In Season & Fresh from the Garden, the Fields, the Orchards & the Woods
2020 seems to be a good year for morels. Lots of people in the countryside are bringing home nice morel dinner. Chuck it to the last two mild and nicely wet (but not too wet) winters and… to having plenty of time. I like morels …
Unless we’ve been diligent in the fall planting for an early spring harvest, our gardens are not always as green as we want at this time of the year. There are however plenty of “weeds” (read: unwanted plants) to eat if we make the effort …
It is only February 5th and I’ve begun feeding protein/pollen substitute (Dadant AP23). I’ve never fed protein this early before, but the extremely mild winter to date has the bees reproducing in volume and they need protein. I keep bees in Rappahannock County in northern …
I grow lots of butternut squash. They are one of the few squashes that are resistant to borers, a persistent noxious bug around here (resistant… not immune). They are large plants and need room to roam or a sturdy trellis to climb over. And while …
One of my favorite cookbooks is “My Calabria” by Rosetta Constantino with Janet Fletcher. A favorite cookbook is one I want to read, which draws me into the author’s world, tell stories that are relevant to the food it presents, and provides context for recipes. …
I picked 42 lbs of strawberries at Green Truck Farms earlier this week. Granted 10 lbs went to Chef John MacPhearson and his hyper seasonal and really excellent restaurant Three Blacksmiths, and 4 lbs went to friends. That still leaves me 28 lbs. 10 lbs …
I am fairly serious about preserving food. In fact a few years ago, there was an article about me in the local newspaper. Kay Beatty wrote it and took the pictures. There is a rhythm to it, throughout the year. One does not built a …
French (or garden) sorrel is a super hardy perennial potherb with a bright pleasant tartness. It grows in my unheated hoop house even in the harshest winters providing refreshingly tart leaves for our winter salads. It is one of the first vegetables I harvest outside: …
The black locusts enchanting blossoms are melting away in the rain as I write. As everything else this year, they were 10 days to 2 weeks earlier than usual – I generally count on the 2nd week of May to be peak time for the …
As it turns out, when pickles are good, we eat lots of them. If they are too acid or too sweet, they languish in the pantry. I’ve tried many vegetables and many styles over the years and have concluded that we really only eat a …