Jump to the Recipe The turnip, along with her cousin the rutabaga, is an underappreciated root vegetable in the cabbage family. Winter turnips (the most common cultivar is Purple Top White Globe) can have a sharp, almost radishy flavor, but this mellows out and sweetens when you cook them. In this recipe, turnips and apples…
Fall
Harissa Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Jump to the Recipe I’m pretty late to the harissa game. What can I say, I’ve lived in suburbia for 14 years and don’t get out much. Oh sure, I’d heard of this North African spice blend. I’d even eaten a decent amount of grilled squid with harissa, made by the the one restaurant within…
Pork Chops with Apple Cider, Maple and Thyme Glaze
Jump to the Recipe I picked up some pork from a new-to-me pork guy last month. This was a bulk-buy type situation a friend coordinated, and I asked for a variety of cuts to assess if I wanted to go…uh…whole-hog in the fall. Oliver was with me when I loaded bags of pork into the trunk…
Vietnamese Stir-fried Kohlrabi and Prawns
The Vietnamese dipping sauce nuoc cham gives this simple stir-fry of kohlrabi and prawns lots of flavor. A light, delicious meal for your mid-winter produce.
November Gardening Chores For The Pacific Northwest
Update for November, 2017: This is the first fall I can remember where I have actively gardened but haven’t employed any season-extension techniques. I am, typically, a huge fan of year-round gardening, cloches, and all manner of garden hacks that let me extend my fresh-veg season beyond the normal growing season. This year has been…
October Gardening Chores For The Pacific Northwest
Update for October, 2017: Early fall is my favorite time of the year in the Pacific Northwest. Cool, foggy mornings that magically transform into sunny days – and never get hotter than 70 degrees? That’s my kind of heaven. 2017’s first day of October feels pretty typical to me…everything about what I’m seeing outside aligns pretty well with how my gut “thinks” it…
September Gardening Chores For The Pacific Northwest
Everything the Pacific Northwest edible gardener needs to know and do in September. Includes free, downloadable Garden To Do checklist.
Lacto Fermented Spicy Korean Kraut
Think of this as kimchi for wimps. It’s more accessible in flavor than a traditional Korean, long-fermented pungent cabbage or turnip ferment. But it’s not so unlike kimchi that it won’t stand in well as a spicy, pungent addition to rice bowls, soups, and noodle dishes of all kinds. For the best results on this…
Lacto Fermented Curtido Cabbage Salsa
As regular readers know, I love a good taco. In fact, I even have a formula for delicious homemade tacos. One of the essential components of a great taco is something crispy and crunchy. The Central American, lightly fermented cabbage slaw called curtido fits the bill perfectly, and has all the benefits of other fermented cabbage condiments like sauerkraut…
Better Homemade Vanilla Extract
With all that holiday baking and homemade gift giving I’ll bet you ran through a fair bit of vanilla extract. Good news! If you start a new batch now it will be absolutely perfect for the 2015 holiday season. Homemade vanilla extract is about as simple a DIY as you could hope for, and the…
Tomato Canning Quick Reference Guide
When I was canning up tomatoes this past weekend, and I was sick, so I kept double checking things and kinda getting hazy about what the hell I was doing. Moral of the story: do not attempt to can 100 pounds of tomatoes while sick. But as I was shuffling back and forth to my…
Beet and Apple Salad with Yogurt-Dill Dressing
My kids love this salad. It’s full of big, chunky pieces of roasted beets and apple, and has a mild, creamy dressing. And it’s bright pink, which adds to the fun. If you want something a little more sophisticated than a Barbie Ferrari colored salad at the dinner table, just spoon the dressing over the…