Category Archives: Recipes

When Tradition Meets Trend

Treasuring A Heritage Crop I recently took part in an ongoing if slightly weird community discussion about kale. It all started with a social media post asking if anyone actually liked kale. Yikes! The floodgates opened and hundreds of people … Continue reading

Posted in fall/winter crops, Gardening With Children, Recipes, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Vegan Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Following The Light As Days Grow Dim

Lifework is like a tree with branches going everywhere Standing For Kindness (And Fabulous Soup) Foggy mornings give November mornings a ghostly quality, like fading old photographic images. Misty nights capture waxing moonlight in silvery nets, spangling plants with tiny … Continue reading

Posted in Gardening With Children, Health & Wellbeing, Recipes, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Green Tomatoes Galore

Bacon, Chantrelle & Tomato Tart

1 sheet puff pastry or pie crust
1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
4 slices bacon, chopped
3 leeks, thinly sliced (white and palest parts only)
1/8 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
4 cups sliced chanterelles or any mushroom
2 cups thickly sliced red tomatoes
2 cups thinly sliced green tomatoes

Spread puff pastry or pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet and brush lightly with oil, set aside. In a heavy bottomed pan, cook bacon over medium heat until barely crisp, then remove to a plate. Add oil and leeks to the bacon pan over medium high heat. Sprinkle leeks with salt and cook for three minutes. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt stir to coat and cook, covered, until barely soft (5-7 minutes). Remove mixture to a shallow bowl to cool and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. When mushroom mixture is close to room temperature, spread over center of puff pastry or crust, leaving several inches bare all around the filling. Layer on the tomatoes, sprinkle with bacon bits, fold up edges of pastry or crust to partly cover filling and bake at 400 degrees F until puffed and golden (about 20 minutes for puff pastry, about 30 minutes for pie crust). Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serves about 6. Continue reading

Posted in preserving food, Recipes, Tomatoes, Vegan Recipes | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Pick A Peck Of Peppers

To protect yourself, always use gloves when handling fresh chiles. Also, avoid touching yourself ANYWHERE, and keep some antihistamine (such as Benedryl) on hand in case of accidents. If hot peppers give your hands a “burn”, plunge them in cold water and take an antihistamine immediately; the burning sensation is a histamine response, so the usual burn treatments won’t help. Here’s another tip from direct experience; always work in a well ventilated space. When prepping peppers and when using a vegetable dehydrator, run a vent fan to avoid getting those volatile pepper oils in your eyes, nose, or throat and save yourself from a world of hurt.
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