While the widely available cultivated blackberries are delicious eaten fresh, wild blackberries are neither pleasant nor delicious eaten fresh. Their complex flavors explode after they are cooked with quite a bit of sugar. Layers of spiciness, sweetness, and tartness rest on top of a dark under-layer of pleasant bitterness or tannin. Sugar and heat bring out the huge, satisfying flavor of wild blackberries. Wild blackberries sold for $4.50 a pint at one time at the Lexington Farmers Market. Not today! How much sugar? Amounts in recipes vary widely, perhaps in part depending on whether the dev ..read more

Still warm! Strawberry jam 2020. This year I finally made organic strawberry jam that jelled—just that little bit of jelling that is all strawberries can manage, and all we want them to attempt. Three ingredients: strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, tactically managed. I grew up with a mother who made jam (and biscuits and piecrust) by feel. She made it look easy. “How is that hot fruity syrup looking as it drips off the edge of a spoon? Hmmm—the drips are still coming too fast. Let’s let it cook a little longer.” My first several efforts at jelly and jam on my own, attempted without a thermome ..read more

El Jardinero, quien también es mi mejor amigo, cosechó las planta de ajo este fin de semana. Este tipo de ajo es llamado “Música.” No creo que estuviera pensando en eso cuando colocó las cabezas como las notas octavas de música en el porche para que se secaran. The Gardener, who is also my Main Man, harvested the garlic plants this weekend. This type of garlic is called “Music.” I don’t think he was thinking about that when he placed the heads on the porch to dry. Nota: Gracias a RC por ayudarme con el español. Los errores son míos. Note: Gratitude to RC for helping me with the Spanish. Error ..read more

Kale, lettuce and kohlrabi from Elmwood Stock Farm, December 5, 2015 Any season is salad season. This is my favorite bright, tart dressing for a salad containing perfect greens and nothing else. Serves 2 These are guidelines. The proportions are forgiving, and vary according to taste, type of salt, and acidity of lemon or vinegar. Make this a few times and you will not need measuring tools. Mix together about 2 teaspoons good mustard, with 3/4 teaspoon fine salt (or more if coarse), lots of ground black pepper, and 3 scant tablespoons good olive oil.   Whisk whisk. (Or, for good ther ..read more

Feeding birds at an old, successful Heritage Farm feeder. A lot of my enjoyment as a cook comes from watching others eat foods I make. With birds, it’s even simpler. In our backyard in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, we have lucked into an easy approach that lets us take joy in watching birds eat at our single feeder. Our Heritage Farm bird feeder must be more than 20 years old; newer versions are available. Ours still works to invite small and medium birds, shrug off squirrels, and fill tummies of house finches, Carolina wrens, Northern cardinals, black-capped chicadees, downy woodpeckers, jun ..read more

Trudie and Dana Reed at Reed Valley Orchard model business behaviors that can change the world. The most recent of many examples: in a year when their own fruit trees yielded zero because of late spring frost, Trudie has lately been calling faithful customers to tell them about some good apples that have materialized at another orchard. Gold Rush apples, 2020. Those new crop Gold Rush apples taste like a miracle after months of no apples or, at best, decent storage apples from a decent store. It’s not quite a miracle, but it is a blessing when a business operates with generosity, compassion a ..read more

Paula’s Mexican Cornbread is not Paula, and it may not be Mexican. It’s just a savory, salty skillet meal, as spicy as you want it to be. Making it, though, brings her life into sharp awareness. Paula wrote her recipe for her daughter, Melanie, and yes, it lives a useful life. Paula’s Mexican Cornbread evolved across time. Note the suggestion to substitute 1/3 cup oil for the original 1/2 cup bacon grease. I’m writing and posting about my sister Paula Ann Roberts Abbott in honor of her October 20 birthday. It’s my way of indulging in appreciating her. Paula herself refuses summation. Many ti ..read more

Delicious. Hardy. Prolific. Those are basics. And then add in organically raised, selectively bred without genetic modifications, pointedly not patented, with profits dedicated to supporting public plant research at Cornell University. Row 7, the New York seed company that developed Robin’s Koginut, is “grounded in the notion that deliciousness might just change the world.” In 2020, The Gardener grew these and more than 30 other Robin’s Koginut squash from six seeds in the London Ferrell Community Garden. When the developers say “delicious,” they include the texture of this squash when cooked ..read more

It’s completely clear, seven months into the pandemic, three weeks away from a colossal election, with COVID cases not decreasing in city or state and few resolutions to the issues that drove a summer of profound protests: I can’t fix anything out there, especially since I don’t leave home. But I can fix dinner. A Brandywine tomato from the Campsie garden, slow roasted as Dorie Greenspan suggests. Most days since March 10, 2020, I’ve cooked a real meal, which for me means vegetables, starch, protein, and if possible, something fresh, not cooked. Because of the enforced home-staying and the sw ..read more

Here’s an updated version of one of Savoring Kentucky’s most popular posts, timed to sync with the great final flush of tomatoes and peppers. We bought tomato plants so late this year that we said to Mark and Velvet Henkle, “Just give us what you’ve got.” We got a lot of sweet tomato goodness. These small reds are somewhere between cherry size and full size. They come in handy! Tomato salads and pasta with fresh summer tomatoes are two favorite uses. First movement. Allegro con gioia: Fast and joyous When you first get up, or in mid-morning when the sun is warm, or just before lunch, or in e ..read more