Dill Pickles

A pickle's life begins in the garden. The story is passed around our family of my cousin's friend who, upon tasting my Grammy's pickles, asked if they came from a pickle tree. We find it humorous because pickles, and the process of making them, are as familiar to us as an old friend. We all have memories of seeing my grandpa pick cucumbers in the garden for Grammy to pickle. And we all have memories of Grammy packing jars and boiling brine, with a sink full of the green veggie. And we all remember coming home to Maine to a dinner of corn chowder, homemade bread and dill pickles. And we never ate the stems because of Grandpa's solemn warning that cucumber vines would grow out of our ears.

Their garden is full of these cucumber vines. Two or three long rows of just cucumbers. The cucumbers are picked small, the best size being about the length of your pinky finger, and it takes many, many plants to get enough to fill Grammy's waiting jars. 

They pick cucumbers every few days, making a batch every time they have enough. Green jars line up on their cellar shelves, joining the dwindling supply of last year's crop. Some are boxed up and given to family, and many are popped open and placed on the table, awaiting dinner. These jars are visited by pickle-lovers, who throw furtive glances toward the cook and toss tell-tale pickle stems in the trash. Dinners are accompanied by the oft repeated "please, pass the pickles" and little stems line themselves in an arc upon every plate. 

How To: Garden Green Beans

We were on vacation in Maine last week. A trip I look forward to every year. Time spent dipping chubby legs in the water for the first time, amid kicks and splashes and giggles. 

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Ah, the humble potato. A difficult vegetable for me. I don't hate them, but I don't love them either. Alone they seem bland and rather boring. They need a little dressing up. Something flavorful and rich. Enter chicken broth, cream and cheese. And ham. My husband requires ham.

We had friends over for dinner last night. Our kids are about the same age and they only live a few blocks away. They are one of those families that are easy to have over. Conversation flows, the kids play and the moms fuss over the babies.

How-To: Hash Browns

I love Saturday mornings at our house. With two little ones, we are up early, but we start out the day in the kitchen, making breakfast together. Sometimes we have something fancy like Quicky Sticky Buns or French Toast. But often it's just humble scrambled eggs and hash browns. Brad mans the bacon and I tackle the hash and eggs. And Jack "helps", standing on his stool, overseeing all. 

Snow-Capped Pie

My mother called her Rhoda Dell. She was a robust woman with a happy face and snow white hair. Her big smile stretched wide and crinkled her face all the way up to her eyes, which glinted through practically squeezed-shut eyelids. Her laugh, more like a cackle, could be heard resounding through the church auditorium. She was there every Sunday, one of the first to arrive and last to leave, arms full of babies in the between.

This recipe is based on Rhoda Dell's, but doctored a bit by my mom. A key to this recipe that makes it so very tasty is the addition of Worcestershire sauce, celery salt and using the carrot "broth" in the pie. These ingredients add depth to the flavor profile, making this meal go from simple meat and potatoes to a tasty dinner.

Lemon-Garlic Potatoes

Lemon and Garlic. Two robust flavors that paired together create an explosion of delight in your mouth. Toss over red potatoes and you have a delicious side to jazz up your next chicken or pork dinner. This recipe is for two people, but can easily be doubled to serve more. 

I first made this when Brad and I were newlyweds. Our dinners were often late due to my evening piano teaching schedule and this side was quick and easy when I needed something to round out the meal. And it was handy to have a recipe specifically tailored to two people. 

I would suggest making just enough for your dinner as leftovers won't keep well. The fresh garlic deteriorates quickly in the fridge. 

Corn Pudding

My parents came to visit last week. Since we were together (and won't be on Thanksgiving), we decided to do an early Thanksgiving feast. I'm not brave enough to tackle a turkey yet, so we did roast beef, complete with veggies and gravy. There was homemade applesauce and my Grammy's crescent rolls and dill pickles. Salad for my dad, pies for dessert and this corn pudding. 

It's a recipe my mom tweaked, using corn that we process and freeze ourselves. Many corn pudding recipes call for cornbread mix and cans of creamed corn. But this recipe uses simple, real ingredients that make all the difference in taste. Don't believe me? The proof is in the pudding. 

