Ambrosia was originally the food and drink of the ancient Greek gods that gave them immortality, but in modern times it mostly refers to a fruity salad. It is one of those recipes like gravy, in which everyone has their own version. It can vary from a wholesome salad of orange sections, chopped nuts and…
Category: Recipes from my kitchen
Sectioning Citrus
Citrus sections are a delightful way to eat up the abundance of oranges and grapefruit this time of year. With all the pithy white and membranes removed, even the pickiest of eaters will delight in a bowlful. When I first had sectioned oranges at my in-laws’ house, I wondered how on earth they had spared…
Real French Dressing
I’ll never forget the moment I stepped inside Tata Gabby’s apartment building in France. The beautiful wrought-iron grating clanged behind us as the door shut out the streets of Nice and the bright summer’s day. We were enveloped in dimness as we walked up two flights of beautifully tiled stairs. I struggled to drag…
Cassava Stuffing – An All Local/Homegrown Recipe
There is nothing to inspire thankfulness and gratitude more than sitting down to a meal that is all home grown. When all the sweat and worry is yours, when you have watched the seasons turn as small seeds became large plants, as chicks became pin feather-studded adolescents, and finally a flock of magnificent birds with…
Roselle Mock Cranberry Sauce
Roselle is one of those garden plants that hardly anyone knows about. I first saw it growing at Karen Sherwood’s farm about ten years ago, and was impressed as much by its striking appearance as I was with the flavor of some homemade soda Karen had made with it. It is common and well-known in…
POTAGE AUX ORTIES: Nettle Soup
This IS a recipe, but I have a story to tell first: The summers between 5th grade and 7th grade I stayed with my great-aunt and great uncle in France. They lived in Nice, in the same tiny apartment that my grandmother grew up in. On the weekends we went and stayed at their chalet…
Soaking and Fermenting Cassava
I started growing cassava three years ago. My friends and fellow gardeners Paul and Ginny Campbell gave me the first stalk. Cassava is propagated that way – by saving the stalks to plant the next season. The trick is to store them until the spring without them drying out or molding. Some people wax the…
Handmade Mayonnaise
As soon as Christmas was over, the chickens decided it was spring and started laying. We don’t usually get that many eggs so early in the year. They were such beautiful shades of pink and brown I had to get a picture. My little lettuce plants are finally just big enough to start getting salads. …
New Year’s Calamondin Cake
Welcome 2016!!! We had a wonderful New Year’s Eve dinner with my family. We had a big ham bone from a ham Ethan brined, so I made the traditional Southern New Year’s meal: Black-eye peas (with the ham bone), cornbread, and greens (turnip greens this time – I think they are supposed to…
Key Lime Pie – A Real Food Recipe
A few weeks ago, my dad took Mirin, along with a fellow entomologist enthusiast, for one of their crazy bug-hunting trips to Cedar Key. Along the way they discovered a key lime tree, covered in limes and entirely ignored/unappreciated/forgotten at the edge of a school yard. The limes were falling all over the ground, and…
31 – And A Grain-free Non-Chocolate Chocolate Cake Recipe
Saturday made 31 years since I was born. We spent the morning stuffing sausages – three different kinds. They are delicious, and we have 18 lbs of them. It was a good birthday. Later I made a grain-free non-chocolate chocolate cake (if I eat chocolate, I can’t sleep for days). Lately everyone has been…
Valentine’s Day Hearts (Refined Sugar-Free/Grain-Free)
This year was the first Valentine’s day we have celebrated in a LONG time, although goodness knows I’ve tried! I always have pink, red and white felt and construction paper on hand, and plans for heart-shaped desserts, but we always end up being sick. It all started five years ago when we got the Norovirus…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 