Recipes

Food

A Forager's Favorite: Ramp Pesto

In the Berkshires and Hudson Valley, foraging for ramps has become a fetish of sort. I bumped into two fellow foragers gathering ramps two miles from my house. Even from my car, I could see the woods were lousy with ramps as well as the red flowers topping endangered trillium.

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Food

New England Meets Mexico Maple Custard

A week in Oaxaca inspired me to mingle the maple season here with a classic Mexican dessert —  flan with a New England twist. Fried from my trip, I preheated the oven and laid out the ingredients. Then I remembered something — a fabulous custard recipe from Lindsey Shere’s Chez Panisse

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Food

The Locavore Way: Potatoes for Any Season & Any Reason

My husband, Tommy, who at times I affectionately call “Mr Potato Head,” kindled my passion for potatoes early in our 26 year marriage. Half Irish Catholic, half Irish Protestant, he grew up eating potatoes at every meal. These days, we often roast 5 pounds at a time for the two

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Food

Let the Locavores Eat Cake!

Moist, sweet and laced with tart cranberries, this healthy cake staved off my winter blues by perfuming the house with its spices. It's a relative of pumpkin bread, but with the locavore edge —local butternut squash, eggs, butter, apple and regional cranberries—all widely available during the cold

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Food

Shu Mai On My Mind

Most of us are so used to frozen or defrosted shrimp that "seasonal shrimp" sounds as oxymoronic as jumbo shrimp.  But they do exist.   I recently found these Maine babies at the supermarket and at Rubiner’s in Great Barrington, where they should be available for another month

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Food

A Locavore Indulgence: Oysters on the Half Shell

It's best to plan ahead with oysters. Although you can always find them in the fish department at Guido's, I like to order them through {encode="cheesemonger@verizon.net" title="Rubiner's"}. If you sign up for the Great Barrington grocer&

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Food

Sweet Simplicity: Black & White Truffles

These are extraordinary in their ease and simplicity — fresh local cream mingles with the best chocolate you can find. I used Belgium Callebaut chocolate with cream from Highlawn Farm, where the vista is classic New England and Jersey cows bat their long lashes. I couldn’t find local butter (but

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Food

Roast Chicken Chinese Style

Amy Cotler, who will be signing copies of her book The Locavore Way at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 23, at The Bookloft in Great Barrington, says: You’re going to like this juicy bird, which will perfume your kitchen with ginger and anise and arrive well-browned with hoisin

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Food

Healthy & Hearty French Toast

"Challah makes a great French toast, but the old hippie in me always tends towards whole grains," says Amy Cotler, author of The Locavore Way: Discover and Enjoy the Pleasures of Locally Grown Food.  "The recipe developed because I had guests coming and I wanted to serve

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Food

Tropical Butternut Bisque

On a snowy day, this soup reflects my locavore’s craving for the  Caribbean — coconut with a touch of fiery ginger and cayenne pepper  party with butternut’s sweet silky texture. The Berkshires and Hudson Valley produce  fabulous butternut squash, and happily the local stuff is still around. Roasting it

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Food

Last Minute Latkes for Locavores

You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy these potato pancakes, using local apples, parsnips, onions, sour cream and potatoes—if you can find them. (I had trouble, but don't get me started; I'm proof that it's not always easy to practice

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Food

Butternut Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Amy Cotler, the author of The Locavore Way: Discovering the Pleasures of Eating Fresh, Locally Grown Food (Storey Publishing, $12.95) has an uncanny way of using fresh, local produce. Unable to find good cooking pumpkins and unwilling to use pumpkin from a can, she devised an alternative dessert pie

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