Category Archives: Garden

Cook the Book – Sautéed Greens

This is a simple way to use all those greens you are finding at your local Farmers Market and are ready for harvesting in your own garden. Sometimes there is nothing better than sautéed greens with little or no embellishment.  Other times I’ll boost the flavor with Parmesan or feta cheese, roasted nuts, and/or diced [...]

Salmon, Creme Fraiche and Peas with Penne

“Mama, WHY are we the only ones who take care of the chickens?” say the girls one morning. (They aren’t but who’s counting.) “I tell you what, I’ll do the chickens both morning and evening if you cook dinner tonight,” I say with complete certainty that they’ll choose chickens. “DEAL!” they say. So then goes [...]

Eating Locally: Fresh Pea Soup and Fiddleheads from Maine

Less than a week before we sail!  Can’t believe we are there already.  This has been the best outfitting season of our career with the perfect mix of good crew and weather and a healthy dose of experience on our part about how to do this well. The Portland Press ran the column last week [...]

Asparagus – Its In the Bag

I have yet to see one stalk of asparagus come up in my garden, but I’m waiting, albeit impatiently, and it’s warm enough for me to have a serious craving.  At our recent Easter dinner, India, a friend and chef, brought asparagus cooked in a new way.  And it was du-lish-ous, as Chloe says. While [...]

Apple Pruning Meditation

There are some years where it stays so cold and snowy all the way up to June that I can’t bring myself to bundle up and trudge outside to prune the apple trees.  This year, however, we’ve had such a warm spell that it was a treat to spend several hours outside without my head [...]

Carrots from the Garden in February

This stuff really works.  I just dug up half a bucket of carrots that have been resting in the ground under a mountain of straw.  The ground isn’t frozen and the carrots are gorgeous.  I’m thinking about a recipe with carrots, kale and red onions.  Maybe with brown rice and/or a soy seared halibut…. Hmm…. [...]

Orange, Chocolate Shortbread

Yesterday, just to prove to Rebecca, our very organized onsite gardener of Gabriella’s Gardens, that I could do it, I filed last year’s seeds.  Not alphabetically as she was hinting I should, but by category – greens, heat loving plants like tomatoes, sprawlers like cucs and squash, flowers, herbs and lastly, bushy things.  You know, [...]

Bringing Rosemary Indoors

The rosemary plants are safely in the house, tucked snugly in their terra cotta pots.  The piney scent of them is still all over my hands and is wafting around me as I type.  Rebecca, our onsite gardener, helped me pull the plants in before the weather got too cold because this time of year [...]

Bulgur and Lentils with Parsley

Parsley can sometimes get a bad rap as the overused and poorly thought of garnish on the side of a plate.  It carries a clean, bright taste, that holds up to the heavier lentil in this dish.  So full of nutrients, Italian flat parsley especially, is a wonderful way to insert color, nutrition and flavor [...]

Raspberry Ice Cream

This ice cream is just waiting for the juicy, red berries that burden the vines on the perimeter of the garden.  Of all of the purchases I’ve made for the garden over the years, these have been the most rewarding.  They are an everbearing variety (don’t ask me what kind, I’ve completely lost track) and [...]