Assembling ingredients for a recipe like this brings a smile….
I Had Dreams of This Tostada….
Yes, I dreamt up this tostada, fully awake but mesmerized, standing in and meandering through the fall garden, creating in my head with what was possible – given ingredients in my pantry and what could be harvested that day. Autumn in the garden is soo beautiful, with goldfinches landing on ripe sunflower heads, making them bob and…
Praying Mantis Encounter – and a recipe for Grilled Chicken Marcellina
The garden is an exquisite jumble of greens and all of those coveted colors – red, orange, yellow, purple….and I’m harvesting, canning and freezing like mad whenever I get a few hours to spend. I love it of course! What is not to love about these tomatoes? One of the most prolific vegetables this season have…
Unexpected Beet Conversions – A (Tongue in Cheek?) Religious Experience
When cooking all those lovely offerings from your garden, it is hard, no impossible, not to go into rapture about their exquisite taste. It was an unexpected surprise to hear, a few weeks ago, my simple preparations would result in the shock of true conversion status. Something like this: I’m referring to beets, and their effects on unsuspecting friends and…
Wasabi Egg and Avocado Salad Stuffed Cucumbers
Cukes galore at Ft. Collins, Colorado CSA Happy Heart Farm inspired me to create this recipe back when I provided food demos monthly on pick-up days. It often turned into a party on these afternoons – 4 to 5 dishes for all of the members to taste based on what was being harvested. That hot summer the cucumbers…
This is just to say – I love plums, and thank you, William Carlos Williams (with a recipe for plum pizza)
PLUMS. They taste like heaven and the name rolls right off your tongue. The Italian – or Stanley – plum tree in my yard has had a very good year. I need a taller ladder quick, to reach those elusive clusters still swinging on high. I sat down with lunch and a beautiful book on…
The Versatile Ear: Raw Thai Style Corn Salad, Corn and Feta Stuffed Poblano Peppers + Roast Serrano, Organic Sweet Corn and Heirloom Potato Chowder
Fresh sweet corn. Butter. Salt. Iowa born and raised. Summers at the lake in upstate New York. Corn is in my blood. I love corn on the cob! What a sign of summer! As young girls, my twin sister and I used to make observations about a person’s style of eating an ear of corn, sitting around the table with family,…
Tomato Nasturtium Salad with Kalamata Olives
Home grown increases the flavor of a tomato by at least a 1000%. You don’t have to go far in a conversation to find folks who agree – it’s a well known fact. I’m growing quite a few varieties this year, and there are many more to try next season…beautiful colors, unusual heirlooms, from the huge Mortgage Lifter…
Paonia Peaches! Elderberry peach crisp, Frangelico peach preserves, Serrano peach hot sauce
The North Fork Valley of Colorado where I live is blessed with so many orchards, most of them organic. In mid – August, everyone was talking about JJ’s peaches, u-pick for 1.25 a lb. I decided to drive up to Lamborn Mesa during the height of the earliest picking season, on a coolish morning which was quickly warming…
Pachamama's Beautiful Food 