Novice preserves from a Brooklyn kitchen
[some very good cookies] There used to be this cafe in Portland that was a few blocks from a job I once had. They had a bakery and roastery in house, and a lot of vegan options. My go-to was the baked tofu sandwich combined with whatever their soup of the day was, plus a… Continue reading Lying around cookies
[chopped kale] I don't remember when we started making this caesar salad, but it entered our meal rotation so seamlessly it could have been a decade ago. My usual salad routine involves chopping up a bunch of veggies and tossing them together with greens and beans, plus a simple vinaigrette. But sometimes I want a… Continue reading Making friends with salads
[beautiful green bunch of mint] I almost gave up on my mint tea search and threw out the quickly browning herb, until I came across this lovely blog post (I, too, have killed my window basil) while searching for pickled cherry recipes. My mint seemed like a good 1 for 1 with their basil, so… Continue reading Mint tea and other beverages
[hydrangeas, lettuce, radicchio, kale, fennel, savory, sorrel, cherries, and raspberries (and some limes)] We've been in the middle of a heatwave in NY, with temperatures in the high 90s combining with a high dew point to create "feels like" temps in the mid-100s. When I got back from the pickup, the hydrangeas were wilting, and… Continue reading CSA 4: Extreme Heat Edition
[pizza focaccia with garlic scapes, waiting for the oven to preheat] Back when we lived in Portland, before it closed, there was this Italian-style deli that made incredible focaccia. You could get half of a half sheet of this salty, airy, olive-oily bread for like 4 bucks. It paired perfectly with most meals: soups in… Continue reading Focaccia variations
[sweet cherries in syrup] I got really into sparkling mineral water a couple of summers ago. Not the canned fizzy water stuff that's really popular, although when I worked in the office, I would get the syrup-free soda water from the soda machine when I wanted a little fancy water. But the heavier stuff. It's… Continue reading Rainier cherries in syrup
[radishes, peas, lettuce, asparagus, garlic scapes, lavender, mint, upland cress, strawberries, and raspberries] Another Tuesday, another prediction for torrential rain and lightning. This time it was just lightly drizzling, and a cool change from the weekend's hot swampy weather. The CSA has been sending share lists Monday afternoons, so I can sort of plan out… Continue reading CSA number three
[dill pickle slices, heavy on the dill] Judging by the camera roll on my phone (or the absence thereof—I had a phone for about 13 months that died right outside of the warrantee, so it happened then), I first made pickles in July of 2017. Living in Bushwick during a wildly rainy summer, I bought… Continue reading Pickles
[beautiful ruby red strawberry jam] I am by no means an expert jammer (novice preserves, remember), but I'm definitely more comfortable with the flow and timing of jam making than I was with my first ever batch from 2019. I have the prep work down, and the two-burner system of heating up the jars while… Continue reading Strawberry jam, etc.
[csa haul: 4 pints of strawberries (lol), peas, lettuce, asparagus, and winter savory (though maybe it's tarragon)] CSA pickup 2 went so much more smoothly. There was a slight chance of rain and thunderstorms, again, but I had clear skies the whole time and got home dry. I ran a few errands again beforehand, and… Continue reading The second CSA
Rhubarb Season 