From the category archives:

Recipes for Spring

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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Rhubarb Cordial

by Laura 19 May 2011

Definitions for cordials seem rather contradictory. Dictionary dot com defines one as “a strong, sweetened, aromatic alcoholic liquor or liqueur;” others describe a sweet, nonalcoholic fruit concentrate. My favorite definition comes from Merriam Webster: “tending to revive, cheer or invigorate,” and is associated with cordial waters. It seems the most fitting for this rhubarb cordial. [...]

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Ten-minute Rhubarb Vanilla Conserve

by Laura 12 May 2011

Thirteen years ago, during the first spring in our house, I discovered that you could make a simple rhubarb conserve in less than ten minutes. We’ve come to call it a refrigerator preserve, since there isn’t a high heat canning process involved, and the springtime jars vanish from our refrigerator so quickly it would be [...]

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Meet the Flock

by Laura 9 May 2011

Here is Edna, an Australorpe, the littlest, the feistiest, capital squawker and pecker. Within minutes of reaching the brooder, and despite the fact that she is roughly half the size of her week-older counterparts, she was putting them all in line, hand on proverbial hip. She has a no-nonsense matronly gate, and is the kind [...]

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Rhubarb Crumble

by Laura 6 May 2011

The other day I was wondering, Where did April go? And then I sorted it out. It’s the calendar. (Cue shrieking music.) The dreaded calendar. I don’t know how it got so crowded, but it’s a bit maddening. I loathe a crowded calendar. Read mine like a country auctioneer with me: haircut, grooming, dentist, doctor, [...]

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Simple Leek and Potato Soup with Ham

by Laura 3 May 2011

Stubborn grey winter is hanging on in Minnesota. We had snow fall briefly yesterday and a couple of days before that, and the temperatures have been in the low 30s. The trees are still bare, but the buds have begun to pop on shrubs and lilacs despite the cold, and the owls have returned. On [...]

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A Warren of Bunny Cakes

by Laura 22 April 2011

There are bunnies in these woods… I woke to hoar frost this morning. (Is there anything lovelier?) And the first daffodil of the spring, nestled in a bed of snow not yet melted. Spring and winter are currently colliding in Minnesota in a month-long tug of war. I know spring will prevail eventually, but right [...]

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Crustless Quiche with Bacon, Gruyere, Fat Whole Asparagus Spears, and Leeks & Roasted Sugarplum Tomatoes

by Laura 2 April 2011

I think a lot of people can’t be bothered with making a quiche at home because they don’t want to fiddle with pastry for a crust. Some years ago I discovered that a quiche will bake up beautifully without one. Here’s the latest quiche from my oven, served with a side of sweet roasted sugarplum [...]

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A Fool for April Fool’s

by Laura 31 March 2011

We’re kind of nutty for April Fool’s Day around here. We’re a silly family in the first place (see here). My Dear Husband is the truly funny one, but the rest of us take on April Fool’s with something of a mission, as our one day of the year to make him laugh. We start [...]

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Quick Chicken Fricassee with Olives and Broken Cherry Tomatoes

by Laura 26 March 2011

This quick chicken fricassee is a perfect lazy night’s cook up. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are rich and ready quickly, and the sauce is three simple ingredients: white wine, briny olives, and the best cherry tomatoes you can find. By the time they simmer down to a pan sauce, the chicken thighs are fall-apart tender [...]

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