How did I live this long without Swedish pancakes? Read more
Category: sweet
Black Raspberry Pudding Cake Recipe
The black raspberries are coming in strong! Crazy strong. So strong there’s no need to ration this delicious fruit. I can eat it every day if I want to, and still have plenty to dip into next winter when fresh foraged fruit isn’t a possibility. Which means I’m experimenting with a whole bunch of recipes, and this black raspberry pudding cake is number one on the runway. It’s not too sweet, very fruity, and has the consistency of a thick clafouti. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and in between…it’s low sugar, low fat, and comes together quickly and easily. Read more
Wild Blueberry Fool Recipe
When you get a last minute dinner invitation and you ask what you can bring, and your host suggests dessert, and you say sure, then wonder what the heck you can throw together quickly that will impress your friends, well, I suggest a wild blueberry fool. Read more
Magnolia Blossom Cream Cake: Recipe
Magnolias are glorious. Period. When they’re in bloom, they punctuate the landscape with gigantic bursts of color and fragrance, and some of these flowers are quite wonderfully delicious. This past weekend was a magnolia bonanza, and there will be LOTS OF recipes coming your way. But the very first (and yes, my favorite) is this Magnolia Blossom Cream Cake. It’s a surprisingly simple recipe with a unique flavor that no one will be able to guess without a clue from the cook. Read more
Plum Blossom Panna Cotta Recipe
The fragrance of plum blossoms is intoxicating, and something I look forward to every spring. Plum blossom season is brief, usually lasting only a few days. Early spring snow, wind, and rain wreak havoc on these delicate blooms, so get out there and harvest as soon as you see them. Usually I make plum blossom liqueur, but this time I thought of infusing the flowers in cream for a floral panna cotta. What a good idea! Read more
Make Your Own Carob Powder: a Step by Step Guide
It doesn’t take long to get addicted to the flavor of carob. Taste it once and you’re hooked. And if you’re lucky enough to live where carob trees grow, making your own powder is easy to do at home. It takes a little time, but it’s not difficult, and the flavor and smell of fresh carob make it all worthwhile.
Lavender Meyer Lemon Bars: Recipe
Every year for my birthday, my pal Cayce sends me a box of Meyer lemons, foraged from her Bay Area neighborhood. What a great gift! This year I’ve been using them to perfect a lemon bar recipe. But it’s no ordinary lemon bar. This lemon bar has lavender baked into the shortbread crust. Read more
Mugwort Steamed Buns: Recipe
I’m not sure how to categorize this recipe. It’s a little bit sweet, a little bit savory, it’s the size of a muffin and the texture of a sponge cake, it’s moist, it’s herbal, it’s terrific dunked in coffee or tea. Mugwort steamed buns can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and any snacking opportunity in between. Read more
Spruce Tip Shortbread Cookies: Recipe
Spruce tip shortbread cookies make a great holiday treat. There’s no reason not to make these cookies year ’round, but I think there’s something especially wintery about evergreens, don’t you? You’ll be surprised by the bright, almost lemony flavor spruce tips add to this cookie. It’s the perfect counterbalance to the rich, buttery shortbread. Many evergreens have edible parts, including pine, spruce, fir, and hemlock. If spruce doesn’t grow near you, substitute one of these other evergreens. Read more
Shagbark Hickory Syrup: Recipe
I’m fascinated with the idea of making tree syrups, but tapping multiple maples, and boiling vast quantities of sap for hours is a little daunting. Plus, I don’t live somewhere I can tap a lot of trees. So I was thrilled to learn I could make a quicker, easier syrup by boiling the bark of the shagbark hickory tree (Carya ovata). It’s easy to harvest bark without damaging the tree, and the syrup is light, sweet, and has a distinctive smoky flavor. You will not be surprised to learn it also makes an excellent cocktail ingredient. Read more