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A Fruit Beyond Compear
Most food lovers agree that pears are among the most delicious of fruits. James Beard, for example, proclaims in American Cookery that no fruit rivals the Bartlett pear “except fine strawberries, perfect peaches, and Tilton apricots.” Beard, like many other…
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New New Year’s Brunch Traditions
From your email, please click on the title to view the photos and comment online. On the Website, you can read past blogs, search for recipes, and browse. For my New Year’s Day brunch, I will be enjoying toasted…
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Find Your Thrill on Blueberry Hill
From your email, please click on the title to view the photos and comment online. When I was growing up on the farm in Illinois, blueberries were more of an occasional treat. My grandmother and my mother would occasionally make…
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Cherries on Top
I have always loved cherries, and during cherry season, I’ve been hankering for a delicious homemade cherry pie. When I was growing up in Midwest pie country, my mother made a killer cherry pie, though often it was filled with…
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The Many Delights of Strawberry Season
From your email, please click on the title to view the photos and comment online. The Wimbledon tennis championships conclude this weekend, and over the past two weeks, strawberries were a focus of fans who dined on dainty sandwiches and…
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The Culinary Melting Pot That Is Hawaii
When many Americans think of Hawaiian food, pineapple likely is the first that comes to mind. But that’s more a testament to the strong advertising of Dole and Del Monte in the mid-20th century than the actual cuisine. As for…
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Can You Name That Apple Dessert?
This is the time of year when my mother and grandmother would get together to make apple pies that were put unbaked into the freezer for a future dessert. They were masters at pastry, and the apples were from my…
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Whetting Your Whistle with a Refreshing Drink
Hot and muggy summer days are still with us, and you yearn for a refreshing beverage – something beyond a cool glass of water – that will not only satisfy that thirst but tingle your taste buds. I found a…
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Cool It This Summer
The heat of summer is upon us. Growing up on the farm in Illinois, for me, July and August were centered around baling hay, harvesting oats, and then baling the oat straw. That meant spending those 90-degree-plus, extremely humid days…
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Bright Ideas with Citrus
When I was young, this time of year usually meant a big basket of citrus arriving from Florida, courtesy of my grandparents. For a few weeks, it was fresh orange juice in the morning and grapefruit for breakfast. No fancy…
