. I am thinking about sweet festive treats, and I’m also looking over at my massive pile of winter squash.  Hmm…. . Custards are a funny thing, some diners love them and some do not.   They say that people cannot change, but I say that occasionally they can.  Do you need a few adjectives to help you open up to new possibilities? Silky smooth, velvety, sensuous, satiny, luscious….do I have your attention yet?  Excuse me while I wipe the

  Time for a little celebration. Last week was the unveiling of the collaboration between Justin Vernon of the band Bon Iver, Bushmills Whiskey, and Gordy Bischoff of Bischoff Guitars.  What collaboration?  Four acoustic-electric guitars made from…you guessed it…whiskey barrels! . We’ll get to the guitar photos in a moment, but since this is a food blog I’ll show you the cake first—-a local pastry chef made a cake in the shape of the “1608” whiskey-barrel guitar for the Preview Party

  Here are a few bubbles to lighten your day. . Recently we visited friends in Minnesota who work with a large CSA and they graciously bestowed upon us piles and PILES of fresh rosemary—I felt like I had won the lottery!   I know people in North Carolina whose rosemary grows into giant shrubbery (small trees!) around their house…but it is rarely seen in that kind of abundance in these chilly wintered lands. My friend suggested making a rosemary sage pesto which made

  The title says it all, you don’t really need a recipe…but here I am writing anyway. This is about simplicity: quiet food that doesn’t take much thought or many ingredients but has a hint of unusual.  When I’m at home I often find myself cooking with minimal meddling—especially this time of year when the veggies are so flavorful and I don’t want to miss out by covering it up.   Last year I catered a meal in July for

  I love tangents, especially ones that involve geeking out. I spent last weekend with two of my sisters, indoors with the curtains drawn and snacks within easy reach as we ventured into a marathon of the watching Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended version of course).  We ate Hobbity food (bacon, squash, beer, sausage..) and our version of Elvish Lembas whey bread for sustenance during our long adventure. Friday morning we prepped, making the Lembas using Bob’s Red Mill

  . I give you more diversions with photos from the latest trip to Lincoln, NE. The Burkholder Project is an inspiring artist studio center and gallery started by Ann Burkholder—over 50 artists are involved with this building.  Wow!  More amazing art!  More amazing warehouses saved in the Haymarket District of Lincoln!   This is the mosaic sitting area in front of the Burkholder.   . One of our main goals was to visit the rock-inspired jewelry artist Pamela King and to

    Cards.  There is an inexplicable calm that comes over me when I see, hold and play with a deck of cards.  Any roadside stop that involves trinkets and whatnot…if there is a pile of decks on the shelf at the very least I have to stand for a moment and take a few breaths…I think yens would be the word.   In the 1997 movie ‘Conspiracy Theory’ (Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson) a secret government project ‘created’ assassins.

  Interesting combination  ¿que no?   This salad came from our fifth Edible Alien Theatre  (performance-art dinner fundraisers we call E.A.T.) production Shadow & Light. The evening’s show was entirely in shadow, the diners surrounded by seven scrims and we used overhead projectors to provide the light for our images, our selves, and shadow puppets. . . The inspiration for the show arrived from different places. Light, and Shadows.  The way light filtered through leaves outside my window, then filtered

. Lavender, a Wonder Plant of the herbal world. The name lavender is from the Latin word ‘lavare’ which means to wash—it was a common Roman practice to use lavender in public baths.  Lavender has been used in healing remedies for ages, but if you need a more Western confirmation of the properties the following is from the University of Maryland’s Medical Center: . “this herb has been used as a remedy for a range of ailments from insomnia and

. . Smoked tofu?!? Remember one of my rules of thumb…”If there is a technique that works for one thing, it might work on other things.”  If you can smoke salmon then you can smoke tofu, yes? Yes. The idea of smoking tofu was first introduced to me by my friend Jase (the cook at the South Pole), which we made indoors in a covered pan under a heavy-duty exhaust hood.  Then I began to learn more about smoking, and