AWEsome Cookery

  Is ‘herb’ a verb? It is now.     I was recently asked to provide some desserts for a party in late September, a request I usually decline because I’m not baking-inclined, but they wanted the entire event to be gluten free so my empathetic streak took over.  A chocolate chile cake was of course on my menu but then I stumbled upon gluten free angelfood cake recipes online, and on chow.com found the idea of combining strawberries mixed with fresh herbs as a topping.  What

    Purple lisianthus from the Canoe Creek Produce at the Farmer’s Market.  I hear they’re difficult to grow because they are slow to germinate, but it is so worth the wait.  I’ve found myself sitting and just staring at them over the last week and a half that they’ve lived on the table.           In these August days we’re so free with how we use fresh produce here in the midwest, vegetables are mounded into salads because they

  It’s amazing to eat produce when it is still warm from the sun.   These ingredients of summer that I’m finding in my garden or the Farmer’s Market—cucumbers, tomatoes, cilantro, onion—there is just nothing like fresh and connected to the vine or the soil sometime in the last 24 hours.   photo by David Cavagnaro   It’s been a busy summer of catering with back-to-back and mid-week events crammed into the first two months of summer, but this is the flip-side payback

  A ridiculously simple snack it is, yet it’s been a (sometimes daily) staple for us when we need a no-grain high-protein crunch.  If you’ve ever done a cleanse-diet or a few weeks of eliminating sugars and grains and reducing carbs, you know the near-desparation that can set in as you search for something you can eat.  This provides a satisfaction that is hard to describe if you’ve never experienced that frantic hunt for foods that are not sugars or grains—it’s fast to make, fulfilling with

  Once again I find myself wrapped tightly in the schedule of catering events and I’m not able to do justice in writing the experiences of the last ten days on our adventure into the south.  This sunset tells the story much better than I ever could, it was the gift given as our group gathered to celebrate our friend, teacher, family, mentor, writer and artist Mary Kay Parker Deen. .       . These angels are trees in Bay St. Louis, resurrected

    NOLA a.k.a. the Rebirth City. I’m traveling with friends this week to New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, visiting friends and eating delectable dinners everywhere we go.  Not much time for words so I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.         A sweet morning on the porch while we visited my friend Beatriz who owns the Fairchild House B&B on Prytania in the Lower Garden District.     It was recommended we take the ferry across to Algiers and

  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

… Fresh tarragon with sugar was not my original idea, but reading it in a menu convinced me this was the meal I wanted to attempt to recreate for a Scandinavian dinner for my friend Dennis, the generous Dane who loves to host elaborate festivities. The Faroe Islands were the geographical highlight of this year’s feast, small bits in the North Atlantic between Norway, Scotland and Iceland, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark.  Puffin, seal and whale blubber are common foods eaten there…but we

  The Holiday Music Motel We were wandering around Sturgeon Bay looking for a place to stay since it appeared as though a storm was descending, and though we like camping…it takes real dedication to set up WHILE it’s raining.  Vacationland of Door County is host to a plethora of cabins, cottages, condos, campsites, B&B’s, hotels, motels, resorts, and it didn’t help that we are easily overwhelmed by choices, especially when tired.  The warm neon sign of the Holiday Motel

Nutmeg Iced Tea is great for a summer’s day, so here are photos of a divine location to relax with a glass—a gazebo co-created by Scott and metal-master friend Hung Van Pham.   This is the initial design in miniature, before it took an evolutionary turn to include metal.   The top…not in miniature   The frame upside down under construction in Hung’s shop, with bracings . Hand-beveled boards for the sides of the gazebo   The awesome stainless steel centerpiece hanging from the crossbeams   Looking

  Maybe not something you do every night, but these gems are stunning on a plate.  I recently made these as a garnish for a wedding dinner to be set atop the saffron rice pilaf next to the pesto green beans.  Color!!  We eat with our eyes as well so why not occasionally feed our oculars a feast.   Accessorize. Garnishes are like the perfect pair of earrings, condensed nuggets of beauty. They are about enriching and augmenting, enhancement of the senses is a wonderful thing.  Adding contrasting

  Before we get to refreshing cucumbers, here are more photos from the Willow Gathering in June.  These are from classes led by the two Danish instructors Ane Lyngsgaard and Eva Seidenfaden.         You can see the soaked willow on the floor in the background.               The booklet describes Baskets4Life, a group of Danish weavers that converge twice a year for one week to stretch themselves to new dimensions of their art and to thoroughly enjoy

  While we were in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in February we ate lunch at a little place called Steep Creek Cafe (and White Cap Kayak Trips) in the Ironwood and I seem to recall we licked out the bowl that this dip was served in.  Having only the three ingredients listed in the title to go on, I came home and ran with it making a slightly different rendition that is very green and not half bad. Is it hummus?  Is it pesto?  Is

  It’s a drizzly overcast day with a chilly night coming on, and time for all of the basil to be dug out of the garden and processed.  I’ll be up to my elbows in pesto of course, but I’ve been wanting to try herb salts all summer so this will be the day.     I was amazed at how green it is even after drying in the oven.  That color will be especially appreciated in the winter days

    Tis the season of these fuzzy tart rubies. The cicadas are buzzing, the days are steamy, but the nearly-sharp chill of the early morning gives away that secret I’ve been aching to hear…that fall is knocking at the door.   Sumac is often used in shawarma seasonings or ground up and sprinkled over hummus and Mediterranean meats, but this year the warm days make me want a refreshing cool drink that’s like a Midwestern lemonade.   . Staghorn

. Cabbage.  Magnificent.   This is an easy-to-make Waldorf-Coleslaw hybrid that Scott created and I love it.  The cabbage is already at Farmers Market and the early apples are coming in so it seemed like a perfect time to share this salad with you.   The dressing is sweet-tart and the curry powder is subtle but essential—-great for a warm summer’s day. Not bad for a fall day either.   . Such beauty!  I suppose summer does have a few

  If you’re growing cilantro in your garden it probably looks like this right now: a mass of beautiful little flowers and bulbous green seeds.  Usually I don’t have time to deal with them and just wait until they dry in the garden then harvest the coriander seeds for use in the winter, but sometimes I catch them at this perfect stage when they have flavors of both fresh cilantro AND coriander seed. I know that there is an ant-cilantro

  Figs and Balsamic Vinegar…a match made in heaven! Rich, Deep Flavors with Sweet and Tangy, together they tango.   Balsamic Vinegar Balsamic originates from the word ‘balm’ and years ago this rich caramel liquid was used for medicinal purposes such as curing colds and aiding heart conditions, not for cooking as we use it today.   Traditionally it was aged for decades, sometimes up to 100 years, in a series of wooden barrels (mulberry, ash, cherry, chestnut, and oak)

    YELLOW! With the summer sun blazing every day, it seems like the season of yellow.   Preserved lemons, a.k.a. lemon pickles, are known as a North African condiment but they appear in dishes all over the region. The entire lemon is preserved in a bed of salt and lemon juice to keep it usable for many months and the result is a distinct lemon flavor that adds a surprising sparkle… yet is also kind of mellow.  I’ve often