Sunday April 29, 2012
Hope springs eternal and oh, so happy for those first green vegetables of spring - asparagus, watercress and artichokes. While not all are grown here in Massachusetts, they are the spring veggies that you can find in abundance in the grocery store. Over the last few days, I have enjoyed making watercress soup, asparagus polonaise and baby artichokes.
I hope you enjoy these and please share your concoctions and versions!
Thursday April 26, 2012
We just added all the books of our radio guests to our blog sidebar. Check them out!
Wednesday April 25, 2012
Listen in to Part 2 of Food Memory Lane with AnneMarie DeFreest as she illustrates the importance of paprika to her favorite Savory Hungarian recipes - Goulash and Chicken Paprikash and talks about the importance of knowing what kind of paprika(smoked, sweet, hot and more) and where it came from would go into different Hungarian recipes. She also tells us about her favorite Hungarian sweets – Kifli and Kalacs - whose recipes, techniques, and variations she learned as a child from her Aunt Betty.
Monday April 23, 2012
My best friend, AnneMarie DeFreest, joins me in Stockbridge for Part 1 of her 2 part show. While AnneMarie's most vivid food memories are passed to her from her father Jack Simko and his Hungarian heritage, the pleasure and importance of gathering at the table with cloth napkins and everyone in their specific seat, has left its own important set of memories and practices for her. As she and her siblings grew up and her father took over the cooking from her mother AnneMarie was able to experience again the smells and tastes she remembers of her Grandfather's cooking of recipes like Kifli and Kalacs and expose her own children to these recipes which had been so important to her upbringing. Listen in to hear her stories of growing up and savoring her paternal Hungarian food heritage in Part 1 and to Part 2 for more about the recipes she savors.
Friday April 20, 2012
Christine McLaughlin, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Small-Space Gardening
, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting
, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Heirloom Vegetables
grew up on the edge of suburbia and farm country with an envious eye on the life of farmers. As a young girl and aspiring entrepreneur she nurtured her love for plants going up and down her street with replanted "volunteer" seedlings selling them to her neighbors for 10 cents a piece. This appreciation for plants evolved into an appreciation for preserving the rich heritage of heirloom and open-pollinated varieties and eventually realizing her dream of becoming a writer with her contributions to The Complete Idiot's series. Listen in as Christine tells her story and talks about the many reasons why preserving heirloom seeds is important (beyond genetic diversity).
Wednesday April 18, 2012
Jere Gettle, who started the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds company, first conceived the idea at the age of 17! We had the pleasure of hearing about his youth growing up on a farm where his family grew all their own vegetables and the joy he still experiences each spring when the first plants set fruit. Starting with a paper catalog as a teenager his company has grown through his hard work and love for the environment. Not unlike Heirloom Meals - Jere now fuses modern with traditional ways - using Facebook and other social media to connect and educate people about Heirloom Seeds. Listen in to hear Jere demystify some of the questions about seed saving and explain how his seeds are different from the ones sold at big box stores and buy his book The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally
for more detail about heirloom varieties. Join us as we go down Food Memory Lane with Jere Gettle, founder of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.