I was raised by a Czech mother who was a fabulous cook. Her repertoire included pancake soup, dumplings with goulash, pork roast so tender it melted in your mouth, Weiner schnitzel, thin beef rouladen stuffed with pickles and mustard. Almost every dinner we ate for my entire childhood, with the exception of creamed spinach and…
Author: Dianna
{foraging} June is for Dolmades
We have limited light in our small backyard because of trees to our south and west. We trellis grapes around six and a half feet above our deck and up onto the wall of our house to maximize our edible gardening space. Grape leaves are among the first produce of the season from our garden,…
{Simple} Homemade Yogurt Cheese
When we moved to upstate New York around twenty-five years ago, we became friends with Martha and Seth from Slack Hollow Farm in Argyle. The first time we went over to their house for dinner, Martha gave us some soft goat cheese she had made. I was so impressed and enthusiastic about their advanced state…
{Recipe} For the Pie-Challenged
I have always been an utter failure at making pies. They sometimes taste good, but they look awful and are entirely lacking in aesthetic appeal. I apply uneven pressure on the rolling pin, make badly crimped edges that leak, use too much flour to dust, yadayadayada. So in my self-loathing, I tend to concentrate on…
{COMMUNITY SHARECROPPING} May is the Time to Plant Your Garden
May is planting season in the community share cropping gardens. We already planted cover crops (more on those in a future post), winter wheat and garlic last fall; those are all coming in now. We had a wet, late spring in upstate New York, so didn’t get much going in April. Usually we have peas…
{community sharecropping} Composting 101
It is May, which means that the community sharecropping season, in which we garden on other people’s former lawns, has begun. They are the lawn lords, my husband is the fanatic sharecropper, I am his opinionated side kick. We had a cold, late, wet winter, so couldn’t really get into the gardens with equipment until…
{Paneer} Simple Homemade Frying Cheese
Back in the day when we lived in the country and had milk goats, I used to make different kinds of soft cheese on a regular basis. The easiest of the cheeses was paneer, an Indian frying cheese used in curries. I hadn’t made it in years but decided to try it with cow’s milk…
{passover} The Great Macaroon Bake Off
Passover, or Pesach, has a number of dietary restrictions related to eating leavened or fermented grains. You can’t eat any wheat, rye, barley, oats or spelt unless they have been completely cooked within 18 minutes of coming into contact with water. Most people simply don’t eat any of those foods unless they have been prepared…
{Passover} remembering the slaves
Passover is my favorite holiday. For two nights in a row, you get to have big dinners and drink a bunch of wine while thinking about liberation from slavery. This is my cup of tea. Passover starts at sundown on April 18 this year. To commemorate the liberation of the biblical Jews from slavery there…
{recap} Power to the Boil 2011
Editor’s Note: I’m pleased to announce that Dianna has her name in lights {finally} and that I’m not credited with her wonderful posts any longer. Dianna has her final post on the 2011 maple syruping season. If you missed the “How To” or my photo diaries on: tapping and one their three “big boils”, take…
{Dark Days} Week 17: The Squash Challenge
Editor’s Note: This is the 17th week of a 19-week challenge, Dark Days, a pledge taken by 88 blogs spanning the country, to eat one meal a week as sustainable, organic, local and ethical possible. For Dianna’s last meal, she explains Kilpatrick Family Farm’s CSA process while expressing some rutabagas and squash “angst” and share…
{My} Locavore Roots
Editor’s Note: I don’t know about you but I find Dianna’s posts so fascinating. In My Local Roots, Dianna gives us a peek into her past and a little homesteading history. Test will be on Friday. -Christina The first cook book I ever bought was Frances Moore Lappe’s Diet for a Small Planet. I pretty…
{St. Patricks Day} boxty on the griddle
Editor’s Note: Welcome FOODPRESS readers! Our St. Patrick’s Day {theme week} continues with Dianna. I have NEVER heard of Boxy…bring it on Dianna! -Christina Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan, If you can’t bake boxty sure you’ll never get a man. Irish children’s rhyme (can’t you see the little girls jumping rope?) My…
{How To} Tap Your Own Maple Syrup
Editor’s Note: We’re back with a post not to be missed. Dianna and her family boil their own maple syrup from tapping trees around their urban neighborhood. Tapping time is now, so read the post and examine the pictures carefully and get out there and do it! There is a {photo diary} to accompany this…
{Dark Days} Week 11: All About Wheat
Editor’s Note: This is the 11th week of a 4 1/2 month challenge, Dark Days, a pledge taken by 88 blogs spanning the country, to eat one meal a week as sustainable, organic, local and ethical possible. This week we change it up a bit with Dianna, a FSC guest contributor, working an amazing Dark…
