Category: Spring

 

Springtime we are ever thankful for our greenhouses and our mud boots! Early spring is a glorious time to explore fresh herbs and a variety of lettuces. Eating healthy is important especially in the spring with so much planting ahead.

Kitchen Cheat Sheet: Fresh Herbs

Kitchen Cheat Sheet: Fresh Herbs

Kitchen Cheat Sheet: Fresh Herbs. What herbs go best where? I remember way back in the olden days... around the turn of this century... when a farmer lived by the seasons.  We had planting season, summer, harvest time, and winter.  The winter seemed to last forever, probably because we weren't used to not being pulled in a million different directions at once.  It was a foreign concept, but certainly welcomed after the long year behind us. Winters were a time of lounging with a cup of coffee and the paper or snuggling with the cat in front of the wood...Read More
Eggs Benedict Three Ways: KC’s Hat Trick

Eggs Benedict Three Ways: KC’s Hat Trick

Classic Eggs Benedict or a revised edition, you decide! My friend Kristin guest posted here a few weeks ago, and prior to that, we did a Pi Day Recipe Swap.   In our discussions about those posts, we kept getting sidetracked talking about all the cool stuff we could make.  Those conversations led back to Eggs Benedict. Every. Single. Time. We decided that the only way for us to get this creativity out of our system was to cook together.  Eggs Benedict it was, and that was F.I.N.E. fine with me because I haven't had hollandaise in decades.  This classic...Read More
Back to Basics: Eggs Goldenrod (Learn how to make a white sauce!)

Back to Basics: Eggs Goldenrod (Learn how to make a white sauce!)

Eggs Goldenrod? Someone please hand my mother a napkin. I'm pretty sure she just spit her coffee all over her monitor. You see, Eggs Goldenrod was  a staple in my childhood home, and not just at Easter.  It is a fabulous way to stretch a food dollar and who doesn't like breakfast for dinner? Why did my mother do a spit-take?  Because this dish was NOT one of my favorites.  Oh, don't get me wrong, it was the stuff of which memories were made - memories that I will relive with my darling boy every time he complains about the...Read More
Soda Bread Knows No Season or Nationality

Soda Bread Knows No Season or Nationality

"I don't know why they only sell it in March. Irish soda bread tastes good at ANY time of year." While walking through Shop Rite a few weeks back, I saw the buttermilk display in the milk case and thought, 'OOOH! It's that time of year - I need to make soda bread!' Apparently, I said this aloud and not in my head. "I don't know why they only sell it in March. Irish soda bread tastes good at ANY time of year." It wasn't an all-out request for homemade Irish soda bread, but it was implied, and knowing Fletch...Read More
Frostbite Asparagus with Homemade Mayonnaise

Frostbite Asparagus with Homemade Mayonnaise

Asparagus with creamy homemade mayonnaise, you just can't beat it. So you saw how asparagus grows in one of my previous posts.  What you DIDN'T see was the look on The Boy's face when he tasted a piece of said veggie. I'm just not quick enough to capture some of those classic kid moments on film. Oh, wait.  We don't use film anymore.  God, I'm old. "Thomas, do you want more asparagus?" "No, no, no (he waves his hand).  I'm good.... Not a fan." I'm giving kudos to Aunt Helen for this idea, my take on her summer classic, Frostbite...Read More
Sweet Talk and a Bit About Asparagus

Sweet Talk and a Bit About Asparagus

First the sweet talk, then we'll get into the Asparagus. The FarmGirl Cooks... after she washes her hands ;) Last Sunday was Mother's Day, and since that pretty much defines me as a person, I should make note of it. Sure, it's been a while... but forgive me, please.  Mother's Day happens to fall smack dab in the middle of busy planting season and, except for the lovingly handmade gifts from my son, the day went by without much fanfare.  The fruit of my womb bought me a fan with his own hard-earned money the last time his dad took him to Chinatown.  He thinks it may...Read More
Let’s Get Into the Spring of Things

Let’s Get Into the Spring of Things

Cupcakes and lost teeth, sounds like a celebration! All those cute little teeth are falling out! I had just fallen back to sleep at 6 o'clock this morning when a bony little finger poked me on my shoulder. "Mommy! Mommy! I LOTHT MY TOOTH!    AND I DIDN'T THWALLOW IT!"  YAY! Now leave Mommy alone so she can snooze for another 30 minutes. No dice. How could I resist that lispy, squeaky voice telling me all about his toothy adventures whilst I was deep in slumber? "I woke up and my tongue was feeling my mouth and I thought it was...Read More
National Tater Tot Day and Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce

National Tater Tot Day and Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce

Happiness is Gorgonzola cheese sauce atop crispy tater-tots! Every day when The Boy comes home from school  I go through the contents of his backpack and homework folder.  He has some kind of reading, math and spelling homework Monday through Thursday nights.  Last night, in cleaning out his folder for the upcoming week, I found a reading comprehension handout about a type of dog that does not bark. The question that required a written answer (as opposed to multiple choice) was "Would you like to have a dog that did not bark?  Why or why not?" If there was ever...Read More
Take a Leek… For Example

Take a Leek… For Example

Leeks, like their cousins shallots, onions and cippolini, are a staple in many dishes. The alliums mentioned each have a slightly different texture and flavor, but rarely serve as the main ingredient in a recipe. Enter the Leek Tart. I first tried this several years ago - got the recipe from The Joy of Cooking. Back then I couldn't make a pie crust to save my life. Somehow, though, over the years, I've gained my mother's ability to whip together a crust, roll it out (ok, it's still never a circle, which the math geek in me HATES) and have it baking...Read More
Reading Good. Food Better.

Reading Good. Food Better.

*said in caveman-like voice* Because if you're going to say something to a kid, you may as well say it in a funny voice. The chances of him paying attention to you are much greater that way.  Or so I've learned in my 7+ (wonderfully rewarding and seriously challenging... if you want to do it right) years of being a mother. Thomas and I have spent an awful lot of time reading lately, both me reading to him AND him reading aloud to me. It is FABULOUS!!!  I think witnessing a baby's development is inspirational and  heartwarming, but now when I...Read More