Author Archives: Kris

garden update

I’ve forgotten to do updates on my garden. For a while this summer, everything was growing well. I harvested a ton of green beans, edamame, and herbs, many of which are still in my freezer (the herbs in pesto sauce form). My tomatoes came in late due to the late planting so I was still […]

Irish brown bread

I’ve been on a mission since my trip to Ireland last summer to recreate the brown bread that is provided in nearly every single pub there. It was just so moist and delicious, perfect for going along with soup or by itself. I had made Irish soda bread before, but this brown bread is a […]

bean harvest

There are suddenly tons of green beans. The edamame bushes that I planted from seed are twice as big as the bean bushes I planted already started from the farmers market so now I’m wondering when those will start to pop out.

the first fruits of my garden

Or herbs, as the case may be. I grabbed some basil today… …to make my favorite pesto sauce. (If that looks like a lot, it’s because you can’t just eat some of this pesto sauce. You eat it all. Well, I froze half for later to remove it from temptation.) Since I got my garden […]

community garden

My town has a community garden. This is the second year they’re doing it and if you were in the first year, you had first dibs on the same spot for this year. I wanted to get in but I ended up on a waiting list since it was already full. If people hadn’t done […]

Lonesome Dove book club dinner

Last year a friend of mine started a book club. It’s just six of us and we take turns picking books and meet once a month at someone’s house for dinner and discussion. Sometimes the cook tries to match the dinner to the book. This month was my turn and I decided to make everyone […]

1,000 books

I’ve apparently been buying too many books lately because I just reached 1,000 for my library. A complete works set of Jane Austen hardcovers rounded it out. I know the number because of librarything, one of my favorite websites. (Incidentally, I just got runner up in a bookpile contest there that I entered over two […]

Death (and rebirth) of a sewing machine

At the beginning of last month, I was sewing a friend a purse for her 30th birthday and with literally one inch left to sew, my machine broke. Nothing was caught anywhere but the gears would not turn. I sewed the last strap end to the D ring by hand, but what about my machine? […]

Winter cooking

When it’s cold out all I want to do is cook. It warms my kitchen and my stomach, and my freezer gets stocked up again. Some various recipes I’ve made over the past couple of weeks, most of them in one below freezing week: Split Pea Soup – Could not find a ham bone at […]

More bread

To continue from my Artisan Bread in Five post, here is more bread! Sun-dried tomato and parmesan: Focaccia with onion and rosemary: Vermont cheddar: