October days are either stunningly orange with sunlight filtered through turning leaves, or it’s grey, rainy and chilled giving us a hint of the November to come.  This potato soup with a tang of buttermilk, yogurt and dill seed will not let you down during this season.  There is something about being cozy and eating hot soup while watching the squall outside that increases our appreciation for the warmth.     I’ve been buying up my winter supply of root veggies

  Another soup from the deli days. It was awesome in summer because the vegetables and herbs could be local and fresh, but also pretty tasty in the winter when you needed a substantial bowl of chow.  Fassolada is a Greek stew (sometimes called their national soup) made with white beans, tomatoes and other veggies.  I added feta cheese and tweaked it here and there…hearty and scrumptious.     Beans! My friend, musician, and market producer Hannah Breckbill gave me some heirloom beans that

  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

  This was a Comfort Meal in the deli, a bowlful of both Brothy and Filling.   It’s another soup with the tangy buttermilk-secret-ingredient, added at the end when the soup has cooled slightly (so it won’t curdle) and with the addition of a little baking soda to reduce the acidity (so it won’t curdle). The baking soda trick can also be used is to make beans more easily (and quietly) digestible.       Tamari is a great addition

  Hot soup in the cold days of January—it’s never a bad idea.       We are knee deep in the process of prepping and amassing supplies for the annual trek north.  Pulling skis out of hibernation for waxing, dragging out sleeping bags and the camping stove, changing oil on the vehicle, finding catsitters, taking inventory of canned and frozen foods so I can make the menu plans for the cabins, and cooking piles of dishes to be frozen

  A pile of ripe tomatoes and a drizzly day remind me of another soup we used to make in the deli.  This creamy tomato soup is simple and homey, and if it doesn’t bring up good childhood memories hopefully it will create warm fuzzy new ones.     This year I planted climbing beans next to the tomatoes so the tomatoes would benefit from the nitrogen fixing wonders of the leggy legumes, and they completely merged and intermingled on

  Last fall we bought an extra turkey —we love turkey and can’t figure out why we don’t eat it all year round.  This week we cooked it because it’s been so cold and rainy that the idea of a warm oven and turkey aromas sounded cozy and appealing.  The day after turkey-roasting came the stock-making ritual, and we awoke to another rainy chilly day so I was doubly glad to have a that flame and good smell in the

  I know I keep saying this…but this soup really truly was one of the favorites at the Deli.  The silky broth texture was such a treat.   My friend Kristen shared many a great recipe with the Deli and Hmong Market Soup was no exception.  It was adapted from a recipe she brought us from Savoring the Seasons Of the Northern Heartland. . .  Fresh ginger is available these days in most grocery stores, but unless you have creative

  Spring!   It’s here, complete with snow that will soon turn to muddy slush.   I don’t have anything poking through in the garden yet, but our local hoop house gardeners soon will and I’m ready for some good greenery.   This soup was another favorite in the Deli and a great one for spring.  When I started working there in the 90’s it was a tiny operation and I was making things up as I went along.  My

. The foggy night emerged into a sunny day and left behind a Winter Wonderland.  Fern-like crystals of hoar frost on every surface, I had a difficult time keeping my eyes on the road it was so breathtaking.  There is something incredible about the reflected whiteness of snow and frost that helps increase the light and raise our spirits during this season of chill.  We may live in a quieter part of the world, but we do occasionally have frozen