When you need encouragement, take notes from the weather and what is available. When I cook at home, the seasons and the weather come into my decision of what to prepare for that night’s dinner. This combination comes into play because of my home’s temperature and the produce available during that season. For each vegetable,…
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Revealing the Life-Cycle of Fresh Fruit
All of these nectarines are ready now. How many can you eat today? Eating “an apple a day” might “keep the doctor away,” but whoever said this didn’t realize that you can’t just go out to your apple tree and pick one apple each day as we do at our grocery store. In the United…
Now is the Time to Plant
Growing a fall garden Fall gardens are easier to manage than summer, once you know what you are doing. Living in a mild climate, I have understood and appreciated the benefits that come with harvesting year-round. In California, I have always thought that we should take time off from gardening in the summer when the…
Sweet Corn is Candy from the Garden
Enjoy corn for what it is, and don’t worry about the bad reputation. I once heard that your water should be boiling before you go out to pick your corn. The message is that as soon as you pick the ear the natural sugars are undergoing a transformation, becoming starch so fast that you need…
Basil, Beyond Pesto: Don’t be afraid to add it to everything!
This weekend I brought my mom a bunch of basil. She welcomed it first, but I knew what she was thinking, “What am I going to do with this?” I mentioned that I made pesto, (which I wrote about here) and she agreed, with hesitation, that she could do the same, but I knew more…
Pesto, it’s Not Just for Pasta
Pesto is an Italian sauce traditionally made in a mortar, pounded with a pestle, that gave it its name. The pesto that most of us think of is made from fresh basil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese, blended with olive oil and lemon juice. Fortunately for us, a blender or food processor will do the work…
Potatoes Have a Season, and This is It!
I never thought much about potatoes until I roasted potatoes year-round in the restaurant business, trying to solve why the potatoes didn’t reach the same golden-brown color at certain times of the year, no matter the time spent or temperature in the oven. But, since leaving the restaurant life and working at a farm, harvesting…
What to do with all that Zucchini?
Summer squash is the thin-skinned variety of squash that includes zucchini. It is one of the first vegetables ready to eat out of your summer garden. Most people are familiar with zucchini, but as this vegetable cross-pollinates, there are hundreds of varieties with different shapes and shades of green and yellow, some both green and…
Blueberry Picking: Giving me a new appreciation for my food.
I have learned from experience, blueberries are hard to grow and harvest. They are known for their health benefits, full of antioxidants and vitamins. Blueberries are the perfect “super”-food. But they are expensive to buy—usually, $5-6 for a small six-ounce container. Many could easily consume the entire package, standing in the kitchen, without even remembering…
Kimchi: You can write your own American-Korean recipe
If you are paying even a little attention to what you are eating in the last five years, you have probably heard of probiotics. These are the good (pro-) bacteria (-biotics) that humans have been eating for the past several thousand years. Since the age of refrigeration and sanitation, we have consumed fewer probiotics. Our…