kitchen adventures
Most of the last week has been hot and sticky, so my prediction was correct: no more peas, because peas hate the heat. In CSA week 4, the greens are shifting, too, away from the tender early spring cool weather types, to the more robust (and tough, sometimes bitter) greens.
I promised to make a post about using garlic scapes. To me, they’re one of spring’s best treats! They’re mild and almost sweet. Raw, they’re as crunchy as green beans; cooked, they become tender. You may already know that garlic scapes are the long stalks and flower bud of the
We’ve had warmer weather this past week – great for summer crops, but not so good for those that prefer cool spring weather. CSA week 3 gives us peas in the shell today! I’m fairly certain this is the end of the short season; peas hate the heat. (Maybe I am
Well, well, well! It’s CSA week 2, and today’s box brings us greens – 3 kinds of lettuce and kale – but also radishes, broccoli, potatoes, onion, and, surprise, strawberries! Those berries are an unexpected treat. While the last part of May was sunny and warm, the temperatures have become
Here in SE Michigan, we’ve just begun the season for local produce. Think that’s late? Where I live, the frost free date is May 29 – so I count myself lucky to get a basket of produce in early June. We participate in a CSA from Van Houtte Farms in Armada,
Here in SE Michigan, Spring is an iffy season. One day the temperatures will hit the 80s, and the next, will sulk somewhere in the 50s. Springtime is hot and cold and wet and dry and we get all kinds of weather. This makes meal planning a challenge. Will we want something hot or cool? Light or hearty?
I grew up in Michigan, and my mom was an A&P shopper. Sure, there were other grocery stores in town, but it was the A&P for staples. Every so often a little treat would find its way home in the grocery bags, and my favorite was a little snack cake
Today I made the simplest rhubarb compote. Winter has been hanging on forever. It seems like it’s January 115th, rather than more than halfway through April. Some of the plants know that springtime is almost here – there are buds, some flowers are pushing up their stalks – but we
Why did “pantry cooking” ever become associated with deprivation? There are lots of wonderful foods you can make from simple pantry ingredients: these overnight English muffins are a fine example. They are not only easy (stir, let rise, stir, cook) but they use only flour, yeast, salt, water, and a bit
Hash is an old-fashioned dish. You can make hash from leftover roast of any kind, and cooks like my grandmother never needed a recipe: just cook onions, potatoes, leftover meat in a pan, moisten with gravy, milk, or cream, season, and ta-da! dinner. So what’s Provençal sausage hash? It’s hash,
This week, I found blueberries in the grocery store. Plump, glossy, beautiful blueberries, on sale! Of course I bought them. Without any hesitation at all, I pulled out butter, eggs, and flour, to make quick and easy blueberry muffins. When you live in an area that has distinct seasons, as I do, there
While it hasn’t been an especially cold winter, so far, it’s often been dank and grey. In my kitchen, the best remedy for the winter blahs is a pot of soup. Recently I experimented with a Polish dill pickle soup – and found a new family favorite. What a winner!
I’m Maurita Plouff, and I write about cooking and preserving the local harvest in Southeast Michigan. Any recipe you find here is something I have cooked myself, and enjoyed, and think you might like too. I invite you to try the recipes, and leave comments.