A few of you admired my tartlet shells from the tasting at the Woodstock Farmers Market over the weekend. Perfectly bite-sized, each one is just larger than the size of a quarter. Fill the shells with just about anything and you have the cutest little appetizer or dessert. After many years of passing appetizers at …
Garlic and Honey
My house must stink. I know I stink. There has been a lot of garlic through here lately. I’ve been creating garlic balsamic jellies and pickling sweet garlic (I will be taking both items to the farmers markets!). I have also been eating lots of raw garlic. I thought that I could use a little …
Perfect Boiled Egg Yolks
Are you getting the green ring around the yolk still? Then I have the easiest boiled egg technique for you. There is no timing or thinking involved here, and the eggs come out perfect every time! How to: Situate the eggs in a pan and cover with cold water (add a splash of white …
Tip: How to test meat for doneness without cutting into it
This technique was taught to me by my momma. Make a fist. Your hand should be comfortable, not tightly squeezed. Press on the fleshy part between your thumb and pointer finger. There should be plenty of give. This represents what rare meat feels like if you poke it with your finger. By squeezing a little …
Continue reading "Tip: How to test meat for doneness without cutting into it"
Cheese Ball, an Up-Cycled Food!
I am a cheese hound. One time Tall Dark and Handsome inventoried the refrigerator and found 13 varieties! I insisted that the cream cheese and cottage cheese didn’t count, but he argued otherwise (typical lawyer type). Living in the land of cheese and maple, how can a girl help herself? Vermont has the most amazing cheeses …
Baking soda III: Make Play Clay
Baking Soda I Baking Soda II Two years after Dr.Church’s retirement from Dwight and Co. Dr. Church helped his sons develop Church and Co. where they marketed their product under the name Arm and Hammer. Dwight and Co. and Church and Co., while in competition with each other, were still family. So in 1869 the …
Baking Soda II: America’s First Brand of Baking Soda
Baking Soda, part I: Sodium Bicarbonate Baking Soda, part II: Dwight & Co., America's first brand of baking soda. In 1839 doctor and chemist, Austin Church reasoned that he could profit from finding a way to mass produce saleratus (aerated salt). Church heated soda ash (sodium carbonate) over a wood-burning fire until the sodium carbonate …
Continue reading "Baking Soda II: America’s First Brand of Baking Soda"
Baking Soda, part I: Sodium Bicarbonate
Sometimes the more mundane things in the kitchen can be overlooked, when really there is so much to say about them. There is as much information on baking soda as there are uses for it. I thought I might break it down for you….. Baking Soda, part I: Sodium Bicarbonate Baking soda, aka; sodium bicarbonate, …
Kitchen Tip: Bagel Chips
In the refrigerator the other day I found myself face to face with a beautiful bag of bagels that were, unfortunately, not tender to the touch. I had but one thing in mind. Slice those babies thin and bake ‘em into crispy submission! When confronted with old and hard bagels, I make Bagel Chips! Slice …
Saving Seeds: Beginners Plants
So you want to save your seeds. By saving seeds from one years’ crop means that you will not have to purchase those seeds for many years. Aka: saving money. Some seeds I save not just to replant, but also to eat. Dill, fennel and cilantro, all have tasty seeds for use in cooking …
Nancy Warner 