Clam Chowder is not typically made with fresh clams (too expensive) however if you are able to gather a whole bunch of clams straight from the beach why not take advantage. You probably either eat whole clams dipped in butter or in clam chowder as bits n’ pieces that came from a can. In the recipe, hopefully the best of both worlds is exactly what we are doing here. Read more…
This pesto is really tasty on a variety of foods. Just a dollop on salmon, pasta, vegetables, asparagus etc really adds a lot of fresh flavor. In the middle of winter this recipe was one of few ideas I could come up with and it really is a good way to make something out of nothing. Read more…
Okay, so I don’t make gnocchi all that often. They are well… pretty darn good but I am not always in the mood to put in the effort it takes to prepare them. They really are not all that much work honestly but there are usually better ideas that are more worthwhile. I am a huge fan however of fall flavor and I use pumpkin quite a bit and am always looking for a creative way to work it into common dishes. Read more…
Catching a trout is a right of passage for anyone growing up in the Northwest. Like salmon, they are delicious fresh as well as smoked. Whether you catch fish yourself, buy at the market, or have an angler friend there is no doubt that fish is easy to acquire in the Northwest. Read more…
The time frame to enjoy your own garden or farmer’s market tomatoes is very short so there is no time to mess around. I think a tomato salad is just about the best way to properly dispose of large quantities of one of the all time best garden items. Read more…
One of my culinary interests is using ingredients collected from the same place, or even all wild ingredients. It’s also exciting to imagine what native people would have prepared with no grocery store and only the rivers, fields, forest and garden to shop. Now this is not necessarily a native American recipe but it could be similar to something they may have prepared as berries and herbs were commonly used to season fish and game. Read more…
There are several foods that really stick in my mind from my childhood and one of them was those flour tortillas my mom would buy in bulk from the ladies at church. The simple combination of flour and lard rendered a chewy and crispy tortilla that tasted better with each bite. Read more…
The Nicoise salad was conceived in Province France but is simply a combination of the available ingredients in the spring season. It’s as fresh as it gets and that is the really the whole point and only point of the Nicoise salad to begin with. Living in the northwest I like to see if I can sometimes make recipes using only ingredients that I have personally collected which is very much possible with this salad. Read more…
Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) has a wild history for several reasons. First of all, although it is not related to the commonly known Asian ginger varieties, it does serve many of the same medicinal and culinary purposes. This plant was used by the peoples of native America as a carminitive. That is, to remedy ailments related to digestion such as gas, bloating, cramps, aches, and pains. Read more…
I don’t know how primal this preparation actually is but it sure seems primal when you are chowing down on these things. The turkey drumstick tends to cover the craving basics pretty well, tender salty juicy smoked meat, even just a little sweet and crispy. Spring is the time to dust off the BBQ so get it rolling if you haven’t done so already. This recipe is very simple but does take a little while of course because smoking meat is a slow process. Read more…
by the handful 