Harvest to Table

Garden peas are both sweet and savory. They have a grassy sweetness with an undertone of umami. Cooking fresh shelled peas can be difficult: you will want to eat them fresh out of the pod before you ever get near the stove. But if you do get to the stove, cooking shelled peas—and peas in [...]

New potatoes make for sweet, moist eating. You can serve them steamed, sautéed, boiled, baked, roasted, or grilled. They can be served tossed in butter or olive oil or as a dip with butter or sour cream or horseradish or served as a side dish with chicken, lamb, steaks or burgers, or grilled fish. New [...]

Simply put coleslaw is a salad made from shredded cabbage and along with other chopped or shredded vegetables bound with mayonnaise, vinaigrette, or other dressing and sometimes flavored with herbs or fruit. The word coleslaw comes from two Dutch words: kool meaning cabbage and sla an abbreviation for salad—koolsla. Coleslaw is sometimes called “cold slaw”—which [...]

Cabbage soup is earthy with a subtle sweetness. With a few aromatic vegetables or some meat or lentils added, it makes an inexpensive yet flavorful and filling one-dish meal. Common green cabbage from the spring, fall, or winter garden is ideal for cabbage soup. Ratio. The ratio of liquid to solids can vary from 1:1 [...]

Split pea soup and lentil soup are robust, hearty soups that require little preparation time—less than an hour. Unlike dried beans, dried peas and lentils and also black-eyed peas do not require soaking before cooking. They can be combined with aromatic vegetables or meat to make a one-pot meal or matched with a seasonal green [...]

Dried bean soups are hearty and perfect for chilly days. Black beans, navy beans, kidney beans, lima beans may be used. For a velvety, smooth soup, purée or whir the beans in a blender after cooking; for a soup with texture, purée only half the beans. Water is the common liquid ingredient for dried bean [...]

White stock is full bodied with little or no color—and, on its own,nearly  neutral flavor. Use white stock to amplify the flavors of the foods added to it. Dried vegetable soups–black bean, white-navy bean, lima bean, kidney bean, whole and split pea, and lentil–are made with white stock. Reduce white stock to use as a [...]

Purée aromatic and sweet vegetables in a blender for a velvety soup or purée them by hand in the pot for a slightly chunky soup. Carrot soup, leek and potato soup, cauliflower soup, broccoli soup, winter squash soup: root vegetables and substantive bodied or flowered vegetables make thick, flavorful purée soups. Potatoes, carrots, turnips, rutabagas, [...]

Onion soup served with melted cheese and crusty bread (on top or on the side) will make for a hearty lunch. The same with a summer garden salad or a side dish of roasted winter root vegetables will make dinner. Use medium size white or yellow globe-shaped onions for strong flavor or large flat onions—called [...]

I make many flavorful soups year-round using vegetables from my kitchen garden. Chicken stock and vegetable stock are the base for many of these. Here’s how I make chicken stock: Chicken stock is a basic preparation used to make many soups and sauces. Chicken stock draws its flavor from the bones and meat of a [...]