The Natick Community Organic Farm has been a neighbor of mine in South Natick for most of my life. Over the course of many years I’ve played there as a kid, visited and fed the animals and, as an adult, purchased produce and brought my young nieces to do the same.  I’ve watched it grow through a pure labor of love from local volunteers, including my father who helped build part of the structure back in the 80s. But only recently did I discovered the extent of its true abundance.  Later this summer, I had the pleasure of spending a morning at the farm with Trish Wesley Umbrell, the farm’s …

Restaurant Week/Month offers great deals on dining throughout Boston and other towns in Massachusetts. Participating restaurants offer prixe fixe lunch and/or dinner menus in order to give customers a chance to experience their cuisine at a modest price. Two-course lunch for $15.11, three-course lunch for $20.11, and three-course dinner for $33.11. It occurs twice a year during March and August and has grown so much in popularity that many restaurants have stretched out their menu offerings for the entire month. Co-founded by Tim Zagat of Zagat Survey and restaurateur Joe Baum, the idea was …

I spent a few weeks in Georgia earlier this Summer which piqued my peach and nectarine cravings before the season really hit back here. By far, my favorite mid-Summer fruit, and versatile in so many savory dishes.  Both the yellow and white varieties lend a medley of sweetness and crunchy texture I enjoy. In addition to pies, cobblers and the usual desserts, try adding them to salads with a sweet sherry vinaigrette, diced in a hot salsa with tomatoes for fish or sliced to throw on the grill. The other day I was poking around the farm stand at the Natick Community Organic Farm and noticed …

Brownies have to be everyone’s favorite bar cookies. There are so many variations and textures it’s impossible to singe out one as the best. Everyone has their own secret ingredient or family recipe passed on through generations. For me it’s simple, just a purely dense, fudgy bar with a rich, smooth chocolate flavor. July happens to be a popular birthday month in my family. Despite having worked as a pastry chef and cake decorator, I’m not a big cake eater and neither are my siblings. So now we’ve developed a tradition of making decadent birthday brownies playing with flavors that complement …

Who doesn’t love ice cream sandwiches on a warm summer day? I have especially fond memories of eating them over the July 4th holiday. The parade in Natick was always a ritual for my family. We would be up at the crack of dawn to have our pancake breakfast downtown at the First Congregational Church after strategically placing our lawn chairs on the side of South Main St. Then we were off to meet our group participating in the parade.  For many years, my sister and I were figure skaters at West Suburban Arena and rode on the float, or marched along side it, in our skating dresses.  You’ll …

Cole slaw is one of Summer’s most popular side dishes. Yet most people, including me, stay away from it since the standard recipe typically includes lots of mayo or sour cream. I prefer to eat a clean diet so I enjoy playing with traditional dishes I can revise to be lighter and healthier.  Cole slaw is one of those sides that goes with everything off the grill or simply tossed with some left over chicken breast as light weeknight meal. Here’s one version I make to go with broiled or grilled wild salmon. The trick to getting the texture and shred of the cabbage just right is to use a …

Have you exhausted the t-shirts, socks, ties, grilling tools, lawn darts, and every other typical Father’s Day gift idea?  Homemade gifts are much more personal and really don’t take long to make. Adding your own unique touch makes them more special for everyone. When brainstorming about what to make someone, I try to incorporate their likes, hobbies or personality into the gift idea.  My father is not a golfer or tennis player, but he does enjoy yard work and relaxing on the deck with an MGD (that’s Miller Genuine Draft, which had to replace his Black Label many years ago.  Anyone growing up…

Watermelon has gained lots of popularity over the last few years as the star ingredient in summer salads. Its fun to prepare it in unexpected ways, like grilling or mixing with fresh raw fish in a ceviche. Watermelon’s natural sweetness and juices are a refreshing compliment to salty cheeses like feta and goat. Here’s an easy summer salad recipe for watermelon and feta cheese. I like the creamy texture the cantaloupe adds to round out the natural saltiness of the cheese. Other cheeses that pair well are ricotta salata and farmer’s cheeses. 1/2 watermelon, cut into 1 inch cubes½ cantaloupe, …

Finally some gorgeous weather to enjoy the holiday weekend! Everyone is firing up the grill for parties and BBQs everywhere.  If you need a hearty salad or side dish to take with you, this is easy to make and chock full of fresh vegetables.  Perfect to have with anything off the grill and will keep for a few days. Take advantage of what’s fresh at the farm stands, farmers markets and grocery store veggie stands to improvise on this salad.  Add some seasonal veggies, like asparagus and green beans too. Traditional Panzanella salad uses day old crusty bread. I like to use the Ciabatta Bread …

Earlier this week I participated in the pilot event for the Mass Horticultural Society’s new Garden to Table Program at Elm Bank. This is a new series of cooking demonstrations utilizing fresh food from the gardens to explore more about growing, cooking and preserving healthy and seasonal foods (about 40% of the food grown will be donated to the Wellesley Food Pantry). The events are hosted in the Hunnewell Building at Elm Bank. I met Deborah Coleman, Garden to Table Program Director, at another cooking demonstration in April that I did for the Dover and Powisset Garden Clubs.  As soon as I …

