A Savvy Week: Ramps and Asparagus

I think this is going to be the week when asparagus is more plentiful and costs less than $8/bunch at the market.  I’m already dreaming up ways I can use ...

Beef and Spinach Manicotti

Growing up, when it came to special occasion and weekend dinners, my sister and I would take turns choosing the entree. My sister’s favorite was always grilled steak. My dad ...

Brain Food 101: The Different Types of Flour

Recently, I’ve felt like I need to revisit my earliest blog posts. The first few recipes, the first few Brain Food 101 posts: they have good content, but the quality ...

How to Store Everything

Brain Food 101: How to Store Bread…Revisited

In October 2011, I wrote about the best way to store bread. ...

Brain Food 101: DIY Frozen Pizza

I’m all about planning ahead for busy weeknights so we aren’t in ...

Make Compound Butter Now, Freeze It For Thanksgiving

Stalwart rosemary, buttoned-up thyme, flirty sage, cheerful oregano: I can’t pull off ...

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Savvy Garden 2013: Growth

Outside, the garden has been oscillating between states. A few warm days, and the arugula, peas and radishes become lush and leafy, skyrocketing to nearly twice their size. Then it gets chilly again, and all growth stalls out. The new seeds verge on the longer end of the germination time range. And in the evenings, [...]

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Savvy Cycling: Bike Safety

Now that the weather is warming up again, it is time to break out the bikes and get riding!  Here are my top 9 tips for safe cycling: 1. Wear a helmet. Even if you think they don’t look “cool” or whatever, wear one anyways. Because even if you are aware of your surroundings and riding [...]

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Perfecting a Roast Chicken

There is a beautiful simplicity to the perfect roast chicken. The browned, crispy skin that everyone, even the most health-minded of guests, fights over. The flavorful, meltingly tender meat that hardly even requires a knife, shredding under the pull of a fork. In many kitchens, a chef’s worth is judged largely on their ability to [...]

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The Little Things #67: The Outdoor Farmers’ Market

For me, the first sign of spring isn’t the chirping of a robin or a blooming daffodil or even the little shoots of lettuce popping up in the cold frames. No, the first sign of spring is the day we can bike to the once-again-outdoors Farmers’ Market. There usually isn’t much produce yet – just [...]

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Reading List

Photo: My mom and sister came to visit for my birthday this weekend!    SPRINGTIME Goal: find ramps ASAP for this ramp pizza! This description of spring makes me smile. Smoky red lentil burgers seem like a must this spring. Moscow Mules are good… Moscow Mules made with homemade ginger beer are probably even better.   EAT SMART 100 Rules of [...]

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Happy Birthday German Chocolate Cake

Tomorrow, I’ll turn 26. My twenty-fifth year was interesting one. While I was often sick, plagued by headaches and nausea, the year was still overall positive. We took some big trips: a 10-day jaunt to Oregon and Washington, a fun yet exhausting weekend in Massachusetts for the Healthy Living Summit. I made a short visit [...]

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Savvy Garden 2013: Beginnings

Things are finally starting to happen in the garden.  Check out what’s going on in the cold frames! I was concerned last fall when I planted my garlic.  Some creatures were clearly burrowing in the straw mulch I had thickly layered over the cloves, and I worried that they were gnawing on my future crop. [...]

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A Savvy Week: Salads

Now that it is warm and springy outside, I’m all about adding a little lightness to our meals lately. I want to keep our meals simple and easy, too, so we can go for bike rides in the evenings and still have a healthy dinner.  Salads and half sandwiches are now lunchtime standards, and last [...]

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