How-To: Pumpkin Puree

I grew up on pie that started with an actual pumpkin. I remember, as a girl, watching my mom cut up a pumpkin, steam the skin off, cook it down and process it through a food mill. And only then came the actual pie making.

It instilled in me a love for pie made truly from scratch. I love the texture and flavor of pie made from a real pumpkin. Of course, it's a lot to do in one day. So now I make the puree on one day and then the pie on another. Or I freeze the pumpkin puree and store it up for a surprise pie in the winter. 

As with a lot of food processing, it may seem a little daunting. But the thing I like about it is that you do it in steps and the steps can be completed while you do other things during your day. The pumpkin steams while you are doing dishes, or eating lunch. And then it cools while your chasing your kids around or running to the store for a forgotten ingredient. Real food made while doing real life. 

Corn Chowder

Car rides to Maine to visit my grandparents always ended the same. We'd pull into the driveway, the tall red barn standing sentinel on one side of the driveway and the light beckoning welcome from the breezeway on the other. We'd pile out of the car and pass through the porch into the kitchen, usually eyeing a pie or two that sat on the washer to keep cool. Hugs would be given all around, car trip woes related and then we'd sit down for a bite, despite the late hour. 

How To: Freezer Corn

A few weeks ago, I drove out to Amish country and met my mother-in-law at the local farmer's market. It's an enormous sprawling thing with vendors selling anything and everything that can be homemade or grown on the farm. Here someone is selling candies, red fireballs and sugar-dusted gummies and proud looking chocolates, smartly decorated. A lady calls out to look at her fresh baked bread, oatmeal and wheat and cinnamon raisin. The smell of yeast is hard to resist as you pass her by. Another proudly shows her canned goods, peach preserves and raspberry jams standing at attention, tempting you to buy a jar and revisit the baked goods. And then there is the produce. Rows of green and red peppers, bins of green beans and snap peas, peaches and plums carefully placed in baskets, and buckets of unshucked corn. 

Bruschetta

We attempted a very small garden this year. Just a cherry tomato, a few pepper plants and some herbs. However, looking at my small plot of earth you don't even notice the little pepper plants and ground-hugging herbs. The tomato has completely taken over. It's almost comical. These minuscule tomatoes growing on this gargantuan plant. It has scrambled over the edges of the cage, reaching long with its branches. It has spilled over onto the sidewalk and is creeping up my back steps. The other plants are hidden in a kind of tomato bower, probably feeling smothered and wondering if the sun will ever shine again. 

The Death of a Recipe: Cashew Chicken

In high school, my mom started making Cashew Chicken Stirfry. A tantalizing blend of juicy chicken, slightly tender veggies and crunchy cashews are sauteed in a pungent garlic sauce and then generously spooned onto a mound of white rice. I love this recipe. It's quick, easy on a week night and with the meat and veggies all in one pan, I don't feel the need to make a salad. But mostly, I love the sauce.

We've always used Wegmans Garlic Sauce. Even now, when the closest Wegmans is 45 minutes away, I still make a trip every few months to stock up on four or five bottles.

And then I heard the sad news from my mom....they've discontinued the sauce.

Garlic Potato Soup

 A few weeks ago, I made the eight-hour trek to my Alma Mater to spend a weekend with my college roommate, Amber. It's a weird thing, you know, stepping back in time. You think it's all going to be like it was before. Memories flood your mind as you walk the sidewalks that you walked thousands of times before, in another life. You see people and hear laughter that isn't there anymore. You attend a lecture, or see a professor and turn to the person next to you with an inside joke, but that person isn't there. You have this vague sense of being so familiar with a place, and yet no longer belonging. Attending a concert, walking through your department's building or making disparaging comments about the cafeteria are lonely affairs when the people that you shared those experiences with are no longer there.

How To Make Cucumber Sandwiches

My dad grew up with a garden. Not a small patch of summer veggies, but a garden, that was bigger than a lot of the lawns here in Philadelphia. Delicate rows of peas and beans. Monstrous heads of cabbage and cauliflower. Tomatoes. Long, twisting vines of squash, pumpkin and cucumber with bright yellow flowers. The potatoes had a patch all to themselves.

And sweet peas. My Grammy always had sweet peas.