Season's Eatings 
Fannie Farmer & My Squash Casserole
When I was a young mother I took the role of feeding my family very seriously starting with growing fresh produce to cooking meals from scratch. Summer squash was easy to grow, sometimes so easy that I ended up with much more than we needed and was constantly trying to think of new ways to [...]
Happiness is a bowl of Sungolds mid-winter
Golden orbs of sublime flavor these Sungolds. We love August and September when their vines are loaded and tomato grazing is prime. I return to the house after such a foray – me and my tomatoes alone at last – with my culinary soul satisfied and hands tinged with tomatoes’ invisible aura, the pigment that, [...]
How to Become a Poacher
My enthusiasm for cooking is waning and it’s not only because I don’t want to heat up the kitchen. Anyone who lives in the Northwest knows that when summer finally arrives, we NEED to go outdoors and take full advantage of our beautiful, long sunny days. There will be plenty of time for more serious [...]
Full o’ Beans, Wax & Green
My grandmother said that I was full of beans whenever she thought I was stretching the truth or misbehaving. Which, of course, wasn’t that often.
I’m full of beans at the moment and more on the way. I went on a bean-planting binge in May and planted four vines along with that many bush beans. What [...]
Fruity Salsa Dancing
I’m on a fruit salsa kick and there’s no slow down in sight. Give me a bowl of fruit and I’ll whip up a bowl of salsa in no time and then it gets eaten just as quickly. Wait for me to make a pie and you probably won’t get one before summer fruit season [...]
Roasted Garlic Bliss . . . or Beast
For me it’s bliss and our garden has just produced a healthy harvest of Duganski & Oregon Blue. It was touch and go there for a while, but it’s back and we’re thinking garlic feast. Some might say beast.
Turn the page if you have an aversion to garlic. One of my friends does and when [...]
Tuna & Bean Italian Summer Salad
I knew that I liked both tuna and beans. Separately. But epiphanies happen and in Venice last spring we had tuna and cannellini beans together in a salad for lunch. Loved it. Insalata di tonno e fagioli. My Italian Connection again. Our friend Mac made it for our lunch one day just before we headed [...]
Some Like It Hot: Basil & Frico
Browsing through my new volume of Canal House Cooking, I came upon the perfect pairing for my favorite basil summertime drinks — the Italian crispy, cheesey treat known as a frico. Perfect for me because I love something salty to munch along with a cocktail. These are so simple to make, the thought of having [...]
If You Can’t Beet ‘Em…
Sometimes it’s hard for us during the summer to make it to the University Farmers Market on Saturdays. I’ve come to rely more and more on produce and market stands and have discovered a wonderful one in the Skagit Valley called Mother Flight Farm. We often get off I-5 at Conway and make our way [...]
Road Trip, Cool Sip, Rosemary Lemonade
Early tomorrow morning we hit the road, Poppy and I. We’re headed for a workshop middle of the week and we thought we’d veer through Washington’s wine country on the way to Montana: the Yakima Valley, Red Mountain, Walla Walla and then wheat country, the Palouse. Truthfully, the photog workshop is [...]
