[I] would wager that, in the spring, when grocery shoppers across this country get a hankering for strawberry shortcake, strawberry pie, strawberry…anything, that don’t give a moment’s thought to the fact that most of the strawberries they’re buying come from the productive fields of California, from Oxnard to Watsonville. My […]
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 […]
[C]learly — as one could see from the name of this blog — I am a scone fan. I’ve written of my love and admiration of scones here before, but I don’t have a problem making a new scone recipe to remind me of everything good — and great — […]
[I] have made countless loaves of banana bread over the years, always hoping for THE one…the one that will end my search for the perfect version. Then, I can just stop trying and always have MY go-to method at the ready. I’ve made banana breads that have ended up too […]
[J]ust what are sugarplums, anyway? According to Clement Moore’s classic holiday story poem, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,†children had visions of them dancing in their heads. And sugarplum fairies flit magically in the most well-known and traditional of holiday ballets, “The Nutcracker.†When I have done my own envisioning […]
[W]e come to find things in a seemingly roundabout way…or do we? Perhaps it is true that there are no accidents and that coincidence is not merely that. What led me to a most delicious pie recipe was my mother, whose fancy and instinct was successfully piqued as she nosed […]
I first learned of nasturtiums several years ago when they were included in a planned herb garden kit. The seeds were large and legume-like, similar — to me, at least — to garbanzo beans. I planted them, along with parsley, thyme, borage, sage, etc., having little to no idea of […]