Blueberry Almond Crumb Muffins

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The Thing About Blueberries . . . is that they don’t grind their Harleys over the hot desert tarmac, or throw eight-course dinner parties at Monet’s garden in Giverny, or eat jellied eels from a stall in London.  Because – let’s face it – blueberries are homebodies. Plump, delectable little delights that know all too [...]

Coconut Pineapple Upside Down Cake

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Pineapple upside down cake reminds me of my childhood and the countless afternoons I spent watching my mother play bridge or mah jongg with her friends and the Wednesday evening potlucks at our local church. She always brought one of three dishes to those potlucks: spaghetti pie, seven layer dip or pineapple upside down cake.  I [...]

Salted & Smoked Salmon Roe

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Salmon roe is one of my favorite foods (and my husband and son share my love of those beautiful translucent little orange balls of briny goodness).  And every time I post to Nourished Kitchen’s facebook page, extolling the many virtues of roe (and oh, there are many), I receive two reactions: disgust and unadulterated adoration. [...]

Grain-free Shortbread with Salted Caramel

Last week I shared my recipe for Grain-Free Shortbread Wedges, crumbly and buttery and just in time for the holidays. Now it is time to share how I morph that recipe into delectable shortbread bars that are delicious on their own, but go completely over the top when dipped in caramel and sprinkled with sea [...]

Love and joy come to you, and to your wassail too!

I love a traditional wassail, and I make it three times  a year – on the first day of snow, on the longest night of the year and on New Year’s Eve.  And today marks the longest night of the year and the shortest day.  We’ll celebrate with wassail and by lighting a candle that [...]

Date-sweetened Gingerbread Men for a Christmas Tree Hunt

We headed into the woods this weekend to hunt for our Christmas tree and a log for our yuletide fire.   Living close to nature as we do, after all the National Forest is within walking distance of our home, we relish the turning of the seasons and, perhaps, feel their urgency more than most [...]

A Recipe: Pumpkin Custard for the Thanksgiving Table

Pumpkin custard, faintly sweet and deeply nourishing, finds its way to our Thanksgiving table each year.  One of my favorite desserts, pumpkin custard is suitable for those who adhere to gluten- or grain-free diets, serving as a perfect and elegant substitute for classic pumpkin pie.  I love the gentle sweetness, the rich and creamy texture [...]

How to Slow-roast the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey (with Video!)

After years of overdone and tough birds, I was entrusted with this recipe – passed from my husband’s grandmother to his mother, from my mother-in-law to my husband and, eventually, he shared it with me.  You see, my husband, taught me to cook.   And while it must be some level of a sin, a [...]

Curried Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk

Curried lentil soup, rich with the heady scent of toasted cardamom, coriander and fenugreek, moves from the humble to the extraordinary. I don’t often cook curries, not that I dislike them: far from it, I love curry; it’s just that I find more easy inspiration in culinary herbs from the kitchen garden (many of which [...]

Every Apple Has Its Star & a Recipe for Apple-pear Sauce

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I love the fruits of autumn - pears and quince, yes, but it is the apples I love most of all.  Indeed, eighty-five pounds of pomaceous fruit lurk in stacked cardboard boxes in my living room.  They wait for me, quietly.  And as they ripen, they release their gently scent – mildly floral and slightly spicy. [...]