One of the joys of the holiday season is spending time in the kitchen lovingly preparing special treats for friends. This year, with no parties to plan or to attend, no bazaar to contribute to, and no visitors expected, it seemed especially important to remind people they are remembered and loved. I am a fan […]
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I have been feeding corn and apples to a few deer, and enjoying their company, on an almost daily basis. There are five who are “regulars” now: a doe and her twin fawns, and two young bucks. Often the mama and twins come together, but not always, and the bucks usually come separately, often after […]
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I imagine most people have their family traditions for holiday meals, especially Thanksgiving, so I am not writing about that special dinner. Instead, I am highlighting the warm and earthy flavors of the harvest season, fresh from the farm, via friends and farmers’ markets. When a friend appeared on the porch with just-picked shitake mushrooms […]
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I have a confession. While I celebrate and promote the foods of the South, I do so with a bias. I am a northern girl, fond of all that means, who has studiously adapted to this environment. While I revel in the glory of a Hatteras Island October, I pine for the colors, scents, and […]
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With the arrival of (slightly) cooler weather comes a yearning for the flavorful products of the fall harvest. Who doesn’t look forward to Eastern North Carolina sweet potatoes and winter squash, and apples and honey from the N.C. mountains paired with N.C. pork? Fortunately, Gilroy, California’s garlic harvest comes at the same time! Around 1979 […]
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This year, sunset on Monday, September 6, marked the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, a Holy Day in the Jewish calendar that is commonly called the Jewish New Year. It is a two-day holiday, ending at nightfall on Wednesday, September 8, that marks the beginning of the 10 Days of Awe, a time when Jews reflect, […]
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I am reveling in our “Salad Days,” certainly not in the Shakespearean sense of youthful exuberance, but rather in the joy of the abundance of colorful, flavorful, summer produce. It is liberating, especially after the past 18 months of always being at the stove. In this heat, it is refreshing to eat light and cool […]
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The students and teachers at Cape Hatteras Secondary School of Coastal Studies are in the final days of a most extraordinary school year. No doubt a stressful one, too, but they are finishing strong. Family and Consumer Science Teacher, Evan Ferguson, had only six students in school out of the total of 14. The rest […]
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In my last column, I waxed poetic about the wonder of springtime forest floor gifts from regions west of Hatteras Island. Now, the revered seasonal gifts from our waters are in season – “softies” or softshell crabs – and everyone is celebrating! They, too, are only here for a brief time, so we ridiculously overindulge. […]
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As we are finally beginning to enjoy the first bursts of spring, (and I mean bursts – it’s not a constant yet), we are also enjoying the fresh tastes associated with the season of hope and beginnings. Friends have been harvesting early treats from early gardens and sharing, so I am savoring some very special […]
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