Last month I wrote about infusing sugar with fresh herbs. Now that my sugars have infused for several weeks, they’re wonderfully fragrant with hints of rosemary, lavender and orange zest.  Time to start using them to give simple baking recipes a hint of Spring. I’ve taken one of my standard easy morning muffin recipes and given it a rosemary boost. I love the compliment rosemary lends to the sweetness of fresh strawberries.  It also pairs well with cranberries and orange too. These muffins are tender and moist due to the combination of buttermilk and oil (rather than butter). Use a light oil …

Celebrate Easter with new ideas to add to your traditional crafts and recipes.  Here are some fun craft ideas and recipes you can make with your kids as an alternative to the usual dyed eggs. Easy how-to instructional videos for making some decorative eggs for your home, or table.  These eggs are blown out so you can store them. Egg Blowing Technique — how to easily remove the white and yolk from an egg shell. Click here to see the video.   Marbled Eggs—Click here to learn how to make marbled eggs.   Glittery Eggs—Learn how to make these eggs for your Easter table.   All supplies for these …

Anyone feel the urge to get some Spring cleaning underway? For me, this means giving some of my snack recipes a healthy makeover. These bars are packed with protein and fill me up if I have to skip lunch (which happens too often).  If you’re looking for a fast, easy snack to have on hand for the kids, this is it!  You can interchange the ingredients to create different flavors and feel good knowing you control the sugar. These are a chewy granola bar with banana as the binder. You can certainly sweeten them, if you like. I have found that so many granola recipes are deceivingly high in sugar …

You’ve grown them or bought them, now what to do with them?  Many of us encounter the familiar scene when opening the refrigerator to find sad little bunches of wilted brown herbs.  We had such good intentions… Even buying herbs in small packages leaves us with leftovers that never get used.  Here are a few ideas for using up your extra fresh herbs, whether you buy them or grow them. When I lived in New Zealand, I had the luxury of snipping fresh herbs from my yard daily. Giant rosemary bushes lined my front porch, mint everywhere, Thai basil, even olive trees. I only needed to cut what I was…

I never really thought of myself as a gadget-girl, but after doing this exercise and listing out my must-have kitchen tools I realized that, indeed, I am!  However, my preferences certainly lean more towards practical utensils that serve as multiple use items (with the exception of the egg slicer). This topic comes up a lot for me and recently I was on a mad hunt for yet another specifically sized pastry scoop when I started tallying a list in my head.  Overwhelmed pretty quickly, I decided to take a better inventory and assess what I really need to keep in my box of tricks. So I came up with…

The first annual Taste of MetroWest event on Tuesday, March 15 was a huge success in several ways.  As expected, the food did not disappoint with almost 50 local vendors and 1,000 attendees. The significant point of an event this size was the effort of the MetroWest Chamber members to make it green.  All vendors were provided with compostable utensils and serving supplies.  As promised, we are posting this recipe Online (rather than printing it for the event) in an effort to reduce paper usage and continue to support the Chamber’s efforts. Copy, save or print this recipe. Make this vibrant …

I probably get asked about quinoa more than any other food--how to cook it, what to eat it with, what does it taste like, what to do with it, etc. You’d think it’s more of an exotic fish than a nutritious grain that’s easier to prepare than brown rice. Quinoa is one of the most ancient grains known to civilization. It is technically the seed of the Goosefoot plant that we actually eat. Although it was domesticated over 3,000 years ago, in Peru, Chile and Bolivia, quinoa is now widely cultivated for its nutritious seeds also used to make flours and breads.  I visited the Andean region of Peru …

Grabbing take-out Chinese on your way home from work or the gym is almost too convenient.  Although it appears there are healthy choices, most of the sauces (even in the lighter dishes) are extremely high in sodium and sugar.  Not to mention hidden preservatives. And then there are battered and fried dishes…  they are the hardest to resist!  Cooking healthy Chinese-style stir-fries at home are an easy fix. But since we’re still in crockpot season, you can also recreate some of your favorites with chicken or pork using this slow cooking method. I have adapted this Weight Watchers recipe for …

Here we are with another dumping of snow this week... How much chocolate and pasta can a girl eat in one month?! The best part of all the hibernating is scouring the cupboards and coming up with new cooking projects.  These are great fun to do with kids, and the variations on fillings they can create is limitless. Chocolate Cups: 2 ½ cups Milk chocolate chips 2 T butter ¼ cup of cream (more or less depending on how dense your choice of chocolate is) Peanut Butter Filling: 1 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter ¼ cup powdered sugar Mini muffin pan lined with mini cupcake or foil liners. (Makes …

This decadent and delicious cake is super easy to prepare and tastes even better after sitting in the refrigerator overnight.  To make it even one step easier, it’s best to leave it in the Pyrex dish you bake it in and serve it right from there. Though it looks rather plain, its melt-in-your-mouth moist making it a great dessert to make ahead and bring to a dinner (or kids’) party. Serve it on its own or dress it up with a dollop of whipped cream, cool whip, or vanilla ice cream and a few fresh berries. I teach a couple of adult education Peruvian cooking classes and this cake is on our menu …