POTATO AND SPINACH SOUP WITH JALAPEÑO

This soup came together by accident, a sort of desperate effort to throw lunch together out of a nearly empty pantry and refrigerator. Not wanting to pick up my market basket and walk through the snow to the little health food store a few blocks away, I simply threw a few things together in the […]
ROOT CELLAR SOUP

Every autumn, I buy root vegetables by the case and store them in an exterior closet that keeps an even, but cold, temperature. I leave the dirt on the roots because it helps them to keep for several months, and as I pack the roots into their boxes, I insulate them with old bath towels […]
ROASTED PUMPKIN WITH SPICED SORGHUM SYRUP

Sorghum is a gluten-free grain that makes a fine syrup with a flavor resembling molasses, with subtle fruity undertones reminiscent of pineapple. I often use it as a replacement for molasses when our jugs run shy. I like the way it pairs with pumpkin and other sweet autumn squash. I typically use Black Futsu pumpkins, […]
Damson Jam

Damsons make superb jam, one of the best. It is an old-fashioned fruit, which isn’t so often used commercially for preserving. The bold and traditional character of this fruit makes it ideal as a single-fruit jam. Makes about 2½ cups INGREDIENTS 1 pound damsons, halved and stoned 2 cups warmed sugar INSTRUCTIONS Place […]
PUREE OF PALE ROOTS STEWED IN MILK

Stewing roots and potatoes in milk yields a luscious, creamy texture in this puree. Stewing also concentrates the milk, infusing each vegetable with its soft sweetness. Freshly grated nutmeg (always a good match for milk) enlivens that sweetness with its spice. This technique of stewing roots in milk can be easily applied to other root […]
Plum Jam

Makes about 2½ cups INGREDIENTS 1 pound plums, halved and stoned 2 cups warmed sugar INSTRUCTIONS Place the plums in a pan with ½ cup water and bring to a simmer, then cook gently for 10 minutes until the plums are soft but still intact. Add the warmed sugar to the fruit and […]
MAPLE GLAZED ROOT VEGETABLES WITH ORANGE AND THYME

Sweet on their own, parsnips and carrots adopt a deeper complexity when paired with maple and orange, while thyme perfumes the vegetables with its savory aroma. I often serve maple-glazed root vegetables for breakfast with fried eggs and thick slabs of bacon, though it also does well as a side dish with roasted chicken or […]
PAN FRIED SAVOY CABBAGE WITH BACON

Pale green and crinkly-leafed, Savoy cabbages tend toward a mildness not typically found in their sturdier cousins. That mildness benefits from the pronounced saltiness of bacon and the bittersweet flavor of caramelized shallots, which lift the natural flavor of Savoy cabbage without hiding it. While Savoys will last a month or two in the cold […]
Strawberry & Vanilla Jam

Let’s face it, strawberry jam is the real classic. This fragile fruit isn’t a great keeper, so for the best jam, capture the fruit at its freshest, preserving it in recognizable chunks. This really is summer in a jar. Here we have teamed strawberries with vanilla, the perfect partner. This recipe uses slightly less sugar […]
CIDER BRAISED KALE WITH APPLES AND SWEET CHERRIES

Each year, at the autumn equinox, I serve this dish at our community’s annual harvest festival. It’s a magical time when throngs of masked mummers line the streets, reveling in song and drink before congregating at the town’s center and lighting a bonfire that reaches so wildly high its embers cannot be distinguished from the […]