Winter arrives and the slumbering fields lie waiting under blankets of frost and ice.  Branches scrape bare against the gray winter sky.  Foraging in the wild is scarce until springtime.  Yet, there stands the pine tree, tall and green and fierce against the biting winds of winter. With 4 times the Vitamin C of a freshly squeezed orange, pine has long been revered for its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, traditionally used to treat scurvy, congestion, and influenza.  Preparing a tea is the ideal way to partake in the medicinal properties of pine. The taste is milder than one would expect and leans more earthy and woodsy, and depending on the…

It’s December.  The cold has set in and the farm markets are beginning to slow.  It is the season of shorter days, longer nights, wood burning fires, and mugs filled with piping hot cocoa.  To make these long evenings even cozier, cue in a homemade batch of Brown Sugar and Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, so pillowy soft. Buoyantly bobbing in your hot cocoa, these fluffy beauties will begin to melt just so; with delicate swirls of chocolate mingling to make an already delicious treat even better.  Perhaps you’re enjoying an open fire with a desire for a roasted marshmallow, you’ll only need to roast these plush little squares for a mere…

Are you familiar with the tortilla wrap hack that went viral?  I’ll show you how to do it here! While we are not a vegan family, we do eat plant based quite often – especially in the months when the harvest provides.  And in the winter, while braised chicken and slow-cooked stews have their honorary place in my kitchen, so do our trusted friends, potatoes and onions. These loaded sweet potato and ranch tortillas have become a family favorite!  The best part is they’re so versatile, we hardly ever make them the same way twice! In today’s version we’re serving them alongside a homemade creamy, big-flavored, vegan ranch – trust…

Lentils add a hearty texture and an earthy flavor to an otherwise simple, pantry-inspired pasta dish. Winter cooking lends itself to making good use of winter pantry staples, like lentils and canned tomatoes, along with those odds and ends that we don’t always have a plan for in the refrigerator, I’m talking about you lone carrot in the crisper.  Uncork the red wine (…and save some for the dish), grab an onion, a few cloves of garlic, and you’ll have a hot and spicy fire-roasted lentil bolognese to warm your soul on a cold winter’s night.