December 04, 2015

Five-in-one

Somewhere after blackberry swirl cheesecake and the end of summer, I lost my blogging zeal. It's kind of hard to talk about food and share recipes when some pretty horrific things are happening in the world all around us and it can feel almost impossible to find the right words to talk about them, especially in the limited context of a food blog. Also, according to several sources blogging is dead. So that didn't help with my bad case of blog neglect. And the truth is, much of my old recipe-sharing and food-rambling energy now goes to my Facebook and Instagram feeds, not to mention the PBS blog. So for a girl who tries to not overdo the social media thing, it can all get to be a bit much. When I started this blog just over 4 years ago, I didn't have any of those other outlets. But this is where it all started, and it is always nice to meander back and dangle my legs from this exact place and dispatch a long-overdue greeting and some recipes. So. Hello! How have you been? And does anyone else out there also feel like crawling into a full body cloak these days and not coming out again until spring? Because that's kind of where I'm at right now. 

(Found on Facebook, if you know who created this, let me know so I can credit them, it's brilliant)

Yep. Once the trees are bare and the temperature begins to dip below zero, there's a strange growl from deep within that urges me to go into hiding. It's the sword-wielding winter beast. She really, really likes wood stoves. And blankets. A friend just posted this article about how the colder weather makes us want to sleep more. What if instead of fighting it, we indulged our inclination to lay down our weary little heads and sleep for just a bit longer in the winter months? Bears do it. Skunks do it. And bats and snakes and groundhogs. It seems only normal that we should at the very least, relent our frenzy of activities. I loved this excerpt from the article:
Villages and even small towns were silent, with barely a column of smoke to reveal a human presence.  As soon as the weather turned cold, people all over France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months on end.
This year, I plan to embrace my inner bear. Though in the last few months since I last wrote, I've been anything but hibernating. On the recipe front, I've got a backlog of new recipes to share with you, so I figured I should do a little round-up here, a little five-in-one if you don't mind, to get us all caught up and up-to-date.


The first one is this Rye Berry Salad which features red cabbage, feta, and dill. I love the chew of shiny rye berries, but you can use pretty much any whole grain to make this dish. They turn this into a wholesome salad, perfect for wintery days.



The second is a beloved Italian recipe for Pickled Eggplant in Olive Oil, one of the most delicious things I've ever learned to make. There are a hundred different ways to make this recipe in Italy and each family has their own treasured recipe. In this video, I share the way I was taught to make it.




Next up are my mom's Maple Walnut Stuffed Baked Apples, an easy seasonal favourite. And the ultimate healthy comfort food.



Then there was this Roasted Red Pepper Pesto, a fun one to make, eat, and shoot.




And finally, a very seasonal Pumpkin Maple Flan (or Crème Caramel). And an appropriate pre-hibernation food. 

There. That brings us at least somewhat up to date with the recipes. I'll be back with more recipes soon and perhaps even find the words to say some of the things that have been on my mind that are not always food-related. Until then, may your sleeps be a tiny bit longer.


19 comments:

  1. I so look forward to all your social media posts! I love your blog and everything you share. This is a fabulous post with so many link- gems. Thank you! Thank you for all you do for all of us following you! <3

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  2. thanks aube--ditto on what kim says. and also the grace to take all things slow, including the posts. i can only imagine the production pressure on all the media fronts--slow food, slow blogging, may be a nice way to roll. btw i read your teff recipe this morning and was inspired to toast my oats--don't have teff, yet. big warm texas hug <3

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    1. Oh I love this concept of slow food, slow blogging, perfectly said! Good idea to try toasting oats, I'll try that too, hope they were delicious and thank you for the warm Texan hug, I'll take it!!

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  3. I completely understand your urge to hibernate in the winter and I wish society supported more of that! That being said, I love your blog so much so please don't stop. Not only is your food delicious, beautiful, and healthful, but your words are thoughtful and inspiring. I will be sure to follow you on Facebook or Instagram so I don't miss out on any recipes. Thank you for your work!

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    1. Thanks so much for the encouragement Ruby, it means a lot!! :-)

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  4. My first visit to your great kitchen and cooking related blog. i liked !
    by the way check out kitchen decor sets thanks

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  5. Well, in noodling around after seeing something re Teff :), I found your Maple Sugar Pie.......OMG My kind of dessert. I'm form the north east and Maple Syrup, REAL Maple syrup is the only one. Thank you.

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    1. Thank you Susan, I'm glad you found me via teff ;-) The maple syrup pie is a very decadent one for sure, probably my all-time favorite. Let me know if you make it :-)

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  6. It is SO nice to have you back here! I do check your social sites and the pbs videos, but it's nice when you are here. I made the baked apples last night for our dessert. One of my favorites to make. Thank you for sharing your energy and passion/love for delicious healthy food...and for your passion for this jewel of a planet we live on. PS - I think I hold the record for length of not-blogging. Haven't blogged in over a year. Maybe I'll get back to it this winter...when I'm not napping. ;)

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    1. Hi Bonnie, thank you so much for your heart-felt note, it means so much!! It's so nice to hear the encouragement :-) Who knows, I might catch up with your blogging record soon... ;-) Happy winter napping!

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  7. I really miss your videos on youtube

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    1. Hi luvlumbee :-) I still post them regularly but they go up on the PBS Food youtube page now, you can catch them all here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQMKh4LBO6xPX3auAldak7iXCqNAURj7Q

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  8. Dishes look very yummy!Thanks for such an informative post.

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    1. You're very welcome Isabella, thanks for reading :-)

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  9. Yes! Such an inspiration! Please keep the vignettes coming!

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    1. Will do will do! Thanks for the enouragement :-)

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  10. Just popping in to say I love your work. It's become a Saturday morning ritual to watch your videos with my four year old and then we go off to the play kitchen to replicate the recipes. Happy New Year and thanks you.

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    1. Hi Kristi, I love hearing this, how sweet!! Say hello to your four year old :-)

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