Early spring vegetables are one of my favorite things about the season.  A panful of cooked greens with some bacon is all I need for a meal some days. Whenever I can, I gather new onions, some carrots, and whatever greens are ready in the garden or greenhouse.  Here I have spinach and collards from indoors
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The recipe for Mom’s White Bread makes three loaves.  I’m not a big fan of plain white bread, so when I took the pictures for Basic Bread – Part One &  Basic Bread – Part Two, I decided to dress up two of the loaves and turn them into Cinnamon Bread. Any plain bread recipe can
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Part One of Basic Bread 101 ended with the bread dough rising in a well-oiled bowl.  An hour and a half later, the dough has doubled, and it’s time to punch it down.   I start with a nice punch to the center, then allow the air to escape on its own for a minute or
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I learned about breadmaking as a child, watching grandmothers, great aunts, and my mother.  All the women in our family made bread, though some more than others.    Basic white breads were a staple, as were hot rolls, cinnamon bread, and later, honey whole wheat bread.  The recipe I first learned was a basic white bread,
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This isn’t your mother’s apple pie.  This probably isn’t like any apple pie you’ve ever had.  It’s big and flat and so delectibly flavorful you’ll never want plain old apple pie again.  Probably.  And it’s definitely not low calorie. Turn the oven on to 425 degrees to preheat while you prepare the pie. Start with
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It’s no secret that I love bread.  I could live on bread.  Probably.  Definitely.    I love to make it, eat it, write about it, and I love to smell it . . . oh my goodness, nothing in this world smells better than freshly baked bread.    I love to teach people to make bread, too —
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There’s not much better than tender, meaty barbecued short ribs.  It can take a lot of tending to cook them just right  so they’re mouth-melting tender, moist, and with just the right level of smoky good taste.   If you toss those meaty slabs straight on the grill, you’ll get tough meat.  That’s because the meat
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If you’ve never had fresh, made from scratch crackers, you’re missing out on one of life’s simple joys. I used to make homemade crackers all the time.  They’re easy, and they don’t take much time.  I think I stopped because I made bread all the time, too, and we didn’t need both around to snack on. 
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Homemade cranberry-orange relish — I’m completely hooked on this stuff.   The taste is incredible, and anybody who can operate a measuring cup and a blender can make it in minutes. I don’t know who in my family started making Cranberry-Orange Relish or where the recipe originated.   As far back as I can remember noticing such things, a
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Last week, I spotted my first morel of the season. Here it is, a moderately sized, half-attached morel. I snapped a quick picture, and that was the last one I thought to take because when I start finding morels, the last thing on my mind is the camera. I revert to the childish delight of
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