baking

  • Carrot pudding

    This summer we’re trying out a CSA, or “Community Supported Agriculture.” Each week we pick up a manageable amount of fresh vegetables (and sometimes a potted plant!) from a nearby farm. Having paid the farm in advance for the season, we… Continue reading

    Carrot pudding

  • Blueberry picking (and muffins)

    It’s been two weeks since we returned from vacation in Canada, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Even though I’ve since joined my parents for a weekend in upstate New York. Even though Josh and I have entertained and… Continue reading

  • Himmel torte

    We just returned from a week in Maine with Josh’s family. A gorgeous lake house near the town of Casco served as our home base, and we spent the week swimming, kayaking, reading, and playing games. The men-folk cooked almost… Continue reading

  • Devil’s cake no. 1

    Yesterday I celebrated my birthday! I turned 27, just a few weeks after this blog turned 2. In between melting in the 90-degree heat and dashing through torrential rainstorms (yes, it was an eventful day, weather-wise), I enjoyed a pastry… Continue reading

  • Short cake, with blueberry topping

    Over the long weekend, my sister Lissa came to visit, and one afternoon we drove down to New Haven, CT, to visit our old college. We toured the British Art Gallery and I found time to wander around Yale’s campus… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: How to serve plum pudding

    We had a relatively quiet Christmas here in Ohio, seeing family and telling funny stories and going for long, snowy walks and eating good food. As per tradition, we served plum pudding for dessert on Christmas night, along with a… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: How to steam plum pudding

    On Saturday we talked about how to make your own plum pudding, the most classic of British holiday desserts. (Yes, I am still wondering where the plums are in the recipe.) Today we’ll discuss the cooking process, which is a… Continue reading

  • Dining at Downton: How to make plum pudding

    This time of year, my family is all about tradition. Previously I wrote about the Brunswick stew we’ve kept from my mom’s side of the family, though I tested out a Williamsburg variation of the recipe. That’s still on the… Continue reading

  • The "First" Thanksgiving (III)

    Last week we looked at some of the myths surrounding the original Thanksgiving. We’ve explored how the Pilgrims were not, in fact, Pilgrims, and how the First Thanksgiving wasn’t the homey, pastoral scene we’re taught in school. Today we’ll look at… Continue reading

  • Pumpkin pie

    This time of year, Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” always seems to be stuck in my head. Yes, I did play it in class because it connected to our Lord of the Rings discussion, but it’s also just so seasonally appropriate.… Continue reading