Topped with Coconut Cream and a spoonful of seasonal fruit this is a wonderful dessert for a summer seaside luncheon: easy, light, delicious, and pretty. It can also be served with coconut ice cream and bittersweet chocolate sauce or warm with a little papaya or passion fruit jam for a weekend breakfast treat. Any way you slice it, …
This recipe is an homage to Sarah with a nod to the Barefoot Contessa. Who knew that Ina Garten (M.B.A. George Washington University) worked for the U.S. Government as a nuclear energy budget analyst before (taking off her shoes) to own and operate a specialty foods shop? Last month Sarah, who moved to Maine from NYC seven years ago, …
Tested and enthusiastically approved by GF and non-GF friends and family, this is one of our new favorite scone recipes. We like the combination of sweet, savory, and aromatic flavors. They’re great for breakfast or as a side for salad or soup. 4 years ago we moved from Falmouth back to South Portland (SoPo) where …
It’s strawberry season in Maine, there’s a rain delay at Wimbledon, and I’m meeting Kari and Stephanie at 11:30 to walk around Back Cove before lunch: time to bake a cake! Fresh picked local organic strawberries are fragrant and delicious, but often delicate because they’re not bred to endure cross country shipping. When you think your berries …
This outstanding banana bread is more fun to make than any other and arguably more delicious than our favorite Kona Banana Bread. Roasting the bananas takes a little extra time, but the dimension it adds to the flavor is worth every minute. Using coconut oil and almond milk make it dairy free, however substitute butter for …
Just back from an island with an organic coconut field and organic banana field. Plus there is a LOT of coconut flour in the larder. So when I was sent a link to Empowered Sustanence’s I clicked on it. Easy, satisfying, healthy, and delicious, these may become a staple in your kitchen. Our recipe is …
Late Winter Carrot Soup (Serves 8 -12) This special hearty soup is tangy and thick enough to serve over pasta. Last week I used it on pizza under arugula, feta, caramelized onions, and fig jam. Nathaniel made a ragu for vegetable “noodles” from the Paderno Spiralizer. Served as a soup it can be garnished with pesto, or a drizzle of …
28 years ago four women each had their first child within a five week span. One of those babies will have her first child in two months. The three boys, errr… men aren’t there yet, following Daphne as they did growing up. This afternoon we’re hosting a baby shower. All that stuff about time and change goes without saying. The guests have various …
I am very good at what I do – just pulled a beautiful fragrant GF Citrus Olive Oil Cake out of the oven. But, BUT, yeast is not my friend, so our successful crusty, chewy bread recipes are few. I confess to not having cultivated the relationship carefully, preferring to spend time with cookies and scones. Those of …
Read somewhere (an airline magazine?) about popular chefs’ favorite sneaky, secret ingredients. One admitted to using powdered milk in his conventional cookie recipes because it adds chewiness. Since “chewy” is a rare descriptor when it comes to gluten free cookies I was determined to experiment. Finding Organic Valley Non Fat Dry Milk at Whole Foods cemented it. I’ve …
Tandem Coffee opened a second location: a cafe in a renovated service station on Portland’s Congress Street. Briana Holt is creating excellent sweet and savory baked goods. But fair warning: gluten-free offerings are occasional and the open kitchen precludes a GF environment. However, something I had last week was worth adapting: Briana’s Birds’ Nest Breakfast Muffins. A whole …
Delicious, nutritious, easy, fast, this savory dish is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Even if you splurge on the nicest free range eggs, organic cheddar, heirloom tomatoes and Vidalia onions, it’s an inexpensive way to satisfy the craving for a hearty meal. Traveling to Lake Tahoe to visit Gus who is working at Stanford …
Book Group met last night to discuss The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud. The link is to a (more positive) NPR review because I suggested the book and still think it’s work reading. Have some fun and Google the meanings of the names of Messud’s characters should you delve in. As hostess I made the …
I first experienced Pastry Chef Ben Spungin’s desserts at Marinus, in Carmel Valley, http://www.bernardus.com/. His mom must be extraordinarily proud. Ben’s sweets are some of the most creative, smart, irreverent and successful I’ve experienced. The entire meal was outstanding. Run don’t walk to Marinus for your next special occasion (make a reservation first.) My dinner selections were mostly vegetarian …
Nothing says “Spring” like the scent of Meyer Lemons! This combination of white chocolate mousse and lemon curd makes a beautiful and decadent dessert any time of year, but especially now when bunches of tulips greet one at the market and long stemmed branches of pussy willows aren’t far behind. I like keeping the …
This excellent salad featuring avocado and made with fresh lettuces and herbs is a complement to any meal. As noted in the cookbook from which I adapted it, the secret to a truly fine salad is crisp cold greens. Chilling it and the dressing in the salad bowl 2-3 hours before serving insures that it … Continue reading
We’ve been trying to support wineries that produce organic whites, specifically Chardonnays. The organic wine display at Whole Foods seems to have expanded over the last year or so and the folks who staff the wine section are optimistic about a trend towards more and better, but sometimes we miss, giving us the opportunity to … Continue reading
Maggie Beer’s Burnt Fig Jam is a favorite. Coming from Australia, it’s expensive and not easy to find, so about once or twice a year I give making my own the (college) try. We’re getting close…. The trick is courage: letting it burn enough. Fig jam is great on scones, delicious with cheese, and makes … Continue reading
BLT Salad is the most requested summer-pot-luck dish we make. It debuted at a party 20 years ago and quickly snuck past-season, appearing on countless Soccer, Hockey, and Lacrosse pre-game team dinner tables, at family reunions, onto December Party sideboards, Valentines Day Celebration tables, spring picnic blankets, and back around to lazy summer dinners when … Continue reading
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams. I’m not really a “Dilbert” fan, but I like what cartoonist Scott Adams had to say about mistakes. Several (OK – 10, maybe more) years ago I mashed the Thanksgiving Day potatoes within an inch of their lives. … Continue reading
Tarte Provencale will remain in the repertoire for the rest of my baking days. Rustic and sophisticated… special… one of the best things coming from the kitchen! Had a slice – looking forward to another tomorrow. Don’t be dissuaded by the unusual combination of ingredients: make it as written then tweak it to suit your tastes, providing … Continue reading
You know the revolution has been successful when an almost 81 year old grandmother who doesn’t want anything for her birthday (except maybe a massage, tickets to Paris, and certainly cake and singing) is getting a Paderno Vegetable Pasta Gizmo. She’ll love it. Better, she’ll use it with pleasure. Perhaps not as much pleasure as … Continue reading
We spent every August of my childhood with our grandparents on Sandy Cove in Cohasset. The trip from Logan to the South Shore always included a stop at Mister Donut in Weymouth for a mixed box of Chocolate Glazed, Plain, and “Buttercrunch”. If our plane from SFO arrived in evening, we got to see the … Continue reading
Augusts ago, we hosted reunions with college friends and their young families in Friendship, Maine. At least once during the week all the children and an adult or two would go down to the large sea-side garden and harvest whatever was ready. A special treat was to wash just pulled sweet carrots in icy salt … Continue reading
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” ― Albert Einstein We’ve been experimenting with alternatives to traditional yeasted gluten free pizza crust. One made with cauliflower was tasty and sturdy enough for toppings, but not as crispy as we’d have liked. A delicious sweet potato crust was caramelized and crispy at … Continue reading
Gluten Free Gus 