-
Gatherings in the Storm: Potluck Extraordinaire
As I write this on a snowy Friday afternoon, schools are closed, the kids are home from school, people are staying indoors, our local movie theater is closed for the night. As I look out the window at a landscape…
-
What’s For Lunch?
A long-time Farmboy reader wants some ideas for lunch. She’s often at home during the day, and she wants a lunch that’s satisfying, but doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare. Something other than canned soup. She’s like a…
-
Making Stock of the Christmas Feast
Holiday feasts are the gifts that keep on giving – and I don’t mean the leftovers. You can do great things with the bones from your roast, whatever than might be, and the vegetables that didn’t get used. Yes, I’m…
-
Just a Small Group This Year? Deck the Halls Anyway!
For many of us, this holiday season could be the “small-idays” – smaller get-togethers. I’ve heard from any number of friends who plan to keep their festivities intimate, just with two or four for Christmas dinner. One couple is planning…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
