Like most Americans, I am a mutt. But having a mother with both parents named Oneal gives me some serious Irish game each St. Patrick’s Day. Not that I ever need an excuse to enjoy potatoes in any form (exception made for tater tots and their dubious character), but the notion of honoring my heritage with green potatoes would likely make my ancestors proud.
It’s that time of year again, when gyms are at full capacity and holiday excess gives way to spartan diets and promises meant to be broken, eventually. The time of year when we divide foods into two groups : good, and bad.
Southerners know how to ring in the New Year with culinary good luck talismans : hoppin’ john ( a dish of stewed black eyed peas), greens and cornbread. The black eyed peas are said to symbolize coins, the greens represent paper money and the cornbread makes a good stand-in for gold. Lest you think we only care for financial stability while ringing in the new, congratulate us also on our good taste, as these dishes are delicious, filling and perfect for company and good cheer.
Visitors bearing homemade treats are always welcome at my home during the holidays. A gift of handcrafted limoncello made by friends a few years back was sipped with extra pleasure, illustrating that gifts handmade with care are treasured all the more by the lucky recipients.
At Thanksgiving many of us take the literal approach to preparing sweet potatoes by making them even more sweet. Candied yams, sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows…nothing inherently wrong with these dishes, except that some folks simply do not care for treacly sweetness alongside their savory foods.
The heady perfume of Virginia apples at my local roadside stand draws me in, and I load up my box with way more than I can use in a week. What’s a cook to do? Well, cook ’em up, of course.
When you are given a gift of late season tomatoes, you have only two choices; you can eat them all right away, or make them last longer by preserving them for later enjoyment.
When summer’s end robs us of vegetables that peaked earlier in the season, we can always count on eggplant as a farmer’s market lure with its high gloss and firm form. Its meatiness holds up well to grilling and it marries well with tart or sweet condiments, marinades and sauces.
Sometimes it’s too darn hot to cook. You’re famished but a hot meal doesn’t appeal. A visit to the Saturday farmer’s market fills you with resolve to turn your purchases into something besides the obvious chopped salad of colorful, crunchy bits. There’s your pile – now what? Continue reading
Nobody does heirloom tomatoes like Amy Hicks and George Ferguson of Amy’s Garden in Charles City County, Virginia. Amy introduced me to heirloom tomatoes years ago when we were both vendors at the Williamsburg Farmer’s Market. Produce sold by Amy and other farmers made its way into baked goods I sold at the market, some of which remain on The Good Eats Company menus seasonally : tomato walnut spice bread, provencal tartlets with goat cheese and roasted vegetables and strawberry honey pecan muffins.