I cook because I love to eat. I garden because I love to cook.
As the first real snow of the season falls outside, my thoughts turn to warmer times and I’m thinking about my garden. January is the month to begin planning for the growing season ahead. It is time to order seeds, check supplies, and make sure …
When I was a little kid, before the era of ready-to-eat “baby” carrots, my parents would peel three carrots and place them on a plate for my brothers and me to eat before dinner while we set the table (and fought). They tricked us into …
There are lots of famous pairs: Ella and Louis, Abbott and Costello, Fred and Ginger, Simon and Garfunkel. There are also famous pairs in the garden and kitchen, which I find often grow well together and mature or ripen at the same time. Think tomato …
Tomatillos (sometimes called Mexican green tomatoes) are a funny fruit. Not particularly well-known or used in the US, they are a distant relative of tomatoes. They come encased in a papery husk that must be removed before they can be used. As a kid, we …
One problem with a big garden is that when one type of vegetable is ripe, you are swamped with it. I know, I know, if all our problems were only this big and serious. Cue the violins. When I experience this garden overflow, I share …
Children don’t always eat their vegetables. With my son it was no problem; he would sit silently in the back seat of the car during long trips, for example, munching an entire feed bag full of raw vegetables. My daughter Ariana…well, not so much. I …
Mid June brings my favorite garden vegetable – sugar snap peas. They are sweet treats hanging on six-foot tall vines getting more plump with each passing day. As soon as they form I want to pluck and gobble them up, but I know I am …
My children have always loved pesto; since they were little, pesto on spaghetti has been one of their favorite meals. Before they got wise and refused to help, I tortured them annually with the Great Basil Harvest. We sat outside for what seemed like hours …
One of the great pleasures of home gardening is that each year, you get a fresh start. If a particular crop or variety of plant did not work out, grow well, or produce much, each spring you get a do over. You get to start …
As the cold of winter continues, I have time to reflect in this off season about the crops I grew in my garden last year and changes I want to make in the coming year. During this time, I like to review the list of …
