The Loquats Are Coming... Again
A neighborhood parrot eats the loquats from the top of our loquat tree, March 10, 2012. My family awaits the ripening of the loquats each year, but we've never had any other creatures as excited about...
View ArticleOkinawan Doughnuts: A Delicious Treat
The more powdered sugar the better... March 2012. I've just reviewed a great new cookbook/memoir called "At the Kitchen Table" by Greg Atkinson for Zester Daily. I hope you'll check it out. If you...
View ArticleAs Promised... Recipe for Okinawan Doughnuts
Those of you who read my latest piece for Zester Daily know that I'm obsessed with Greg Atkinson's recipe for Okinawan Doughnuts. I've made them five times in the past two weeks and I've encouraged...
View ArticleThe Craziest Garden Tool You'll Never Need, But May Want
Williams-Sonoma has just introduced their new "Agrarian" line and it's incredible. It says a lot about the popularity of the farm-to-table movement that a high-end kitchen supply company would launch...
View ArticleCrazy for Preserves: MFP for Me
My first batch of loquat butter, April 16, 2011. I'm five weeks into a 12 week class to become a Master Food Preserver and in spite of the somewhat odd title, I'm pretty excited about what that means....
View ArticleLoquat Fruit Leather... Maybe Not
As regular readers of this blog know, I'm in the midst of taking a class to become a "Master Food Preserver". This week we discussed food dehydration and I was so excited about the class that I went...
View ArticleLiving With Loquats
Harvesting loquats from The South Tree, April 2012. Anyone who's ever had a loquat tree knows that loquats can be both a blessing and a burden. The trees are beautiful and bear an abundance of fruit...
View ArticlePlanting our Summer Garden 2012
Strawberries ripening in the sun during their second season, April 2012. Our Summer planting has been a long time coming this year. We started planting over a month ago and just filled up most of our...
View ArticleLoquat Fruit Leather Revisited
Homemade loquat fruit leather, April 26, 2012. Several weeks ago I wrote a post about Loquat Fruit Leather and expressed my after-the-fact reservations about making fruit leather out of loquats. My...
View ArticleDon't Smother Your Mother!
Vinegar "Mother" on table at Master Food Preserver Class, May 2012. "Don't smother your mother!" This is a phrase I never expected to utter except when trying to keep my children from burying me at...
View ArticleMaster Food Preserver Program Update
Various batches of jelly, jam, and eight versions of mandarin oranges preserved in different kinds of syrup, 2012. For those of you who have been following my progress in the Master Food Preserver...
View ArticleI Graduated!: New Group of Master Food Preservers on the Loose...
Angela Choi's delicious graduation cake, June 2012. I'm very pleased to report that I and 17 others graduated from the Master Food Preserver Program on Tuesday night. It was a great celebration and I...
View ArticleLast of the Loquats: Loquat Butter Take Two
Our last harvest of loquats for 2012 (and a single "Mystery Fruit"). It was with sadness and a sense of relief that I realized that our loquat season was coming to an end for the year. We've had a...
View ArticleBuffalo Bourbon Vanilla Extract
Buffalo Bourbon Extract at the beginning of the extraction process, November 2011. Today's post about making homemade vanilla extract has been a long-time coming. More than anything else, it is good...
View ArticleOops!... I Did It Again
Sauerkraut gone bad, June 2012. Nothing says, "Welcome Home!" like a batch of sauerkraut gone bad. This pungent smell awaited my husband yesterday when he returned from a four-day trip and the first...
View ArticleThe Pickle Project v2.0
Cucumbers ready for slicing, 2012. It's cucumber season again and around my house that means it's time to make sweet pickles. I first made them with my mother's help in 2010 and they were delicious....
View ArticleDo You Hate To Bake?
It isn't the nicest thing to admit, but I really do not like to bake. I have my reasons, as well as some suggestions for making the experience more pleasurable. Read all about it at Zester Daily.
View ArticleBrownie S'mores Recipe
After writing my latest Zester article in which I admitted that I hate to bake, a number of people have asked me for my Brownie S'mores recipe. The irony of this amuses me to no end, but my family...
View ArticleSay It With Cake: Happy Fourth of July!
Ruth's version of Ina Garten's Flag Cake, July 4, 2012. My friend Ruth has inspired me to start a new column... "Say It With Cake". Ruth made this cake using Ina Garten's recipe for Flag Cake, which...
View ArticleThe Truth About Turtles... And Baking Birthday Cakes
My first turtle cake, June 2012. I recently admitted that I hate to bake. But that didn't stop me from making a homemade turtle cake for my daughter's birthday. Does it look professional?...
View ArticleA Southern Day in Southern California
Mortgage Lifters and other heirlooms ripen in the humid summer sun, 2012. Today is one of those days that feels like home to me. I'm from Virginia and in Virginia, summer means humidity. It's pretty...
View ArticleWhat's Wrong With This Picture?
Peach jam and tomato preserves sitting on my kitchen table, July 31, 2012. This morning I sat in the living room drinking my first cup of coffee and thinking about everything I needed to accomplish...
View ArticleMy Watermelon Obsession
My latest article for Zester Daily is all about my family's generations-long obsession with watermelon. I hope you're not missing out on one of summer's finest crops.
View ArticleAll Canning Jars Are Not Created Equal
My latest article for Zester Daily discusses the many differences between canning jars and how to match the food you want to preserve to the jar you should use. Check out the article to see if you...
View ArticleThe Farmer's Daughter Hears a Thunderstorm
Heirloom pumpkin blossom after the rainstorm, Aug. 30, 2012. I never think of myself as a farmer's daughter, although of course I am. Both of my parents grew up on farms and their outlook on life is...
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