food essay
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It’s Not Chokecherry
There is a tree overhanging the parking area of our driveway at an awkward, ugly angle, and it really looks like it should be cut down. Except… Every once in a random year it blesses us with enough fruit to make a most scrumptious jam. For years I have called it chokecherry jam because my Continue reading
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Bee-bopping the Christmas Bread
It’s raisin bread day. And I’m hopping around the kitchen with Pentatonix “Carol of the Bells” on repeat, trying to nail my part. The KitchenAid mixer is thumping bread dough in time to the music. Maywood Man joins in with the tenor part. Oh how they pound, raising the sound. Who knows what the bees Continue reading
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The Ghosts of Vegetables Past
This is not a refrigerator story. It’s a tribute to the dead mutant pumpkin on our front porch … …and a reflection on why white blobs embalmed in red liquid creep me out.The dead mutant is one of three giant pumpkins produced in the garden this year, grown from giant pumpkin seeds. One of them–a white pumpkin– cracked Continue reading
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Not to the Store Blackberry Sauce
Not a picture of blackberry sauce I almost went to the store yesterday. There is nothing unusual in almost going to the store. Many days I almost go to the store. Many more days I refuse to go to the store. I hate going to the store. Yesterday, however, I had an urge to go Continue reading
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In summer we gather, but we don’t gather chocolate
My daughter asked her two year old for dinner ideas because she was, yes, that desperate for help. “Emily, what would you like for dinner?” “Chocolate!” If it were the middle of the hectic teaching year instead of the middle of summer, my daughter might have gone along with it. Ah, but it is summer. Continue reading
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I’m Gonna Get Squashed
On a fishing pier Saturday with my mom, watching the waves roll to shore beneath us, I said, “Pretend it’s a tsunami and you have to outrun it.” Right. The great-grandmother to my grandkids had already walked close to twenty miles with me during our week at the beach. Running was not going to happen. Continue reading
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Snow Bees and Honey Butter
There’s a break in the weather. After a foot and a half of snow, Mr. Beekeeper trudges out to the tractor to plow before the next batch of snow comes in this evening. The “break” means that it is merely raining. “Merely raining” means that the foot and a half of snow is getting packed Continue reading
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Whole Milk
“You’d yell at me if I did that.” So true. My offense this time was to bring home a gallon of whole milk. My husband has been scolded in the past for bringing home 2%. But whole milk? That’s positively decadent–like pouring half-and-half on cereal. The irony of this situation is that I grew up a product Continue reading
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Taming the beast: A tale of customer service
A very sweet student confessed last week, “Sometimes I wish I had a good reason to punch someone in the face. I think it would be really fun.” After an initial double-take on my part, we went on to discuss how we love those scenes in movies where the girl hauls off and slugs someone Continue reading
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Charcuterie:an alternate way to spend time–and money– on the links
The aroma of freshly grated ginger, minced sage and garlic has my mouth watering for the sausage that John is preparing. The man-cave, where John works his culinary magic while watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes, smells amazing. This is serious aroma therapy. This can waft through the house any time. As for the Continue reading
Slightly Off the Grid 