tall clover farm

Whether praising peaches, exalting raspberries or ogling apricots, I’d have to say I gush over seasonal fruit. What I don’t grow well (and that’s a big category this year), I try to buy locally. I just received a box of fruit from the Washington Sate Fruit Commission, a cardboard treasure chest layered with summer’s finest jewels: peaches, plums, and Italian prunes. [...]

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As good as it gets: homemade ketchup from homegrown tomatoes via some lessons learned. My culinary redemption is complete. As some of you may recall, my last attempt to make ketchup did not end so well; my kitchen looked like Freddy Krueger had stopped by for lunch.  (Witness the tomato carnage in How Not to Make Ketchup.) The good news is confidence has [...]

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This apricot jam recipe is golden on all levels, a mixture of simple ingredients creating a whole greater than the sum of its parts.  As my favorite jam, it’s a dollop of sunshine I can count on any time of the year. I have given up trying to grow apricots in the Maritime Northwest (my first public admission). [...]

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In my world of skills you need to know, making homemade ice cream is right up there with CPR, changing a flat tire and treading water.  And since I love to grow and eat fruit, I extend that need-to-know requisite to the making of sherbets as well. I think it may be the best use of a berry this [...]

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There are two types of strawberries: those grown locally and those at home in a plastic clamshell.  Local berries: soft, juicy and bruised by a simple indiscretion.  Store-bought strawberries: large, structurally sound and able to be dropped from tall buildings and remain unscathed.  Unfortunately what the latter offers in transportability and durability, it usually lacks in flavor. And while local [...]

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Rhubarb-a-Palooza Continues… With current Seattle temperatures visiting degrees reserved for ice fishing and mukluk wearing, should I really be making ice cream? Heck, yes; I scream for ice cream no matter what the forecast. I continue my rhubarb love fest with a recipe for roasted rhubarb vanilla ice cream. It’s surprisingly subtle and not surprisingly, delicious. The original recipe [...]

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In the world of preserves (and pie), spring’s star couple is strawberry and rhubarb. One’s sweet, one’s sour, both show up in the garden or market at the same time, and their textures are different enough to keep the end result interesting. So today my friends, I’m going to share with you how I make strawberry-rhubarb jam–the [...]

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As far as salads go, my favorites are the ones with little or no lettuce. (Hear me out.) I think I’ve had one too many plates of wild greens dressed with good intentions and Calendula petals. I need more. Give me a warm German potato salad or a wilted spinach swimming in bacon drippings and cider vinegar. [...]

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I’ve never been a huge fan of rolled oats, that is unless in a cookie, granola bar or apple crisp. (Hmmm, I see a pattern developing.) As a breakfast food, its texture and consistency seem better suited for those wearing bibs awaiting big spoon choo-choos to deliver their slimy cargo post haste. The day I discovered steel coats oats, I was a changed [...]

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  I came across this lemon pie with a twist years ago after reading an article in Saveur magazine: The Shaker Table. The resulting pie was simple, with an authenticity one would expect from anything created by the Shakers. I love the fact that such a spare recipe can have such delicious results–all with the basics of the farm: eggs, [...]

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Orange You Glad You Made These? Candied orange peels left hanging to dry It’s no secret I hate to throw things out. A spot inspection of my pantry would likely surrender enough yogurt containers to fashion a full-size igloo or satisfy the production needs of a Yoplait plant. And while all that I glean is not gold, [...]

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How to Make a Pumpkin Pie from Scratch Using Fresh Pumpkin I made my first fresh pumpkin pie of the season, entering it in the Vashon Farmers Market annual pumpkin pie contest.  I placed third, an admirable ranking considering the winner was a cheesecake and received bonus points for using homegrown ingredients in addition to pumpkin, i.e., cream, eggs [...]

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