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Holiday Feasts and Ideas for You from Around the World
When I think about the holidays, I think food, of course. After all, humans have been feasting during this time of year for thousands of years, when midwinter celebrations and the attendant traditional foods were prepared. It’s tempting to become…
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Bring Me Some Figgy Pudding!
You have to love a tradition that’s based on a six-century-old recipe. On Thanksgiving Friday, Mrs. Farmboy happily continued one of her own holiday rituals (suspended last year): creation of her Christmas plum pudding. It’s the Christmas tradition that was…
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The Pie’s the Thing
Pies have always been my favorite dessert. But even though I grew up watching my mother and grandmother make pies, I don’t think I have the skills necessary to make a great pie. It’s all in the crust. However, I…
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C Is for Chilly – and Chowder
It’s chowder season here in New England. After years of cooking here, I’ve come to appreciate our local specialty. The Oxford Companion to Food points out that chowder was first cooked up in the early 1700s and is likely derived…
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Harvest Pick: Japanese Sweet Potatoes
Some people (like me) grow a few vegetables in their garden plots. Then there are my friends Catherine and Greg, who live nearby. Their large gardens yield bushels of vegetables throughout the growing season. As we approach a potential frost,…
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Fun with Fungi (Mushrooms, That Is)
Old habits die hard, especially if they’re driven by fear and caution. When I was growing up on the farm, we were on constant alert for a corn disease we called smut, a fungus that impacted yields, especially when growing…
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Soup’s On!
Soup season is one of those times when food truly warms the body – and the soul. That big pot of meat and vegetables bubbling away on the stove not only warms the room, but fills the air with a…
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Cooking Meat: It Doesn’t Have To Be Tough
Comfort food season is upon us, now that autumn has arrived. When I was growing up, one of my favorite comfort meals was a braised chuck roast. Thanks to our farm that fattened 150 prime beef cattle, we had the…
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You Gotta Have Tart!
“Lemon tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.” Remember that Trini Lopez song from back in the mid-1960s? Great tune, but way off base from a culinary…
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What’s So Great About Sweet and Tart?
It was the simplest of meals, but tasty and filling: grilled pork chops and peaches with a simple salad. It all starts with the chops. A good pork chop needs some fat attached. That fat not only keeps the meat…
