• Hot pepper sauce paste
    All Seasons

    Bomba di Calabria (Hot Pepper Paste)

    I have a preference for dishes with a serious kick of heat.  From my morning eggs to my late night savory indulgences, if I can add a bit of fire to my palate, I always will. Among my favorite go-to ingredients for a punch of flavor is Bomba di Calabria, a hot pepper paste made with dried Calabrian chiles.  Dried chiles are reconstituted, steeped in boiling water, then processed with fresh garlic cloves, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and a splash of balsamic. This fiery paste will become your secret weapon when you want to take your favorite dishes to the next level.

  • pine needle tea
    Winter

    Pine Needle Tea

    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…

  • homemade marshmallow
    Winter

    Brown Sugar & Vanilla Bean Marshmallows (No Corn Syrup)

    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…

  • sweet potato quesadillas
    Winter

    Loaded Sweet Potato & Ranch Tortilla Crunch

    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…