Take everything you thought you knew about the taste of fresh strawberries and throw it out the window. You know nothing! Nothing at all!! Not until you have tasted an Alpine Strawberry can you speak to me about the amazing goodness of strawberry flavor. They’re like candy, but so much better. It’s strawberry, but like strawberry flavor on steroids. There is just no comparison.
Continue reading Alpine Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
I hate mushrooms. Absolutely detest them. My parents love them, so of course they were put into whatever meal they could be. I would pretend to chew them, and then spit them into my napkin as I pretended to wipe my mouth. Yes, I was that kid.
Continue reading Cream of Mushroom Soup
Purple pesto, anyone? Deep purple color, sprays of pink flowers, amazing basil taste. It’s kind of nice when nature wraps up all the best features into a single plant. This basil makes a stunning addition to any salad and turned my basil jelly a lovely garnet hue.
Continue reading Purple Basil (Ocimum basilicum var.)
Really, sometimes there’s no school like old school. I’m pretty darned sure the settlers didn’t have a box of pectin in the back of the wagon. They just used fruit, water, and sugar. That’s it. They relied on natural sources of pectin and just a slight bit of patience. No food colors, no gelling enhancers.
Continue reading Apple Pectin Jams & Jellies
Winter is on it’s way, for some of you sooner than others. We are in the “others” category. It’s almost Halloween and it was in the mid 80s today. None-the-less, the night time temperatures are dropping, and the forecast shows that the inevitable is on it’s way…cold days. I’m not complaining.
Continue reading Fire Starter “Bombs”
Salvias (sages) are a wide-ranging group of plants native to a variety of habitats around the world. What they seem to have in common are brightly colored, tubular shaped flowers that hummingbirds and butterflies just love. This particular Sage is no exception, and has the added bonus of sweet smelling leaves that give off a pineapple scent (hence the name). The leaves and flowers are both edible, and are usually used fresh.
Continue reading Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans)
Mostly Greek 