• Farm Fresh

    Penne with Swiss Chard and Kielbasa

    by  • July 7, 2011 • Eating Locally, Homecooking, Gardening, Farm Fresh, pasta, Recipes • 7 Comments

    Since our first glimpse of spring this year, I have been waiting, yearning, planning. For months, I have been imaging what it would be like when I got to start bringing home my overflowing veggie basket from my CSA. If you aren’t familiar with CSAs, it’s an abbreviation for Community Supported Agriculture programs. Basically,...

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    Braised Dinosaur Kale with Shallots, Lemon and Romano

    by  • June 16, 2011 • Eating Locally, Homecooking, Gardening, Farm Fresh, Recipes, side dishes, vegetables • 4 Comments

    Do you ever just want to cheer from the rooftops? Maybe let out a loud whoop? Or perhaps jump on Oprah’s couch … oh wait, that’s just Tom Cruise.  Anyway, even if you aren’t couch jumping, everyone feels like this sometimes … where something thrills you so much that you just want to tell...

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    Apple Picking 2010: Now, With Less Stress!

    by  • October 27, 2010 • Eating Locally, Homecooking, Gardening, Farm Fresh, green living, nature, pick your own, Thoughts, Thoughts • 2 Comments

    Every year, the kids and I (and often our friends) head to local farms for pick-you-own fun. This past weekend, that meant apple picking. The apple picking season generally starts in September and goes through early November here in Connecticut, so we are more than half-way through the season (and late by our standards)....

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    On Carrot Greens, Radish Greens and Other Edible Wastes

    by  • October 14, 2010 • Eating Locally, Homecooking, Gardening, Farm Fresh, green living, nature, Thoughts • 0 Comments

    A few years ago, I fell deeply in love with beet greens. They have a similar taste to beets, though far milder — like a beet-tinged spinach. And they are lovely served raw in salad, sauteed and more. Until learning that they were edible, I had always been in the cut-and-toss camp, though. A...

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    Cooking with Kids: Heirloom Tomato and Provolone Sauce

    by  • September 27, 2010 • Cooking with Kids, Eating Locally, Homecooking, Gardening, Farm Fresh, pasta, preserving/canning, Raising Healthy Kids, Recipes, sauce • 0 Comments

    Every fall, I make a big batch of Roasted Tomato Sauce (and, last year, tomato paste) and can it for wintertime. Opening up a jar of it in the dead of winter is glorious. It’s like bottling summertime. But this year I just haven’t gotten to it and really am not sure if I...

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    Heirloom Tomato and Nectarine Salad

    by  • September 16, 2010 • Eating Locally, Homecooking, Gardening, Farm Fresh, Fruit, Recipes, salad • 2 Comments

    At a family party this weekend, my cousin made a beautiful salad of heirloom tomatoes, red onions, herbs, nectarines and a light vinaigrette from a local farm. It was brilliant. The sweetness of the nectarines are a lovely contrast to the onions and tomatoes. And the vinaigrette really brought it all together. It was...

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