The first time I ate red clover was as a child at summer camp. My counselor pointed it out, showed us how to pluck a single purple flower from the head, turn it over and suck at the white base. The tiniest drop of sweetness spread over my tongue, and ever since I’ve …
How to Wild Harvest Red Clover & Make Red Clover Tea Read More »
Kale is a cold-tolerant crop, but it can be grown successfully all season long. Which is good, because I love kale. For a long time, whenever someone asked the question “If you were a vegetable, what would you be and why?” I always answered, “Kale. Red Russian Kale, to be specific.” {This question comes up …
By mid-June the fields are filling up: Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are firmly rooted in the greenhouse, while outside potatoes root into the soil, green beans stretch under row cover, kale and chard fan out, and countless heads of lettuce grow in their beds. And finally, after the flurry of May planting, we fall …
How to Triple Your Harvests with Succession Planting Read More »
“I was hoping you’d show up with lilacs!” I said when my mom handed me the bouquet, immediately bringing them to my face and inhaling. It was one of the first sunny and warm spring days of the season, and lilacs were blooming right on cue. Despite the fact that vegetables claim the …
Stop Waiting & Start Planting: Lessons from Lilacs Read More »
The first tomato sauce I ever made from scratch came from the Cook’s Illustrated Best Recipes cookbook. It was a fresh, chunky sauce, and simple, too, with extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, two pounds of ripe tomatoes, a few tablespoons of fresh basil and a dash of salt. I diligently followed each step, coring the …
Summer’s here! With heat and sun comes the increased need for hydration. As a child, my camp counselors often repeated the phrase, “A hydrated cell is a happy cell.” Indeed. Corny as it is, I still abide by that saying. Sometimes, though, I need an extra zip to my water. Adding mint, frozen fruit, and …
