Every year around St. Patrick’s Day, Irish Soda Bread is on my mind. It’s too bad that it isn’t on my mind more often. Soda bread is tender, tangy, slightly sweet, and served fresh with butter, there isn’t much better. While traditional soda bread, served as a round loaf with […]
Armed with freshly ground cornmeal from a local historic grist mill (see previous blog entry), I pondered ways to use it. I loved a good cornbread, but I had made many pans in my day, so I was up for something different. One Sunday, I Iooked to something cozy and […]
Our lack of rain this winter had me nervous and twitchy. I wanted to inspire more precipitation and thought I might get some sort of magic from visiting a place where water was not only flowing, but a source of power and purpose. [I ]turned to the Bale Grist Mill […]
Occasionally, I stumble across a recipe that reminds me of the versatility and homey comfort of muffins. I don’t make them a lot, and I should, particularly when I find an easy, flavorful version like the Lemony Yogurt Muffins from “Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple,” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; […]
Back in the day, the cookies — dropped from a teaspoon — were softer, rounder and, yes, smaller, and the world was good. I discovered this recently when I revisited a retro recipe for oatmeal cookies. [A] wee bit of ground cloves (along with a generous dose of cinnamon) gave […]
Of all the cookies I’ve wanted to make, Spritz have been on my list the longest. I studied photos and recipes for Spritz as a child…I emerged from childhood, and still I was un-spritzed (I believe we had a cookie press, but it went unused). Young adulthood came and went, […]
Recently, thumbing through Donna Hay’s delightful book, “Christmas Feasts and Treats” (2018), a book I purchased a few years back and continue to peruse (whether it’s Christmas or not)… I really thought I wanted to make nearly everything in it. [T]he book is beautiful, so visually appealing in its offering […]
I have been lucky enough to be in proximity to some amazing places. Some are majestic, like the Golden Gate Bridge and the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco; others encompass the beautiful landscape of Sonoma and Napa valleys, where all sorts of treasures can be discovered. One lucky […]
Over the years, I’ve been known to eat a graham cracker or two. Actually, that’s an understatement. Graham crackers are as much of a staple in my home as flour, butter and coffee. My bedtime snack is often a graham cracker smeared with nut butter. The crackers (a childhood favorite), […]
A Fig Newton is one cookie I don’t feel too guilty about eating. It’s filled with dried fruit filling, right? And it’s not terribly sweet, its modest cookie crust is minimal, so you almost feel as if you are eating something more akin to a granola bar. I won’t dissect […]