Because it's Monday. And because we're all strange birds at heart. This was Loretta hanging out in the kitchen the other day. She lives inside... it's one saga of a story, but she enjoys herself. And cracks me up.
I just had a very Norman Rockwell evening. Warm food and Christmas carol singing and advent wreath making... it began with a church potluck down the road. The same church that every member of my family seems to have gone through...in birth, marriage, or death. It's a place where everybody knows my name... like on…
There are few things more gratifying than cooking a meal entirely from things you have grown. This Thanksgiving we spent as much time outdoors collecting ingredients as we did indoors cooking them.First, we cut these baby brussels sprouts from the garden. They were strange things this year. We waited and waited for them to get…
I think of any stock as liquid gold... the sure path to tastier food. And as you know by now, I like to use as many parts of the animal that I eat, as I possibly can. So this Thanksgiving, my turkey carcas became a lovely stock, that made the house smell like Thanksgiving all…
In honor of "Black Friday," I thought we could all use a little perspective.Meet my favorite sheep. I don't know her name. But she's my favorite. I'll call her Bertha. Bertha knows how to keep it real even when there's three babies biting her udders and a strange girl taking video of her. Bertha just…
I am about to step outside into the biggest travel day of the year. I'm a little scared. I've never done this before. I'm usually a hop, skip and a jump away from where I need to be on the holidays. So this is new territory for me.It also means I don't get to cook…
Over the weekend, I had a little oyster soiree. Now I'll admit it, I never used to be an oyster gal. I can hear your gasps and cries through the cybersphere, but it is true. But then last New Year's Eve that changed. I received a box from a guy who changed the way America…
I recently received an email from Grandma Pellegrini. Yes, she does email now, she has a gmail account, and most recently a Facebook account, and is quite good at it. She is also good at ordering interesting things on amazon. Mostly cooking equipment. Just the other day I walked into her kitchen and a new…
I had a pork chop yesterday. I was dining alone, and I ceremoniously made myself a proper meal. I took a visit to the butcher who had all sorts of glossy selections piled high in the coolers, and I settled on a pork chop, bone-in. It was a good choice because it was well aged, and came from…