Category: nut-free / gluten-free
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Mushroom, Fontina, and Spinach White Lasagna & Super Bowl Weekend
I am ready for the big game! That exclamation point makes it seem as though I am actually excited about football. I am not. I like Boston sports teams as much as the next bookish traveller mom, but…what I really enjoy is the excitement other people have for the game. While they cheer and watch,… Read more
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Crispy Spelt-Poppyseed Crackers & Smoky Eggplant Dip & Crappy Dancing
At my cousin’s 100th birthday party (they are each 50, so had a combined party), I was called up to dance with my husband. “Give me Gershwin and I’d be fine,” he yelled over the music’s din. Hits from the 60s and 80s played and while there was a beat, my husband could not find… Read more
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Honey-Soy Shrimp & Keeping Bees
“Do you make your own honey?” someone asked. I was at a book signing and had finished telling a story about taking the four kids to pick berries and how they help make raspberry jam. “Oh, no,” I said and when the person looked surprised I had to explain. Here is what I do: I… Read more
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Best Split Pea Soup Ever & Terrible Band Names
So the kids are talking at dinner, each one suggesting names for bands they haven’t created and which I am pretty sure no one wants to join. Jamie, almost a teenager says, “The Communists.” Daniel, 10 and still way into Star Wars, suggests, “Luke’s Dilemma.” Julia, 7, says, “Painted Pony.” When her brothers groaned, she… Read more
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Field of Greens Soup & What’s in a Name
super very so green lots o green top o the morning green I have never been able to think of a good name for this soup. For now, it’s Triple Green Soup which makes no sense because there are more than 3 greens in it. But Sextuplet Green Soup sounds creepy. Suggestions? UPDATE: The… Read more
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Vidalia Onion and Leek Tart with Whole Wheat Rosemary Crust & Parental Blame
Not one, but all four of my kids, have been walking around the house singing. Not that I mind. I’m a singer – in cars, as I walk down the street, while I cook. And yet, this singing my offspring are doing the past couple of weeks is…terrible. Off-key? No. Offensive lyrics? No (and I’m… Read more
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Molten Butterscotch Cake (Steamed Treacle Pudding) & A Very British Afternoon
My best friend from high school, T, and I just met for the ultimate British sport: Tea Brewing. The fact that we and our families met in Central Mexico for this match is of little consequence. After a ranch outing and horseback riding in ravines, milking goats at our friend’s farm (and eating the cheese… Read more
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Roasted Tomatoes Cured in Olive Oil & 365 Things to Get Annoyed About
It’s so easy to find things annoying – the sound of gum chewing kills my oldest, Daniel can’t stand when people are out of tune, and I could write an essay about the crappy drivers who do the Boston-slow-down-without-fully-stopping-despite-the-stop-sign routine by my house. Remember that book? It filled the stockings of many and either makes… Read more
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Crispy Mushroom & Shallot Toasts & The Weird Table
“Which lunch table did you sit at?” Jamie asks after he’s explained the intricacies of the middle school lunchroom, the center tables and their popular, designer jeans crew, the ‘second tier who basically want to be at the center tables but aren’t,’ and so on. Odd 14-year-old that I was, mushrooms on toast was one… Read more
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Gluten Free Zucchini & Parmesan Fritters & Coming Home
While we were away the dog managed to chew the following items: -a widow flip-flop (its partner never returned from a sailing trip last summer) -an “indestructible” dog chew toy (note: indestructible, noun, see: leak-proof travel mug) -the electric bill -the replacement for the electric bill -the next replacement for the electric bill The good… Read more
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Maple Sweet Potato Spoon Bread & Breasts
Our house was built in 1889. Roughly translated, this means no matter what temperature it is outside, inside is ten degrees colder. So we added a heat system clearly manufactured in hell because its strength and fire is unmatched. Set at 59 degrees, the house is tropical inside. As a result, despite the frigid outside… Read more
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Funky Monkey Cake (Banana Cake with Chocolate and Vanilla Layers) & Cake for Breakfast
Lest you being to think I’m the mom who force-fed my children kale from birth, I’ll have you know I am a big fan of cake or puddings for breakfast. First of all, this makes my life fairly easy in the morning. Second of all, CAKE FOR BREAKFAST! There’s nothing magic about scones or muffins… Read more
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Latkes (Crispy Potato Pancakes) & Positive Energy
Without sounding all yoga, I have the following to say: It takes just as much energy to be and say negative things as it does positive. This time of year – but really in all seasons – life is much more enjoyable when we spread kindness and joy. That is all. That, and the best… Read more
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Pasta Nero di Seppia, Garlic-Caper Sauce, and Italian White Beans & Pantry Suppers
As we get further into winter here, I begin to hunker down. Nothing says cozy and resourceful like a pantry supper. At least twice a week I try and use what I’ve already got in the pantry as the main part of our dinner. The green were from our farm share, washed, very well dried,… Read more
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Maple Cream & Creepy Kid Books
Who doesn’t love Goodnight Moon? The soothing words, the simple reassurance of saying goodnight to objects, the perfect length book – not too short, not epic like Cars & Trucks & Things that Go. My grandmother read it to my father, my mother read it to me, I read it to my kids. My husband… Read more