lessons learned

  • 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: Fried oysters

    How many of you watched the Season 3 premiere of Downton Abbey last night? We did, after some technical difficulties, and it was every bit as lavish and funny and swoony as we’d hoped. While a certain someone (cough Josh cough)… Continue reading

  • Kitchen garden (V)

    It’s been a while since the last update from the garden. Unfortunately, in between moving and travel, the poor tomatoes and peas had a rough transition. Those big green tomatoes I planned on harvesting? The squirrels at my new place… Continue reading

  • A tale of two peanut butters

    This weekend the weather turned. It’s been hot and muggy all week, the air dense with rain. And now the heat has burned off and it actually feels like fall. Supposedly it won’t last, but after Saturday, we’ll take it.… Continue reading

  • Canning fruit (II)

    Yesterday I recounted how my friend Nina and I decided to can 40 lbs of tomatoes. When I left off, we had just realized how much time (and patience) this project required. Nevertheless, we persevered. Once the crushed tomatoes had… Continue reading

  • Canning fruit (I)

    Last Sunday, over dinner at our local Ethiopian restaurant, my friend Nina said, “When can we can?” And thus began a rather silly and ultimately fruitful (heh) endeavor of canning 40 lbs of tomatoes. And making lots of canning jokes.… Continue reading

  • To make ice cream

    It’s been a busy summer, one full of transitions: family milestones, a move ten minutes down the road, exotic travel, a new school. This week I’ve been focusing on that last one, a new school, as we get ready for… Continue reading

  • Flaxseed tea

    There can be hidden gems in old cookbooks. Like last week’s kuchen tarts, or the Little House apple turnovers, or the Old Virginia pancakes. Come to think of it, those hidden gems all have to do with baking or flour-based deliciousness.… Continue reading