Apparently the average American gains ten pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. This bourbon pecan toffee bark will be responsible for 9 of my 10 pounds, I am sure of it. I was reading my current favorite cookbook, America’s Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook, and staring at the recipe for chocolate toffee bark while drinking an…
Meyer Lemon Curd, A Love Affair
My mom used to make me a special cake on my birthday. It was a four-layer white cake, each layer filled with lemon pie filling. The cake was frosted with Seven Minute Frosting – which is basically like marshmallow fluff – and coated with sweetened shredded coconut. I loved this cake. It went down like…
{Giveaway} Permaculture Playing Cards
Periodically there are advantages to being a blogger. I fell in love with these stunning Permaculture Playing Cards and was about to buy myself a pack on Amazon when I remembered that I knew the guy who made them. So I emailed Paul Wheaton, the founder of Permies.com, and said, “Hey, before I buy these…
The Freeze-Fill Line (How To Freeze Food In Mason Jars)
Here’s a quick tip for knowing how much to fill mason jars with food for freezing. Most straight-sided mason-type jars are made with something called the Freeze-Fill Line. This line shows you how much food you can safety put into a glass jar without risking a cracked jar when the contents freeze and expand. Look…
How To Make and Use Caramelized Onions (The Pro Method)
Let’s be clear. There is a difference between meltingly soft, slow-caramelized onions and grilled onions. If you think a caramelized onion is basically a hunk of raw onion with some char on the edges like you might find in a nasty Panda Express mall stirfry, then you are in for a very pleasant surprise. True,…
How To Make DIY Really Cool Bath Bombs
Bath bombs are so cool. Basically, you’re doing a chemistry experiment in the name of Spa Day. How could anyone not like that combo? They also make great gifts (hint! hint!) and kids love them. Since I started this Bath Bomb making experiment, my son has refused to take a bath without one. Bath Bombs…
Of Dead Heroes and Roast Chickens
Judy Rodgers died Monday. Unless you are a chef, or a follower of the food world, or live in San Francisco, this probably means nothing to you. Why should it? People die every day. If we mourned for every person we’ve never known we would be paralyzed. But Chef Rodger’s passing means something to me….
You Can Make Bacon At Home. And It's Delicious.
In about a week you could be eating the best bacon of your entire life. You could be holding in your hand a glistening mahogany slab of perfectly crisped pink, tender, juicy meat streaked through with succulent fat. You could be proclaiming to the world: “Behold what I have made! It is bacon and it is sublime!” Instead…
{Giveaway} Five Piece Lodge Cast Iron Cookware Set
You know what’s blacker than Black Friday? Beautiful, glistening, well seasoned cast iron cookware. Oh, yeah, baby. Screw waiting in line for some discount plastic crap or overpumped electronica that’ll be in a landfill in 6 months anyway. If you must shop, shop for something hewn from the living, molten rock of Earth. Something hefty…
Easy Skillet Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Oh, poor maligned Mr. Brussels Sprout. Seems like he gets pulled out every year as a Thanksgiving side and then is forgotten the rest of the year. Can’t you just imagine him in a group therapy session for one-day-only vegetables? Brussels would take the floor: “Hey guys. Yeah, well, it’s gotten a little bit better…
Drunken Pie Crust: The Secret To Great Pie
Other dishes are quintessential on the Thanksgiving table, sure: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes. I consider Brussels sprouts essential, and some kind of cranberry preserve that has never seen a can must grace the table, too. But pie – oh boy, that’s where the buck stops, isn’t it? Pumpkin pie is a classic, but apple and…
{Giveaway} Backyard Roots: Lessons on Living Simply From 35 Urban Farmers
A few years ago I met photographer and author Lori Eanes when she came to take pictures of my garden for a book she was doing. The book is called Backyard Roots: Lessons on Living Simply From 35 Urban Farmers, and it’s a highly visual exploration of urban farms up and down the west coast…