This part of New Jersey is home to one of the best fishmongers in the state. I’m thinking local blue claw crabs, snapper fish, clams and mussels. Seeing as though we have access to quality farm markets and butchers, I’m also thinking sweet corn, potatoes and sausage. To complete this feast, I’ll snip herbs from my kitchen garden and serve Jersey ale, being sure to fragrance the stock with some too. Last, but not least, I’ll add in good company and a hot August evening and we’ll have ourselves a Low-Country Boil. You might also know this as Frogmore Stew, Beaufort Stew, or simply seafood stew. Call it what you…
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If you are looking to up-the-ante and give traditional corn a flavorful kick-in-the-cob, look no further than this Summer Corn with Chili-Lime Mayo. For me, corn on the cob will always conjure up nostalgic memories of summer. We’d gather and grill in my grandmother’s small concrete backyard of her 4-story apartment building in urban New Jersey, eating and talking outside amidst the low hum of the window air conditioning units, while the summer heat made our bare legs stick to the plastic fold-away lounge chairs (it was the 1980s). My grandmother would secure our buttery corn cobs with little yellow plastic picks, the ones that resembled mini corn, so…
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The orchards in and around town are ripe with plump, juicy peaches and sweet raspberries. The kids and I spent a few mornings during the week picking and plucking fruit that beckoned to be used right away. My most favorite way to enjoy our hand-picked summer harvest is to nestle the sweet fruit in the belly of a giant, puffy Dutch Baby. Since every baby needs a name, let’s call this one a Dutch Baby with Peaches & Raspberries. For anyone unfamiliar with a Dutch Baby, I’m not referring to a sweet cherub-faced infant from the Netherlands, although that conjures up warm, comforting thoughts as well. This Dutch Baby is a…
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In my experience, people fall into one of two categories when it comes to garlic scapes, either they love them – or they don’t know what to do with them. Those in the latter category are certainly not alone, and understandably so. Garlic scapes are elusive, their time with us is brief. Unless you grow garlic yourself, or frequent a farmers’ market, chances are you’ve never seen them before. If you are fortunate to have access to these beautiful green tendrils, and don’t quite know what to do with them, read on!
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“She wanted only her own strawberry farm, the fragrance of the fields and the cedar trees, and to live simply in this place forever.” – David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars There’s something about standing in the middle of a field of strawberries. There, the air is different; heavy with a sweet sugary perfume that can only come from berries warmed long by the sun. It’s a simple pleasure to fill a basket with berries picked fresh off the vine. It’s equally as satisfying to take those sweet berries home and make homemade jam.
