Seasonal vegetables, fruits, desserts, fun, photographs,
After my last year’s flop at making a Rhubarb Gallette…once again I could not resist the staunch scarlet stalks at the Green City Farmers Market. There was a recipe in the Italy Issue of Bon Appétit for “Rhubarb and Raspberry Crostata” by Karen DeMasco. I was ready, a year had passed since my last foray … Continue reading
My love affair with radishes began when I was six years old and pulled my first baby radish from our city prairie garden. The green leaves popped early, their tiny tips of red tinge bursting warm though the hard dirt. I tugged at the leafy stem. Once out, it looked like a tiny red carrot. … Continue reading
In ancient China oyster mushrooms were sent as a gift to friends and family. The jewelry maker in me couldn’t resist adding the pearls… The graceful appearance of the bloom of the oyster mushroom hooked me at the Green City Farmer’s Market. I wondered if I could roast them to keep the whole mushroom together? … Continue reading
At the Green City Farmer’s Market last weekend they were selling Goose Eggs. Huge! The Winter Farmer’s Market is alongside the North Pond in Lincoln Park. Last year I remember seeing these big broken shells around the pond, a “goose control squad” was piercing the eggs to control the goose population. Maybe we should start … Continue reading
The Green City Farmer’s Market in Chicago is full of surprises in early Spring…things I don’t notice other times of the year, when the colorful fruits and vegetables capture my eye and imagination. Popcorn on the cob? My young audience was incredulous. In the microwave? The hardest part is harnessing our impatience. The aroma extends … Continue reading
I accepted a challenge from Green City Farmer’s Market to submit a recipe and pictures using products found at the January market. Organic root vegetables were abundant. I read that with vegetables buried in the earth, and fruits on trees you don’t peel; organic is best. Green City Farmers Market is organic. Therefore my choice. … Continue reading
Evocative. Stacked. Still on the stalk. Roast Brussel Sprouts on the stalk? And after they’re roasted? A fantasy base for an appetizer tree. But…the Reality Tree!!! Easy to topple and your guests could cut themselves removing the sprouts. But if perseverance prevails… Roasted Brussel Sprout Log With Maple-Lime Glaze 1 Brussel Sprout Log, cut off … Continue reading
Quinoa pronounced keen waa. Keen Waaahat? Italian Quinoa behaves like an oxymoron. A seed often called a super-grain— this is one seed with a mistaken identity. A seed—that looks like a grain, cooks like a grain, tastes like a grain, gluten free and full of fiber and rich in protein? The World Health Organization has … Continue reading
To celebrate Summer, her beautiful garden and her Leo birthday, Flora gives a Garden Party for her friends, varied as the flowers in her garden. A gargantuan effort of a party bursting with sunshine, guests, flowers, umbrella-tables, wine and food. “What can I bring?” “A fruit salad would be wonderful and would give us a … Continue reading
“Flops are a part of life’s menu and I’ve never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses.” —Rosalind Russell. Me either. Rhubarb resonates summer afternoons of my early entrepreneur days in our yard. My grocery store sign set up under the dwarf mulberry tree, the hanging branches creating an enclosure … Continue reading
Italian Handful 