It’s Spring and there is no getting away from recipes about spinach, kale, eggs, nettles, peas and asparagus…so just get used to it.  Embrace the green.  Green is good.  There’s a lot of green activity going on right now by that greenifying chlorophyll, absorbing the blue and red then reflecting the green to our eyes.  But its most amazing superpower—maybe the most amazing superpower ever—-it converts sunlight into food, trapping the solar energy which excites an electron in the chlorophyll that transforms carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.

  Tis the month of spinach and greenery and our livers are thanking us for being drawn to these deep rich colors then serving them up for dinner.  Right now the local spinach is delicate and young, you barely need to add anything.   A side of black tea with a splash of milk looks on the menu as well.  We grew up drinking black tea with a bit of milk and sugar—our father bicycled across the British Isles in the 1940’s and brought back with

  More woodland flowers from a walk on the bluff top, a pair of Bloodroot blooms.  This North American native is a member of the Poppy family and the root was used as a dye for baskets and clothing.  Here are more tidbits about the medicinal uses of this beautiful Bloodroot, or Sang de Dragon.       I can’t stop eating these little buddies!  High protein and no grain—this has been a handy breakfast treat as I try to eat less carbs.  I made them without

  Coffee lover that I am, I have to secretly admit I’ve been enjoying this dark liquid lately.  That’s right, roasted chicory is carving a new spot in my heart.  It has similar components to a coffee description–acidity, body, aroma, bitterness, sweetness, aftertaste–and a deep rich satisfaction that is almost meaty.   I know there are at least a few individuals who don’t love coffee: my honey pie, his brother, my cousin Barb, and maybe three or four more people who don’t care

  Yay, another pea soup!  I knew that was what you were going to say.  We’ve had a week of spring-emerging: from chill to rain to sunny days which means the buds and grass are finally beginning to explode in greenery.  I even saw blooming wildflowers in the woods on my walk yesterday.  And spring means green soup, yes? Green it is.   The bones of this recipe were resurrected from a 1984 Café Beaujolais cookbook by Margaret Fox.  My friend Frances passed

  Many gardeners in these cold climates overwinter their parsnips in the ground, letting the back-and-forth thawing-and-cooling spring weather sweeten their starches into sugars.  So when little else is local in early April of the upper Midwest…parsnips can be found.   Related and similar to carrots (they look like an albino carrot), they’re often cooked into soups, boiled and mashed with potatoes, or roasted in the oven with other vegetables.  They do well in kimchi and can be added to your favorite juicing mix—especially with ginger, spinach and fruits.  Nutrition-wise

  Though it’s likely I have at least a little Irish blood in me since my ancestors were reportedly evicted from Scotland (due to alleged horse-rustling) and transferred themselves over to Ireland, I was not introduced to colcannon until I worked at the Seward Cafe with historian and cook Frank Siegel. Frank would work tirelessly to create Irish feasts on All Hallow’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day, researching and cooking traditional dishes and writing an elaborate menu with the Gaelic terms and history of the dish.

  I’m beginning to understand why people do this.   A year ago I signed up for my first cross country ski race on a 12.5 kilometer classic-only course. Having started this sport as a not-so-young adult it was not an obvious trajectory for me to race, but hanging out with enough people whose lives are somewhat shaped by the races they sign up for, I thought I could give it a whirl. Last year the temperature was a couple

    I finally got a good photo of the Ukrainian jackets at the International Paralymic Championships here at Telemark, they’re beautiful.  I wish I would have had a cool jacket to trade with him…     Twenty countries! For more amazing footage check out the video of the 2014 Paralymic Winter Games in Sochi.     A much better shot of the Russian jacket.  The Russians and the Ukrainians were even hanging out part of the time….   A week after the IPC

  A few more shots of ABR in Ironwood, Michigan.  Datsa lotta wood.     I forgot to bring my coffee cup out to the ski-in cabin the first night so I made it in a jar in the morning.  The heavy cream went in first and the coffee on top—a beautiful little melding point.  Note the wood stove in the background.   While we’re at the remote cabins at ABR we use a small insulated bag for the ‘refrigerated’ items like cream, cheese,