a little zaftig

Strawberry Lemon Verbena Refrigerator Jam with Candied Lemon Slices

by Laura 1 July 2011

Yesterday morning I went out to the hen house in my pajamas at six o’clock in the morning to open the door to the coop. Instead of the usual parade, Beatrice emerged first. She needs a minute or two, thank you very much, to sort out this whole business. When you’re second to last to [...]

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Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Laura 29 June 2011

Can three weeks really have passed? My goodness. I have been busy building a twenty by eight foot hen house and coop in the backyard, walking several hours a day in preparation for the Susan G. Komen 3-day 60 mile walk, and, well, I’ll spare you the rest of the dizzying list. After I finish [...]

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Violet Tea Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting & Candied Wild Violets

by Laura 5 June 2011

I’ve been holding back this post. The moment for wild violets has passed, at least in the woods and marsh banks near our home where I gather them. Perhaps there are still a few beneath the greenery that has grown up seemingly overnight, tempestuous, lush, aggressive. I spied two violets waving together amongst the wood [...]

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Rhubarb Compote-swirl Cornmeal Coffee Cake

by Laura 1 June 2011

The specter of spring cleaning has filled me with a certain dread this year, but I am coming around slowly and with much coaxing. The days when our home was deeply clean and organized feel like a phantom life to me. I still open closets with expectation, a clear vision of their former lives. But [...]

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Potato & Fiddlehead Fern Gratin

by Laura 25 May 2011

Thin slices of creamy potato and tender fiddlehead ferns baked in a bath of cream and topped with a crust of melted Emmenthaler. Share This: Recommend on FacebookShare on PinterestShare with StumblersTweet about itEmail a friend

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One-pot Rhubarb Cordial, Sauce, & Compote

by Laura 24 May 2011

I really should have posted this as the three-in-one it is in the first place. So here it is, in all its glorious simplicity. You start with a three and a half pound bouquet of rhubarb. Once you have it diced, 15 minutes of cooking yields three cups cordial, three cups compote, and two cups [...]

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Savory Breakfast Bread Pudding with Fiddlehead Ferns, Sausage, Caramelized Leeks and Red Spring Onions, & Gruyere

by Laura 23 May 2011

One pan, some pork sausage browned, caramelized leeks and red spring onion tossed in behind to caramelize, then in go fiddlehead ferns to sauté with some garlic. All of this is tossed into a buttered baking dish over a cubed loaf of crusty country bread. It’s topped with grated Gruyere, and eggs and cream are [...]

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Stinging Nettle Soup

by Laura 22 May 2011

Spring has come to Minnesota, hesitantly and then with a rush. This week the trees have leafed out, apple and plum trees have blossomed, and the lilacs are ready to burst into bloom. Winter is a barren season in Minnesota, and spring comes begrudgingly. When it finally arrives, seemingly overnight, from dim gray to shades [...]

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Spring Salad

by Laura 22 May 2011

Spring Salad: wild cress, butter lettuce, wild violets, hazelnuts, avocado, red spring onion, champagne vinaigrette Share This: Recommend on FacebookShare on PinterestShare with StumblersTweet about itEmail a friend

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Candied Wild Violets

by Laura 21 May 2011

I’m something of a guilty forager. It’s public land, yes, but part of me still feels like I’m taking something that doesn’t belong to me, like I’m breaking a rule. Gathering wild violets or ramps or morels, well, it feels like a secret engagement, something quietly forbidden. I know logically that that’s just bunk, but [...]

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