cooking
In Which Leni Journeys Through the Seasons with The Virginia House-wife: January
Over the next while I am going to continue to explore my fascination with the Mary Randolph’s cookbook. When we read her recipes we get a glimpse into the skills and daily cooking styles practiced by African American cooks/chefs in…
Have you ever deboned a duck??
Whenever I am up to my wrists in bird insides I think of Julia Child (may her memory ever be blessed!) and that day sometime in the 1960’s when on PBS I watched her debone a duck with her usual…
Observations on Curing Cast Iron Pans
I have a big selection of cast iron pans – one of which I received from my stepfather in 1957 and have been cooking in ever since. Its inner surface is so slick the cornbread lifts out easily and even…
Apples on a wonderful late winter rainy day
This is what I do when it rains; cook, of course! I converted the remaining half bushel of November 2010’s pie apples left in our spring house into pie slices in bags in the freezer. We had a mixture of…
A Bit About Brussles Sprouts
Unlike the chunky, dry, strong flavored mini-cabbages many of us were first introduced to as children real homegrown Brussles Sprouts are tiny nubbins of concentrated yummy taste. Here are what the harvested plants look like. While this picture was taken…
Ok, Kids, It’s Time to Roast Garlic!
Of course the house smells a bit but in one fell swoop you can have the entire winter’s worth of roasted garlic in your fridge with just one afternoon of work. I buy several sleeves of fall harvest garlic (it’s…