I was admiring this piece of enamel cookware at a friend’s the other night. What struck me most was the way food cooked in it.
Chicken, for instance, seared to a delectable golden brown without any effort at all, it seemed. The skins developed an exquisite crispness. I don’t know if I could have burned [...]
Entries from August 2007
What is This Pot?
August 31st, 2007 · 5 Comments · Uncategorized
Tags: cookware
Kids and Food Allergies
August 30th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
Summer is winding down to its final hours and of course that means back to school. As teacher of the “food appreciation” classes in the after-school program at a certain private elementary school here in the District of Columbia, I was invited to join in on some the faculty preparations.
One of those was a [...]
Tags: food allergies
Pickling Beets
August 28th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Uncategorized
I planted my beets at the end of March and basically forgot about them. How sad is that?
Well, forgotten would be too strong a term. I knew they were there. I cast them a glance frequently in my tours around the garden. But they just never seemed to be getting big enough.
Finally I knew [...]
Happy Birthday, Tomeika!
August 27th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
Yesterday we celebrated our friend Tomeika’s twenty-seventh birthday and my wife spent the day making Tomeika’s favorite foods so we could enjoy a lovely meal together on the terrace.
The menu: crab cakes, macaroni and cheese, braised kale with bacon, followed by a German chocolate cake.
German chocolate cake happens to be my favorite as well [...]
Adios, Sunflowers
August 25th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Uncategorized
The sunflowers this year were tall and majestic, presiding over the garden with their giant yellow blossoms. They fed birds and squirrels with their seeds, and gave passing motorists and pedestrians something grand to gawk at. But now they are fading, their long, thick stems groaning under the weight of their enormous seed heads. It [...]
Tags: sunflowers
Foraged Salad for Breakfast
August 25th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
You never know what delights you might come across messing in the garden.
Today is supposed to be one of the hottest of the summer so I was out early weeding. The bed where I have been growing beets was mostly overrun with crabgrass. And I should say I’ve been completely derelict about harvesting those [...]
Last Night’s Bedtime Snack
August 24th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
Bradywine tomato slices from the garden on multi-grain toast with shaved Parmesan and chiffonade of basil.
Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, season with salt & pepper.
Total impulse snack. Time involved: 3 minutes, mostly waiting for bread to finish in the toaster.
Garden Spiders and Other Summer Tales
August 23rd, 2007 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
A memory from childhood stands out: Playing in the garden and running smack into a garden spider’s web. Well, not actually into the web, but pulling up just short, like in a cartoon with heels dug into the dirt and a screeeeech! And finding myself looking right into the eyes of the biggest spider [...]
The Truth About Beet Greens
August 22nd, 2007 · 5 Comments · Uncategorized
If you’ve spent any time at all reading recipes you haven’t escaped the standard admonition when preparing beets to be sure to use the beet greens. Not only tasty, are these greens we’re told, but so darned good for you as well.
To which I respond: Have you ever tried actually cooking the greens that [...]
Tags: beets
Summer Pizza
August 21st, 2007 · 7 Comments · Uncategorized
A break in the weather here in the District of Columbia dropped temperatures low enough to consider a rare summer event: pizza.
We try not to use the oven when it’s sizzling outside. So this was our chance to put some of the summer bounty on a crust.
How do you like your pizza? Me, I’m [...]
Tags: pizza
We are engaging the concerns of a hungry planet--slowly--right here in our kitchen garden in the District of Columbia, one mile from the White House.
