An old friend of mine recently moved to my neighborhood and I’ve been showing her some of my favorite spots.  Yesterday, we visited several local farm stands.  While standing in line, waiting to pay for my fresh corn and raspberries, I noticed that they offered a crate (yes, large cardboard box full) of tomatoes for $12.00.  
 “Oh, I’ll have to come back for those and make sauce,” I said to the woman behind table.
“I’ll split the box with you if you teach me how to make fresh sauce,” my friend offered.  
With a wide grin, I picked up the crate ...<< MORE >>

While driving along (meandering really) a back country road somewhere in the heart of New York’s Hudson Valley last weekend, I came across a roadside stand.  But, not just any farmstand, this one was really quite extraordinary, for, you see, they sold wild mushrooms!

Of course I could not go home empty handed!  So, I ravaged the bright orange pile of perfect chanterelles and beautiful black trumpets.  I added the organically grown brown and white beech mushrooms to my basket and prayed that I could find this place again as I paid their handsome fees.

In my zeal to amass these rare ...<< MORE >>

What a beautiful summer morning.  I woke to the warm sunlight, soft breezes and the sweet sounds of song birds as they bustled about their day.  Even though the air temperature was a comfortable 75 degrees at 7:00 AM, I could sense the hazy heat that would soon blanket my quiet country home.  There is something mesmerizing about that heat.  It’s like it sucks you into a semi-dream state that melts any stress or worries along with it.





My garden is teaming right now with brilliant bursts of red Monarda, yellow Day Lillies, and Purple Hostas.  





<< MORE >>

Writing a book sucks huge chunks of time out of the writer’s life.  Add a full time job on top of that process, and it is easy to completely disappear for long periods of time.  It seems like just yesterday, I was telling all of you about my lovely trip to the Met and now I “looked up” from my storyline and realized that more than a month has passed.  In the blogging world, that might as well be an eternity!   (I hope you can all remember me :D)

Speaking of the book – I am please d to report that ...<< MORE >>

I spent this sunny Sunday afternoon strolling through the city.  Partially motivated by book research and partially by nostalgia, I decided to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  In no particular hurry, I took my time getting ready to leave.  I gave the dogs ample time to romp around in the yard while I gazed at my blooming Rhododendrons and late-flowering dogwood.  After three years in my yard, this is the first season the tree has given me blossoms, and they are a magnificent antique white with touches of pink at the tips of each petal.

...<< MORE >>

Do you ever wonder why Chinese restaurants name their obvious sauté of mixed vegetables and meat Pork and Broccoli?  The Broccoli is only one of many veggies in there.  Does it have superior health benefits that I don’t know about?  Is it socially popular?  Or is it just the only vegetables that the average American is not afraid to eat?

I love a good stir fry… but for me, it is mushrooms!  I love it when they throw a mixture of different mushrooms into the mix (porcini, enochi, straw mushrooms – and not the canned ones either!).  I always find that ...<< MORE >>

Spring weekends are busy, busy, and busy!  I have reached a point in the process of writing my novel where I have temporarily stopped mechanically writing and immersed myself in more research, which (believe it or not) gives me a bit more time to cook , blog, and read :-)

So, first thing this morning (while listening to podcasts on the rise of the Roman Empire), I set to cooking!  

I made an egg salad.  While the organic eggs boiled away in the pot, I made mayonnaise.  I took two uncooked egg yolks, some fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, some ...<< MORE >>

Spring brings me joy!  I love all the pink and white trees, how the earth transforms from brown to light green and bright yellow.  It also brings back variety in the fresh and local foods we have available. (Don’t get me wrong, I love the slightly hay-like flavor of winter dairy and an unlimited supply of potatoes, apples, onions and garlic… but after a while…)

Well, the cattle and pig farmer that lives two towns away from me and raises free-range, organic animals has informed me that the pigs are going up to the butcher this week.  Now, I usually buy ...<< MORE >>

Dear Readers,

I am sure that many of you felt my blog posts have languished in recent months.  I have posted fewer and fewer blogs, each one promising greater frequency.  All the while, the threat of internet antiquity is looming over my virtual quiet country life.  

Well my friends… please allow me to explain.  In mid-December, I decided to write a book.  It is an epic fiction novel spanning 1,600 years.  Confident in my plot, I dove into character and story development and have been there ever since.  

You see, what I did not realize when I decided to embark upon this fun and foolish task is that writing a novel is an extraordinary amount of work.  It spills over into all aspects of the writer’s life.  In my case, I think about it in every free moment.  I come home from work and begin to write, or edit, or re-read… torturing my friends and family in the process.

I am convinced that my cousin Michele is a saint, in addition to her excellent skills as an editor, and enduring patience as a friend.  My friend Ronnie also deserves tremendous kudos for listening to me drone on about an imaginary world and made up characters for months on end.  Oh, and I cannot fail to mention my dear friend Rich, who has exactly zero interest in the fantasy genre, yet he patiently listens and guides me as a writer.  

Needless to say, my friends, my poor blog has suffered.  Please, dear readers, do not give up hope.  I will keep posting, perhaps with less frequency, but I have not abandoned you!   I hope that in time, I can tell you more about the progress of the novel, but for now, I beg your patience.

Love,

Deb

        

When I asked my cousin Michele what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, she said “oh, I don’t know, either something with canoli cream in it, or that rose cake that you make.”  So, in the weeks leading up to the big event, I spent a lot of time thinking about cake.  

As part of my gift to her, we hosted about 15 people at my house yesterday to celebrate Michele’s birthday.  We declared it a Pot-Luck party, with my primary responsibility focused on dessert.  With so many people attending, I decided to make a variety of desserts.

I ...<< MORE >>