i hope you eat good food, grow beautiful things, and have more love than you know what to do with.
My grape vines have leafed out and now that the leaves are about the size of my hand, it’s time for dolmades! I love plants that can be grown for both fruit and vegetables, and grapes are one of the best. Fresh dolmades are really …
I had been meaning to make pork dumplings with hairy bittercress for a while and called my mom to ask what she usually adds to hers, but in talking to her, she said if I have any leftover gelatin based broth, I can add it …
I was at the supermarket today and saw a giant bucket of live crawfish on sale–and if you know me you know that I often get cravings for them. I don’t know what it is about these delicious morsels, whether it’s the joy of peeling and eating them that makes them so delicious, or the tender meat and tamale (innards) that attracts me to them. Whatever it is, live crawfish is so much better than frozen–the meat is like a very tender lobster.
It’s possible to do regular boils with them but I prefer to sautee them in a buttery lemon sauce, garnished with chives from my garden. I adore sitting down with a large bowl of them, putting on a show, and eating while watching to unwind and vegetate.
Ingredients
There was a sad little goumi berry (Elaeagnus multiflora) bush, root bound and sitting in the corner of a nursery I go to at the end of every season to nab huge discount deals. I’ve never eaten a goumi berry before, but it seemed interesting …
I planted two pear trees the fall before last, and they took their sweet time establishing themselves. This spring, the wait finally paid off as I was treated to a gorgeous show of blossoms which will soon be followed by fruits. I planted two kinds–an …
I have two Akebia (Akebia Quinata) in my garden, one on either side of the gate to the back. It’s a lovely vine (although I have no idea why it’s called “chocolate” as it neither smells nor tastes like cocoa.) Drought tolerant, it’s hardy from zones 5 – 9 and not picky about soil at all as long as its well drained. I have mine in full sun but it readily grows in part shade, and will tolerate full shade too (although it may not flower/set fruit.) It looks like full sun may dwarf the plant as they grow to a very large size if grown in dappled shade, but if you’re looking to control it, full sun is probably the best option. It also needs a second variety for more reliable fruit setting.
Given that this is the first year that mine are flowering so prolifically (As they were planted two years ago and took all of last year to establish themselves), I might be seeing fruit in the future. However, it is said that it doesn’t fruit prolifically, with no rhyme or reason as to why. I’ve heard the flavor described as mild watermelon flavor, and as litchi and passionfruit flavored–this presents a conundrum because that’s on two opposite sides of the flavor spectrum.
The young shoots are sometimes eaten (it is a diuretic as well) in salads or pickled, the fruit pulp eaten, and the outer casing for the fruit stuffed with meat and then fried, so it has a lot of uses. Word of caution–supposedly they are invasive here in New England, but going on three years and it has been easy to manage with some pruning.
Update: For whatever reason, my akebia fruited this year, both the white one and the purple one, which I was very excited about because I had been wondering what kind of flavor the inside was. I have to say, while the flavor was very good, the seeds were too big to really be enjoyed. It tasted like a cross between banana, watermelon, and a cherimoya, creamy and sweet.
I will be experimenting with the outside, so stay tuned for a recipe on that!
Oh dear, I’m afraid I might have opened a delicious but dangerous gate with these scones. Fluffy, but still somewhat dense like a traditional scone, sweet, tart, floral, and fruity, I found myself having eaten two before I realized what I was even doing! Sure, …
My rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) have begun to come out and that means I’m dreaming of delicious recipes to use with it. There’s a delightful farm a little further out east, on the north fork of Long Island that makes the most amazing rhubarb scones. Tangy, …
Garlic mustard is out in full force along my back fence, where I haven’t had the time to plant/cultivate anything just yet. Considered a highly invasive weed, this plant is also a wonderful foraged green in early spring, when it’s still tender and not very bitter, with a moderate garlic flavor. I prefer collecting the flower heads that haven’t opened yet, with a nutty texture like broccoli rabe. Flavor test it raw first to make sure it’s not too bitter for you–but to me it’s far less bitter than dandelion greens. You could also do it with hairy bittercress, but harvesting the leaves would take way too long.
Now that spring is officially here, in general, the only things I usually buy from the store, when I do go, are meat and dairy products (sometimes grain/flour as well, but I buy rice in bulk and bake my own bread so that’s an every …