Over the years, I've become quite fond of the kimchi recipe I developed and always feel slightly saddened when I see my reserves get lower and lower. Kimchi easily takes the leaderboard amongst the several varieties of fermented vegetables I prepare each year.
This past weekend family and friends from Maine and Connecticut came to celebrate back to back birthdays for Wilder and Camille. Since their birthdays are 1 day apart, the festivities tend to go on for a few days. With Camille turning 30 and Wilder turning 4, this was a special weekend for the family.
My first culinary school experience I can recall was cutting mirepoix for soups and stocks. Myself and a small group of students stood around the prep tables, nervously cutting carrots, celery, and onions while our chef instructor took notes on our knife skills.
We love our coffee program here. In fact, we couldn't imagine starting off our day with anything other than a cup of coffee. A few months ago we decided to take a week off from coffee. Yerba mate, Camille's mom's famous Red Tea, and of course chaga made for perfect alternatives yet after 1 day we were back sipping on our butter brew. You can say we are addicted to the caffeine, but quite frankly, it is the morning ritual and damn good flavor that keeps us coming back for more of this sacred drink.
Maine is experiencing a late spring, so, while many parts of the country are enjoying seasonal ingredients like asparagus, fiddlehead ferns, nettles, peas, and ramps, we are still waiting for the finally few feet of snow to melt and the grounds to thaw. Thankfully there are many farmers who planted spinach in their greenhouses last fall and allowed this hardy green to sit back and enjoy the long cold winter.
I've recently fallen in love with preserved lemons and have been incorporating them into my meals as much as possible. If you've never had preserved lemons before, they are best described as mildly tart, but intensely lemony. As the salt draws out the tartness, it enhances the lemon flavor which combines well to traditional African or Indian meals where it is commonly used.
Yesterday I woke to the sound of my son asking for bread. Since we don't normally have bread in the house it meant he wanted me to bake a loaf of bread. When my little foodie has a request, it's not always easy to get out of it. So, I rummaged through my book of recipes and deciding to whip up a batch of sticky buns. Coincidentally, sticky buns are a celebratory spring dish and since the equinox was just a day away, it felt like the perfect time to bake up these delicious treats.
