Category: Food & Drink

By Alison Steele         The first flower I ever tasted was a honeysuckle blossom. Honeysuckle grows all over the hot rainy south in the summertime. It crawls along split rail fences, creeps up in the trees, and across old barns. My brother and I would spend hours following rivers over pasture and along railroad tracks, across bridges and through the mountains.… Read More

By Alison Steele  I want to share a recipe from one of my greatest friends, Maya. Born in Russia the same year I was, and living in Virginia with her family for as long as I’ve been living in California with mine. We met in the summer in downtown Staunton when she was 8 months pregnant and running a booth… Read More

By Alison Steele We know that Spring has truly arrived when the elements align and that first warm egg is discovered in the lay box. What a surprise! What a treasure! What a delight! On a small backwoods farm, it would’ve been cradled and admired before being whirled into a pudding or fluffed into a pie for all to share.… Read More

By Alison Steele Often linked with Europe, the potato is actually native to the New World. Captured by the Spanish from the Incas, potatoes were shipped back to be grown in royal gardens in order to increase acceptance of this strange new food. Stolen by peasants to try in home plots, it soon became a staple in French, British, and… Read More

By Alison Steele When I peek into the pantry, I try to imagine ways to use the stockpiles of dried fruits, jams, chutneys, and other delicacies preserved from summer’s bounty. The dried fruits seem to disappear first as they need no enticing off the pantry shelves. These little works of art require no fork or plate and instantly satiate the… Read More