My 3rd wedding anniversary with A just recently came and went. We celebrated as usual: good food, good drink, good laughs, and a gift. Before our first anniversary, A and I had decided that we were going to gift each other traditional gifts for our anniversary. First, paper. Second, cotton. Third, leather. The challenge of finding the right item and the nod to a centuries-old tradition suits us. So how did we manage to both gift each other knives for our third anniversary?
Summer is all about enjoying the outdoors, relaxing with family, and taking in those extra rays of sunshine. Even if you love food like me, you don’t want to spend all of your time cooking. With everything suddenly in season, you can get away with minimal effort and still eat like a king. Enter: the summer caprese dinner salad.
Continue reading “Summer Caprese Dinner Salad: The Perfect Summer Meal”
Growing up, the running family joke was to never leave a container of raspberries in the fridge if you planned to use them because I would eat them before you could bat an eyelash. My mom actually used to hide berries under the celery in the crisper drawer to keep me from eating them, or she’d just buy two containers (one as a decoy and one to hide). I love raspberries. They are my favorite fruit by a long shot, but unfortunately for me, they don’t have a very long season. Naturally, raspberry season is my very favorite.
Ask me about my favorite part of summer, and I’ll probably say veggies and sunshine—because all I want is to spend time outside and eat as many fresh veggies as possible in as many ways as possible. I love this meal because it has lots and lots of veggies and you can cook it outside! … Continue reading Cauliflower Steaks with Stewed Tomato, Olive, & Carrot Sauce
The reasons I love to cook are similar to the reasons why I love summer: They are both celebrations of ingredients. Both are vibrant, full of color. It’s nice to get a little hot sometimes. Time is relative: to what you’re cooking, what you’re doing, what the weather is like… Guidelines are helpful, but improvisation is … Continue reading Reasons to Love Summer, Cooking
For our two-year wedding anniversary, A and I went camping at the Assateague Island National Seashore. If you’ve never been, it’s a pretty magical place along the Maryland / Virginia shore where wild ponies roam freely with visitors. Day one: car camping. Day two: backcountry camping, which involved a 3-4 mile hike down the beach … Continue reading Camping Breakfast: Eggless Campfire French Toast
At last… Summer. Or what feels like summer, judging by these blissful temperatures late into the evening and the sudden abundance at the farmer’s market! I didn’t really post a May seasonal recipe roundup because May really felt more like March here in Maryland, and so none of the produce you usually get around that … Continue reading Recipe Roundup: Seasonal Produce in May & June
I’ve taken a little more than a hiatus from this project. Not that my mind hasn’t been buzzing with ideas!—but these last few weeks have been a bit stressful in my professional life. Coupled with the endless (cold!) rain we saw at the end of May, I’ve been in hibernation mode (aka Kantha quilts and Netflix). … Continue reading Baking and Life Lessons
This winter has been a long one, and besides that, adjusting to life after graduate school with a new job hasn’t been that easy. So, for a change of scenery, I went into the Catoctin Mountains with my husband and some friends to forage for morels. Someone had spotted some recently, and there was a … Continue reading A Raised Vegetable Garden: One Inch at a Time
Last weekend was opening day at my favorite farmer’s market in our area. I have been excited about this for weeks! Even though the day was gloomy, and we had a time limit because I had to work at my husband’s winery tasting room later that day, I was giddy, running around with a big … Continue reading How to Get the Most out of Your Farmer’s Market
Field Notes on Feasting 