I have a thing for purslane. I think I inherited it from my grandmother. She is just obsessed with it. Whenever I visit she says, "have you seen any purslane in the garden?" It is such an intriguing plant, purslane. For one, it is everywhere, in many countries, from the sidewalk cracks in the cities, to…
It begins with an Amish man. Like most of my stories do.Okay fine it doesn't begin with him, it begins with a 5 pound sack of potatoes that we purchased at a run down store in a vacant town across from this abandoned house that I really want to buy and fix up but am…
In case you missed it, or if by some small chance you don't know about The Pioneer Woman, (is there anyone left on the planet that doesn't know about The Pioneer Woman? I think they even frequent her site from the space station) I posted a lovely recipe for one of my favorite salads --…
Also known as... "how to cook a clam."Word on the street is that my clam digging pictures are freaking you out. I'm sorry to give you the heebie jeebies. But they taste good, I promise. Besides, don't you want to know what to do if someone drops you on an island somewhere and tells you to…
Because she loves you, Grandma Pellegrini made you a Valentines soup. She even put hearts in it. It's a work of art. And because he loves you, Gordon snapped some photos of it. And because I love you, well... I'm just writing to tell you about it. I can't take any credit. I can just…
Guess what this is...I'll give you one clue...It's not a leotard.Okay, I'll give you another clue...Now guess?Okay, okay, geez, one more clue!Red quinoa!!!If you've never heard of it before, you're not alone. It's been slowly rising to stardom recently but hasn't reached full celebrity status yet. It's a grain-like crop grown for its edible seeds.…
Black-eyed peas are one of those things I only think about on December 31st when I superstitiously rush around looking for them. You see, it was ingrained in me from the time I was a small plump infant, that this is the thing you're supposed to eat on New Year's Day for good luck. I've…
This is one of my favorite stews. It is perfect for the really cold months and for large gatherings when you have a lot of people to feed. In isn't your everyday beef stew. For one, it has equal parts lamb in it and then it also has a middle eastern flair...a little dried fruit,…
I want to share with you the strange things that are coming out of my garden.This carrot for example, which looks like a chicken:Or this scale-tipping carrot...a 1.125 pounder.There was a 1.5 pounder even, but I ate it. I turned it into carrot soup.I never think of carrot soup except in the moment that I'm eating…