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Friday Favorite: New Recipes

April 20th, 2018

I’m a lover of food and a lover of cooking. There’s not much I enjoy more than a new cookbook and making recipes from it. This past winter, I got Nigel Slater’s A Kitchen Diary and read through it. Every recipe sounded delicious as I was reading through (his books are not just cookbooks with recipes, but more books about food & cooking with recipes sprinkled in).


Last week, I made pumpkin dal from it and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Since I still have pumpkins coming out my ears from last summer’s harvest, I’m always looking for good recipes that can use up some pumpkin. The 24 carat brownie recipe from this book is also fantastic. The recipes are pretty simple, which is something I really appreciate. They highlight good quality ingredients with minimal fussiness in cooking or preparation. I’m looking forward to more and more recipes from this book.

Are you a fan of cooking or just more a fan of eating?

Pickled Eggs

March 22nd, 2018

I’ve always loved pickled eggs, but until now have really only made/eaten the ones made in pickled beet juice. A week or so ago, we finished off a jar of Dutch Lunch Spears (recipe from The Joy of Pickling). The empty jar was sitting on the counter and I’ve been fishing out the onions to eat on my salads. I was regretting giving the brine to the chickens, as I always buy organic white wine vinegar for my pickling.

Then I noticed the glut of eggs on the counter and decided to pickle them in the leftover pickle brine. This brine is quite perfect for eggs, because it’s neither too sweet nor too sour. It gives the eggs the taste of egg salad. This week they’ve become one of my favorite afternoon snacks.

Are you a fan of pickled eggs?

Maple Sap Tea

March 8th, 2018

During maple sugaring season, all tea is made with maple sap. Sometimes, I dip straight from the boiling sap kettle, other times I boil it in my teapot (depends on how long the sap kettle has been boiling). It’s amazing how much sweetness straight maple sap contains.

It pairs particularly well with certain teas, like chai, rooibos, and hibiscus. The photo above is red rooibos tea brewed in sap, it’s wonderful and probably my favorite variety of tea. It tastes great and is very good for you too.

What’s your favorite kind of tea?

Birthday Meals

January 30th, 2018

When I was a girl, Chicken and Dumplings was always my birthday dinner request. Mr Chiots often requests lasagna. This year, I decided to make Skyline lasagna. We both went to college in Cincinnati and ate at Skyline frequently. We try to eat there when we go back to Ohio, it’s not easy to find outside of the area.

If you’ve never had Cincinnati style chili, you’ve been missing out. There are plenty of recipes on-line, but we prefer to get cans of the real thing. Since we only eat it once or twice a year it’s worth it for us. We’ve converted our neighbors to it as well, they were excited to join us for dinner on Saturday night.

Do you have any regional foods that you have grown to love? Do you still live in an area where you can get them?

Delicious Cranberries

January 8th, 2018

I’ve been ordering cranberries from Cranberry Hill farm for years now (I’m guessing 10 years or more). I order both fresh and dried cranberries each year. We enjoy the dried cranberries for snacking and on top of salad. The fresh cranberries are kept in the freezer for making sauces, chutneys, or in baking. Cranberries are one of those things that it seems people love or hate, I LOVE them!!!

I’m never without either variety in my pantry or in my freezer. One top of being delicious and the best you can buy, it’s nice to know you’re supporting small farm and small businesses.

I will tell you that their dried sweetened cranberries are the best, absolutely the BEST ones you can buy. If you’re looking for delicious dried or fresh cranberries, get some today. You can order from their website (but you have to send in a check, no on-line ordering) or head over to LocalHarvest.org and get some there.

Are you a fan of cranberries?

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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