by Kate Ferry The history of cheese is as unique and lengthy as the different varieties to tempt your tastebuds. There is the creamy richness of brie encased in a fermented rind. The pungent and potent flavor of an aged blue cheese. The sharp cutting bite of a solid cheddar. The gooey stretch of a
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by Corina Sahlin If you like bacon, you can save a lot of money and get a tastier, healthier product by smoking your own bacon without nitrates.  It’s so much easier than you might think! You don’t need to raise your own pigs or own an expensive smoker. All you need is pork belly, which
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by Carol Frey We’re in a season of waiting and preparing. The mud is still deep but seed catalogs are pouring in, chicks and lambs will soon begin to make their appearance, and one day soon I’ll be doing early chores by morning light, rather than predawn darkness. I think it’s rather nice that amid
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by Carol Frey The rain is holding off for the moment, so the Varied Thrushes are hopping around my ancient apple tree, bobbing on spindly branches and pecking with a dainty ferocity at the remains of the apples I couldn’t reach. Down….Up-Peck! Down…Up-Peck! Every year I watch for the thrushes to come down from the
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by Tina Hoban Baby, it’s cold outside… so grab the soup pot and get cooking. After all, there is nothing like a hot bowl of soup to warm you up on these chilly nights. Looking for something new to try? Luckily for us, soups are made across the world in almost every culture, so there
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by Carol Frey Drizzly days and long, sopping wet nights- for most of us, this is winter in the Northwest. We go about our days a little hunched over to keep the rain off of noses and glasses; we splash from home to work or errands and squelch our way back home again. It is
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by Susy Hymas Fall arrived this week which to some is a welcome relief after our hotter than usual summer.  Some things in the garden were challenged by the heat. At our house the winter squash was ready almost two months early. Personally I love fall and look forward to preserving produce that arrives with
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by Carol Frey “So…what are you doing on this lovely day?” the elderly store clerk asked my son. “Building a trebuchet,” was the reply. The clerk smiled quizzically. “Like a catapult.We’re going to throw pumpkins really far!” “Oh,” the gentleman brightened. “That sounds like fun! Can I come too?” He winked as he handed us
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by Susy Hymas The fruit canning season is on us early this year. I missed out on my usual bulk strawberry picking. The grower I like had strawberries in early May, so they were done by the third week in June. I have been picking raspberries in my garden for a couple of weeks and
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by Carol Frey Sometimes it’s good to indulge. Our spectacular summers supply a parade of berry feasts, but when their short seasons are over, there’s no turning back the clock. We can enjoy them frozen or in preserves, or we can buy pale, unripe fruits shipped in from afar, but the pungent sweetness of a
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