When you want to bake fast, use self-rising flour. This is flour that’s already mixed with baking powder and salt, and I like to keep it on hand. These quick tea cakes with jam show you how fast baking can be: it took 57 minutes from the time I turned on the oven and began […]
Tag: spring
CSA week 4: roots and leaves
Week 4’s distribution is, as the folks at CSA Commons say, all about roots and leaves, except for the radish pods, which I’ve never eaten before, and which are going to become a fabulous pre-dinner snack. Shown in the photo, and in this week’s box: those radish pods, carrots, little […]
CSA week 3: spring is definitely here
I just picked up my CSA distribution for week 3. You can see that there is more in the box every week – this means that I need to spend time every Tuesday thinking about how I’ll use the bounty. This week’s box contained tender young lettuce and edible nasturtium petals, basil, oregano, kohlrabi, daikon radish, 2 heads […]
The CSA season begins!
Look at that wonderful produce, right? THAT is our first week’s haul from the farm City Commons CSA. And this is only the beginning; it’s week 1 of a 20-week growing season. Our box contained sugar snap peas, oregano, dill, mint, garlic scapes, tender young Hakurei turnips, Swiss chard, and a […]
3-yolk Sponge Cake
After making today’s pavlovas – and I used 6 egg whites for those – I had 6 egg yolks to use. This little cake is a winner! The 3-yolk version makes a dainty little cake about 6-inches in diameter. This recipe may be doubled, in which case use a standard […]
Garlic scapes
There’s such a short season for garlic scapes in the spring: I look forward to them every year in my CSA box and at the farmers market. They are the shoots of the hard neck garlic plant; our farmers cut them down so that the plant produces full bulbs, rather […]
Lime Curd Pavlova
Having received an unexpected (and wonderful) gift of a box of Texas citrus, I began a flurry of cooking using the grapefruits, lemons, limes, and tangerines. The most amazing and wonderful thing ever, though, was made with the limes: a lime curd Pavlova. If you aren’t familiar with Pavlova, it’s […]
No Fuss Quiche
Making a quiche is easy, even if you don’t like to make pastry. Refrigerated pastry from your grocery store makes a perfectly acceptable crust. Quiche is a wonderful way to recycle leftovers. All the meat and vegetables should be cooked and chopped in smallish pieces. Fuss Free Quiche 4 oz […]
Ideas for Garlic Scapes
Of all the vegetables from my CSA box, garlic scapes look the most like something you might find in a Dr. Seuss book. With their tall green fronds they look like ridiculously curly tulip stems, and end in long pointy shoots. These are the flower shoots of the garlic plant; […]
Roasted Asparagus
This is the simplest way to cook asparagus that I know, and one of the best. If all your spears are the same thickness, they will cook more evenly, but I never worry about a bit of variation. 1 bunch fresh asparagus olive oil salt Preheat the oven – you […]
About our CSA – why we love it
Ask just about anyone, and they’ll agree that they want to eat better. It can be very hard, though, to overcome habits of shopping and cooking. Two years ago, we made a change in our lives to force us to change our habits: we joined the Rocky Gardens CSA. CSA stands […]
Zucchini chard tart
Adapted from the NY Times. I also like the NY Times whole-wheat yeasted pie dough recipe for this. Yield: One 10-inch tart, serving eight to ten. 1 recipe short pie crust (or the NY Times whole wheat crust referenced above) 1 lb Swiss chard (naturally other greens might be substituted) […]