There’s only one time of year to make this strawberry chocolate tart. You’ll need fresh berries at their peak ripeness, which to my mind means only fruit grown locally. Berries this luscious don’t travel well. I manage to make one of these tarts about once a year, usually at the
This white bean and garlic scape dip is a summer delight, combining a smooth texture with an irresistible garlic punch. It’s perfect with crispy vegetables, or as a dip with chips and pita bread. On hot summer evenings, I don’t feel much like cooking. Tonight I pulled out garlic scapes
Soup with garlic scapes? Of course! You can make a lovely soup that features garlic scapes and green garlic. This makes a delicate soup that’s unexpectedly mild, and reminiscent of a creamy asparagus soup. Don’t be afraid of the scapes! Garlic scapes are only available for a week or two
When you have good ingredients, you can make good things. When you have great ingredients, you can produce great things. This creamy fresh asparagus soup is one of the best things that’s come from my kitchen in recent weeks. It’s been a long cool spring, and the asparagus crop here in SE
This quick arugula couscous salad is great on its own, and also provides a sort of blueprint for a summer of good eating. First, let me describe how I make this simple grains-and-greens salad, and then I’ll list some variations. start with the couscous In a small saucepan, bring salted water
Do you grow chives? If you have a bit of garden, chives are one of the easiest herbs to grow, and one of the first to come up in the spring. In my garden plot, I’ll see them first appear in early May, Just about the time I’m longing for something fresh and green, I
Whole wheat blondies are a simple to make, needing no mixer: only a bowl and a spoon. I like to melt the butter right in the mixing bowl (it fits in the microwave). Might as well save on dishes, right? They are also fairly quick: from getting out the ingredients
Are you staying safe at home? We are under Stay At Home orders (see news of novel coronavirus), and we’re not going out to the shops. There are a lot of us in this situation, so I thought I’d talk about cooking from the pantry. What does your pantry cupboard
I get it, really I do: we’re busy. We’ve just survived September, which for families with kids often means getting used to new schedules, new carpooling arrangements, and new homework struggles. The weather is changing, too: crisp and chilly one day and hot the next. It’s hard to plan ahead
It’s a constant challenge for the home cook: making supper with what you happen to have in the house. This quick baked apricot orange glazed chicken uses the end of a jar of jam, vinegar, and orange juice to create a first-rate dinner, all within about half an hour. It’s flexible,
Do you love oatmeal? Do you love bread? Try this leftover oatmeal bread, which is the best way I know of to use up the last bits of oatmeal from a cold-weather family breakfast. This is actually a very flexible recipe – use whatever amount of oatmeal you have, and
Tomato gratin is an old-fashioned dish – why was this ever forgotten? It can make even supermarket tomatoes taste good, but when made with dead-ripe garden tomatoes, it’s sublime. Layers of garlicky toasted bread crumbs absorb juice and provide a nice crunch. This is an unapologetically summer dish, as it
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.
