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Category Archives: Food

Cucumber sandwiches

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Here in the U.S., cucumber sandwiches are thought to be an English thing. I’m not sure if that’s true, though it sounds reasonable, and stores here sometimes sell what we call “English cucumbers.” In any case, when I was a boy in rural North Carolina, cucumbers were plentiful, but I had never heard of a […]

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Borage

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Click here for high-resolution version. I had not previously encountered borage. I think it is not as commonly used in the U.S. as it is in Europe. But we grew some this year in Ken’s herb trough, starting from seeds in a variety pack of favorite German herbs that I bought on Amazon. The borage […]

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One last noble service from your mayonnaise jars

Saturday, June 20, 2020

It bugs me how much food gets wasted inside retail food jars, no matter how much scraping you do when the jar is empty. With mayonnaise jars, my solution is to keep the near-empty jars in the refrigerator until I need a quick salad dressing. Add vinegar, seasonings, and herbs, shake it up, and you’re […]

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Countdown to summer: 4, 3, 2, 1

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

The first pesto of the season may not be as exciting as the first tomato sandwich. But it’s pretty exciting. It would have been a crime to apply heat to a perfect little squash that was growing in a cool rain only minutes ago. So I et it raw. Speaking of summer, do we tolerate […]

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April 20

Monday, April 20, 2020

The photo is from 7:50 p.m. Supper is over, and the kitchen has been tidied up after the wreckage of a wok supper. I am so lucky not to be cooking for one — or gardening or orcharding for one — during this quarantine. There is a certain reluctance, as suppertime approaches, for those who […]

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Spring mustard

Saturday, April 18, 2020

  Mustard greens, just washed through three waters The neighbors’ garden is a couple of weeks ahead of the abbey’s garden. They’ve got a big mustard crop, and they invited us to come pick some. That meant that last night’s supper was pinto beans, mustard greens, corn bread, and deviled eggs. This sharing from the […]

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Cinnamon rolls

Saturday, March 28, 2020

I wish I could say that I made these cinnamon rolls, but I didn’t. I had my share of them, though. It is my good fortune that, by pure accident, I’m not sheltering in place as a household of one, plus one cat. There are travelers sheltering here, too, and do they ever have skills.

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Quorn Stroganoff

Friday, February 28, 2020

I had not thought of Stroganoff in years. If ever I had even made beef Stroganoff, I don’t remember it. But, a couple of weeks ago, the New York Times mentioned beef Stroganoff in its beautiful weekly column, “What to Cook This Week.” Once you get Stroganoff in your head, you might as well give […]

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The end of the road for all you can eat home cookin’?

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Hillbilly Hideway. See below for more. It’s true everywhere, but here in the American South, our cuisine is (or was) an essential part of our culture and identity. Passing that culture and identity from generation to generation is very important work. But — at least here in the American South — that work is breaking […]

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Beyond Sausage vegan bratwurst

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Beyond Sausage bratwurst, sweet and sour Brussels sprouts, and potato salad Beyond Meat’s bratwurst was on sale at a grocery store in Madison, so I decided to try it. Was it awesome? Not really. In taste and bite and texture, it was a lot like vegan cold cuts that have been on the market for […]

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