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During these last weeks, life has manifested many, many bowls of cherries! Most days, you can find Pat and I harvesting from three cornelian cherry trees that seem to have exploded this year with their sweet-sour fruit. Cornelian cherries are popular in Turkey, Iran, Eastern …
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of weeding and harvesting the neglected, upper meadow asparagus patch. For those of you who have never toed around in an asparagus patch, let me paint you a word picture before you look below for a more visceral vision. …
A few weeks ago, on our way to Milwaukee, I noticed maples being tapped in someone’s backyard. I smiled. Temperatures in Northern Illinois must have reached above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. This sap seeking process is a seasonal ritual that …
Ice cream has always been a big part of Pat and my relationship. In particular we have been devoted to Dairy Queen. It was a perfect destination and provided a sweet opportunity to be together sharing stories over spoonfuls of blizzards. Now a family of …
This week, our local food came to us from the farm located across the street from us. All Grass Farms cultivates pasture raised meat, raw milk, and organic eggs. In addition to a well stocked farm store, they offer CSA boxes, farm tours, and a …
We love eating sandwiches at our house. (Who doesn’t?) But Winter’s cold weather can make the usual cold cuts seem too cool to warm our hearts. And so we are delighted to have recently discovered a hot sandwich to warm us on chilly nights. It’s …
One of my favorite Fall foods is a stuffed pumpkin! Even better is baking a stuffed pumpkin that we grew in our garden. This one, above, Patrick stuffed with stale bread cubes, swiss, salt, pepper, green onions, thyme, and cream. BUT stuffed pumpkin is one …
Walnut Dyeing! It’s been a couple years since I boiled walnuts for fun, but the green orbs were calling to me this year. About three weeks ago, I collected 15 lbs of fallen walnuts. This was easy to do because we have plenty of black …
I survived making Red HOT Chili Pepper Flakes!! Over the course of several seventh grade volleyball games, my Mom has plunged into my arms a couple trays laden with enormous tomatoes that my super-gardener cousin grew. We quickly turned them into pico de gallo salsa. …
I dried some mint for tea this morning! This was my first time doing so, and I am fairly content with my results. We grow mint at several locations not only because it is a yummy herb, but because it spreads easily as a ground …
Okay, Part 2 of the cornelian cherries saga continues with homemade jelly. This jelly, which Patrick made with a hefty amount of lemon juice, is just delicious! It’s tart and bright and lovely on buttermilk biscuits or as a topper on a scoop of vanilla …
This is cornelian cherry juice. Pat made it by boiling cornelian cherries (with pits) in water for about a half an hour. Then he strained it and heated the juice with sugar until the sugar dissolved. (This is the ratio: 5 kilo cherries – 6 …
What an afternoon feast! Yesterday, I made Summer’s favorite soup: Saltibarciai – or Lithuanian cold beet soup. This was the first time I ever made this traditional recipe, because my Mom always keeps me well stocked in this beautiful pink soup. BUT, we had beet …
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE Strawberry Shortcake is a Summer staple. It embodies the sweetness of the season celebrating the berries’ sunbaked sugars. Our homegrown strawberries usually don’t make it much beyond the garden. They are eaten immediately, but if you have more restraint than we do – …