Season's Eatings 
Brine It: Homemade Corned Beef
I’m not Irish but St. Patrick’s Day gives me an unnecessary excuse to wear green and to eat corned beef. I decided to try “corning” my own beef this year and in the process learned that I have more of a connection to this dish than I realized. As it turns out, corned beef didn’t [...]
What’s Up With the Paper Cup?
Oscars tonight. In the meantime something else to ponder, and sorry, no gowns involved. It’s the not-so-glamorous, but equally frivolous paper cup. Use them once and discard. While others have been carrying their reusable cups into coffee shops the past few years, I rarely have. Truthfully, I don’t buy much coffee out, but still, I [...]
Be Kale My Heart
Kale plants in the backyard are a show all winter long. Hardy and steadfast, they dominate a big patch of the winter garden, and lately they’ve turned seasonal warmth and light into effervescent new leaves – garden sirens beckoning me to look, to photograph and to eat. Be kale my heart may be a frivolous [...]
Shop Your Pantry & Freezer
Last week while my car was being repaired, I was forced to think about my all-too-often impulse to “run to the grocery store” to pick up something for dinner. Run meaning, of course, drive. I’m sorry to say that it took me not having my car to look at the food I already had and [...]
Great Granola, No Gluten
During our 28-day detox diet, just finished, no wheat was allowed, along with dairy, sugar in any form – yes, that includes chocolate – alcohol, soy, caffeine. Our plates were full of fruits and veggies, rice, some meat, nuts and legumes. A limited repertoire, but a healthy way to eat for a short while. It [...]
So Fines Herbes
Tender herbs are popping up all over my garden and it’s making me positively giddy with excitement about spring even though it doesn’t officially arrive until March 20. Our mild El Nino-influenced winter has given the garden a jump-start and it’s gotten me out earlier than ever in anticipation of a long growing season. At [...]
The Darker Side of Chocolate
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we’re all thinking about the sweetness of relationships but it takes a little more effort to delve into the deeper, more complex aspects of love. Similarly, chocolate’s savory side isn’t usually sought after or easily understood. Just try adding a little unsweetened cocoa powder to a dish for [...]
Chocolate Pudding, Not Kidding
Valentine’s Day next week, and a few days ago we toasted our Mixed Greens’ two-year anniversary (thankyou dear readers). In celebration – okay, Super Bowl too – chocolate pudding. Like retro sleek-winged sofas and my mom’s Russell Wright dishes of the fifties, chocolate pudding deserves a comeback and some respect. Plus, it was among our [...]
Versatile Vegetable Soup
Groundhog’s Day yesterday and Imbolc mean we’re halfway to spring. There are wee signs in the garden – the earliest flowers unfolding, and rhubarb gallantly punching hot pink nubs and crinkled neon leaves through its own mulch.
Still, it’s winter and the hardiest vegetables rule. A steaming pot of homemade soup is winter’s snooze on a [...]
Duck Confit for a Party
Having a few friends over for a cozy dinner is a welcome break from the seriously isolating behavior I tend to adopt over the winter. Maybe I don’t speak for you, but it takes some prodding to get me out the door on a winter night even in the warmest January we’ve had in 60 [...]
