Modest Bounty

My first trip to NOLA ended this past Monday morning but it finished with great fanfare, Sunday evening, Mother’s Day at John Besh’s August. Mine was a working long weekend and so I was a little tired overall and am looking forward to my next visit — the city only left me with a longer [...]

The high and lows of laying in a garden…
In the beginning, there’s a lot of anticipation. Catalogs! As you’ve already read, I really wanted to source organic/heritage seed. And I did. There are great resources out there (Seed Savers, High Mowing, etc.). Then, comes figuring out when to get seeds started. Starting them indoors and [...]

Energy, Shelter, Clean Water, Food
I am mystified. How did we get here? As oil tightens its grip, and people’s homes foreclose, water becoming scarce and the state of our food industry in question, I ask, how did we get here? As this blog touches both on the growing of food and the consumption of food, [...]

What can you do with a roast chicken? What can I do with a roast chicken!?! I probably have 2-3 dozen chicken standby recipes, but in this post I’ll concentrate on getting 4 meals out of 1 roast chicken.

I’m very excited to report that the seeds I’ve ordered have begun to arrive and it probably sounds silly, but I keep taking them out of their postal pouch and examining them and reading the backs of their envelopes as if I’m rehearsing music for the main event.
I’m new to seed starting and am working [...]

Yes, first ever, at the age of 48, where have I been? My cousins have a tradition, that when we turn 50, that we take a trip, an all-girls weekend, somewhere. This year, Colette was it and her wish was to spend the weekend in New York City and see Mary Poppins on Broadway. So [...]

It’s the end of January and we had a brief respite from cold and snow, but now it’s back to the teens and the white is everywhere. I finished ordering the last of my seeds and the pictures have me pining to dig in the dirt. Something to look forward to!
New Recipes This Week
Fresh Tomato [...]

2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
garlic (to taste, a few cloves, through a garlic press)
3-4 tbsp. olive oil
handful of basil, chopped
tomatoes, depending on how many people, allow for 2 roma’s or one large hothouse per person
3 c. chicken stock
salt/pepper
at least 1/2 c. cream (will vary based on consistency of reduction)
1/4 c. Gorgonzola (more or less depending [...]

This is a riff on my Ravioli recipe and you see egg yolks sitting on a bed of Ravioli Filling and it ends up looking like a sunny side up fried egg! I just separate the yolk from the white and gently place the yolk on the filling and then place a sheet of pasta [...]

New Recipes for this Week
French Onion Soup — Barefoot Contessa — incredible, the best ever — substituted gruyere though for parmesan (it is a French soup after all)
Butternut Squash Soup — a family favorite: saute onion in butter, throw in 16oz. of squash, cover with chicken stock, cook until soft, buzz down with blender with [...]