Wes hál! Be hale! Be in good health! From the Old Norse language ves heill to the Old English wes hál to the Modern English Be in good health! This toast is to you on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. From wes hál came wassail, the drink, and the Anglo-Saxon tradition of wassailing–toasting to
It would be difficult for you to walk the length of this valley in one night. It stretches nearly 17 miles from a place where the Sonoma Creek begins in a narrow canyon of the Mayacamas Mountains and follows that creek to the San Pablo Bay—a shallow tidal estuary that forms an extension of the
The fall harvest continues with the first persimmons and pomegranates coming to market now. Persimmons have a tangy-sweet taste and creamy texture. The most popular is the Hachiya, which is also called Japanese persimmon. There is a native American persimmon which originates in Virginia. It is smaller than the Japanese persimmon and much more flavorful.
Roasted parsnips, carrots, and potatoes After the first frost of the year, the starch in the parsnip converts to sugar and that is when parsnip eating gets good. The parsnip has a pleasantly sweet taste that combined with brown sugar, maple syrup, cream, apples or spices such as nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon or allspice, for instance
Yam roots A yam and a sweet potato are not the same vegetables, but they can be substituted for one another in most recipes. The yam has more natural sugar and is, therefore, sweeter than the sweet potato and its flesh is moister than the sweet potato. Yams–depending upon variety—can have a flesh that is
Sautéed broccoli raab with garlic and nuts Broccoli raab and rapini are not synonymous, but when it comes to recipes they practically are. Broccoli raab [rob] has long, thin rich-green stems (6-9 inches/18-23 cm long) topped with scattered clusters of broccoli-like florets. The flavor is nutty and both pungent and zesty. Rapini [rah-PEE-nee] is similar
Golden raisins are moister and plumper than dark raisins. They make for delicious eating out of hand or can be added to rice pudding or as ice cream or pancake topping. The Golden raisin is almost always a Thompson seedless grape that has been treated with sulfur dioxide and then artificially dried with the hot
Eggplant? Did you say ratatouille? All of the key ingredients for ratatouille are available fresh and local in mid summer tomatoes, onions, zucchini, bell peppers and, of course, eggplant. When you think of eggplant, you think first of the oval, black-skinned cultivar known as ‘Black Beauty.’ That is the classic eggplant with its rich, complex
The “summer squash” is a soft-skinned squash. The “winter squash” is hard-shelled squash. Summer squash might be more aptly named a “tender squash.” It has moist flesh and a tender skin. Tender, summer squash is harvested steadily from early to late summer. Summer squash is best eaten fresh, either raw, steamed, or sauteed. It will
Ripe tomatoes and corn! Eating fresh is habit forming. The very best corn, cucumbers, eggplant and tomatoes of the year are at the farm market this week. Here’s a list of just some of the crops you will find at your growers’ stands as the month comes to a close: First-of-season: Asian pears, chilies, gobos
