from a local nursery’s facebook page: Numerous questions about how much to water plants inspired me to post this old column of mine.. (Ed. note: I have no idea who the original author is. I want to hug them. What great information!) Why isn’t watering simple? There are only two ways plants die from watering mistakes. They are either… Read more »
Posts By: Cathy Barrow
Classic Sour Cream Coffee Cake
My grandmother Mary called this Aunt Sophie’s Yum Yum coffee cake. She made it every time I visited, well into her 90s. It’s a sure winner, everyone loves it. Tender, buttery, cinnamon shot through the center, and toasty, sugary pecans (or walnuts) on top. It’s a great cake to have on hand for afternoon garden… Read more »
Blueberry Cheesecake Bars (A Reprise)
I wrote about these cheesecake bars before and they were topped with cherries. They are so good, and the season for sour cherries so fleeting, I thought I’d give you another version with the more ubiquitous blueberry. This is a great take along dessert. Also a perfectly delicious breakfast. No judging. Sadly, what they aren’t… Read more »
Sort of Grilled Miso Cod
Miso cod is one of my favorite fish presentations. It takes a bit of preplanning, if only to get at least 8 hours of marinating in, but overall this is a recipe requiring very little effort and it cooks in a flash, making it a perfect dinner party food. Here I’m providing the method I… Read more »
Roasted Hakurei Turnips with Hot Honey
We are eating from the garden days as much as we can and I can’t wait for the small white Hakurei turnips to be ready. A friend brought a bunch from the farmers market the other day – so recently plucked from the ground the leaves were still perky. I used tomato powder, dehydrated and… Read more »
Strawberry Mango Jam – Small Batch
It’s impossible to predict what will kickstart my preserving season. This year, it was an abundance of strawberries I served to guests. Hulled the day before, the berries were vulnerable and would soon start to ferment. I had mangos, too, so ripe they filled the kitchen with their sweet perfume. This is the way I… Read more »
Almond Meringue Cake
Layers of crispy chewy almond meringue, a generous swath of lightened pastry cream spiked with espresso, and a swipe of bittersweet chocolate ganache to balance it all. It’s a dacquoise or a marjolaine or simply a spectacular cake. Once assembled, the cake improves as the layers get softer and chewier and more delicious. It can… Read more »
Pasta, Chickpeas, and Asparagus
While any pasta will do for this recipe, I’m partial to orecchiette, the “little ears” with cups the precise size to fit a chickpea within. If that wasn’t cute enough for this recipe to be in the regular dinner rotation, the ingredients make this a pantry meal easily stirred together even when you’ve been on… Read more »