This has been maybe the most fun, most exciting, severely delicious experiment we’ve done so far. I. Am. Hooked. So a few weeks ago, we made Ginger Ale. While that was delicious and 100% worth doing again, we wanted to try for a root beer. We worked with what we had on hand at the…
Category: food
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Tomato Powder
This year has been a lot of things, many of which have been a bummer, but I guess if there’s a lining somewhere, it’s in the tomato season. This year’s tomatoes have been straight fire, and there’s still more to come. September is the harvest month for tomatoes around these parts; at least, that’s how…
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Elderberries!
Guys: I am so jazzed. A few weeks ago, Justin & I were on a walk when I spotted what I thought might be an Elderberry bush. It had big, bouncy umbrella-like clusters of pale green berries buried in these rich, green leaves. A few of the berries had even started to change color, but…
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Mushroom Jerky
I almost can’t believe it myself, but this mushroom jerky is THE BOMB, YO’S! A little while back, I saw a recipe from three foragers about how to make jerky out of Hen-Of-The-Woods. I love Hen-Of-The-Woods, but it’s not quite season, and I’m not that good at finding it. I posted the recipe to a…
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Ginger “Ale”
Through the pandemic, one of my nephews has caught fermenting fever and has inadvertently rekindled my counter-culture adventures. It has been great fun comparing notes! He calls this drink ginger beer, but I have always called it ginger ale; he might be right, though. According to “the googs,” ginger ale is just ginger syrup with…
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Old German Tomato
This year I started a bunch of very old seeds from my stash, unsure if they would even sprout. The Old German tomato was one of them, but I think it was mislabeled as a Orange German Strawberry tomato, which I heard can happen. The Orange German Strawberry tomato is an oxheart, which traditionally have…
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Cold “Mexican” “Lasagna?”
Let me start out by saying I’m in this awesome group that joyously trashes inauthentic Mexican food. I love it! I think this dish would be a good contender for the group, but I probably won’t submit it. From the group, I’ve learned so much about regional Mexican cooking and the United States’ obsession with…
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Ginger Nice Cream Sandwiches
I’m sure I’ve mentioned it in past posts, but it’s hot. I mean real hot. Additionally, it’s been that Covid hot that disallows visits to the beach, or anywhere, really, because people are such asshats you can’t go anywhere without them breathing all over you. Add to it a stomachache which can only be healed…
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More Pickles
As is custom to this time of year, we are beginning to pickle just about everything. This time it’s the pepperoncini and mouse melons we grew at home. Most of the peppers we grow were started from seed right here at home, but not the pepperoncini. I suppose that’s why I’m already able to harvest…
I love purslane. The first time I had purslane was when I was invited to a former student’s house for lunch. She made a traditional Mexican pork stew with “verdolagas” or what we call purslane, tomatillos (another favorite) and peppers. It was delicious. I’ve never been much of a meat-eater, and the pork was fine…
Today is the kind of day where you feel like you are covered in mucus. It is so ridiculously hot, that even my own skin bothers me. I ache to peel it from my bones, but it’s a bad idea. In our series of cold comfort foods, Justin and I made, preemptively, fruit popsicles. These…
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Sushi Time
It’s hot here. It’s mid July, and we’re hot. All we want are cold foods, so last night we made sushi for today’s lunch. This is one of my favorite home combinations. We make teriyaki tofu, shredded beets, beet greens, shredded carrots, and (of course) sushi rice. In the Before Times, Justin and I used…
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Chickpea Chronicles
In mid-May, I was just crazy about sprouting things. I was sprouting our regular spicy seed mix (sandwiches & salads) that we get at The Green Grocer, but also mung beans for nime chow, and chickpeas for hummus. Before we ground up the chickpeas into sprouted hummus and falafel (both delicious, by the way), I…
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Kitchen Garden
The little cottage garden is starting to really come together. Justin & I have been collecting our pistachio & peanut shells since September. Originally, I had planned to use them as mulch for the garden beds, but then when I realized that the mulch for the ground around the sideyard area was worn and thin,…
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Short harvest
It’s been hot and dry the past couple weeks here, so I’ve been trying to get to the garden every other day or so to water. Yesterday, I noticed some of the garlic was 2/3 brown, and ready to pull. This year, I tried an experiment and planted the peppers in between the garlic to…