I don't hate any herb -- EXCESS is what I dislike. Herbs are supposed to enhance flavors, not dominate. I'd bet that it's not that you hate tarragon, but rather that the recipe called...

(Arg: I meant to say, "I live in new york now, and it isn't quite the same.")

...Sorry, I got a little carried away. *blush* (I live in New York now, and it isn't QUITE

This is reminding me of the incident three years ago where author Neil Gaiman found a tomato growing a horn on it in his back yard. The only picture I could still find online was in the bottom rig...

(pulls up chair and sits down -- I grew up in Eastern Connecticut and Cape Cod.) There are some other things to know about New England, actually -- what you say of produce is indeed tr...

Something I've always wondered about this method, and similarly for storing egg whites/lemon juice/etc. in ice cube trays, is something that no recipe I've EVER seen ever states. So I have one que...

Either I cook 'em or I wait until in-season. I've also got the tomatoes I canned last summer.

Last night I just made a "pizza" -- I had a half-full jar of home-canned tomatoes in the fridge that needed using up, I had fresh oregano, I had garlic, I had a flat bread and I had shredded mozzar...

Soups and pasta sauces are where I've started improvising. One of the cookbooks I go to again and again is "The Moosewood Daily Special", which is nothing but soups and salads; I quickly noticed t...

It depends -- I'd say for me it's either something that requires an especially fiddly technique or a tool or obscure ingredient I don't own, AND does not allow for substitution. In oth...

...I don't know that it ever went away. I started toying with jam a couple years ago, on the heels of the liqueur experiment and the canning tomatoes experiement. This summer is the h...

I don't have a huge appetite in the mornings, usually, and I'm also rushed; so breakfast either usually was either a muffin and coffee on the way to work, or I'd wait until later in the morning and...

Chili and soupe au pistou are very beginner-friendly, I've found, as the recipes are basically just "dump everything into a pot and simmer it a long time." True, the best soupe au pistou does invo...

Wow, I may actually be able to keep basil alive in that.

I actually found a recipe for a sort of apertif made with a bottle of rose, a cup of white wine, and some fresh sage; this is perfect timing.

On "blowsy" -- actually, I've most often seen the word applied to types of flowers, particularly roses -- ones with the big, burst-open blooms rather than the prim little tea roses. I do get the a...

I try to look for a spot where there's a couple new buds on either side of the stem, so that when I take the main stalk, the buds can sprout and branch out. That's....a good thing, yes?

I'm about to transplant a VERY healthy sage plant that is growing VERY fast (I've affectionately taken to calling it "the sage that ate Sandusky). This is the second time I've repotted it to a big...

It may go without saying, but -- one caveat for roof gardens is that you should ALWAYS check with your landlord first, to see whether the roof is actually load-bearing. Mine, alas, is ...

(quietly singing) And the mint came back, the very next day, The mint came back, we thought it was a goner, But the mint came back, it just wouldn't stay away...