Eating From the Ground Up

in no particular order

by

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I’m in a hotel, which always feels so other to me. I’m here because my friends Eilen and Jay are on tour for the first time since they had a baby, and I’ve coming along to hold sweet Mavis in all the green rooms of New England. So if you’re in one of the cities on the tour, and you see someone with a baby strapped to her pacing and up and down the sidewalk (also, bouncing in a “time to go to sleep” way), singing songs in gibberish, that would be me. Come say hello.

Also, of note.

I have a recipe up on Rural Intelligence this week I’ve been excited to share for a while now. I know cabbage soup doesn’t sounds so exciting, but it is, it is!

Just before Thanksgiving, a tiny named Freida joined our family. She’s our first dog, and my first dog ever.  I like her a lot. It’s a lot like having a baby, except her ears are softer and she likes to tear up rolled socks.

Also, a little while back, Sadie asked if we could do a vegetarian week. She was feeling like she was relying on meat for her happiness with meals, and she wanted to try to be content without it. Joey accepted it stoically, Rosie was very hungry, and Sadie and I loved it. The biggest dinner successes of the week were Mollie Katzen’s Mushroom Popover Pie from The Heart of the Plate (a phenomenal recipe), and a revival of a squash lasagna I cut from the new book ages ago where I layer squash puree with sage butter, ricotta, and kale pesto. Sadie agreed that vegetarian eating is pretty great when we’re still eating lots of wheat and butter. Please no one tell her about the Paleo diet. She might get more ideas.

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I finished my book, again. That’s how this all works- I finish, celebrate, throw all the pages into a box, and then a new round comes again. The book lost its title, but it has a gorgeous cover, so as soon as it all comes together again, I’ll show you how it’s going. Title suggestions are appreciated. Hey, if you name it, I’ll even send you a free book when it comes out (September 8! We have a date!). The title we had was The Homemade Kitchen, so well… you get the idea of where we were going. Let me know if the inspiration strikes.

I got to shoot a few holiday gifting videos with Guido’s Fresh Marketplace. They’re a little silly because I tend to get that way on camera, but they were so fun to work on. I like the teacher gift one the best. (Looking for one? Joey suggests beer, and he’s a teacher, so he knows.)

Oh, and one more thing. Margaret and I have scheduled one more cheese class due to more signups than we can fit in her little guest house. There are a few more spots still open for that new one. More info- here!

Hope you all are having a good week? Sending love from all the green rooms in New England…

Comments

  2. Book title suggestions:
    The Crafted Kitchen
    The Crafted Larder
    Home Crafted Foods
    Scratch-made Kitchen
    Cooking from Scratch: A Million Recipes To Make at Home (or however many are there)

    Trying to be patient waiting for this book, but it’s hard. I love your first one so much.

  4. That cabbage soup idea is absolutely brilliant! Wow. I can’t wait to try it. I LOVE how sweet cabbage gets in soup, and I think it would be a great substitute for the onions – you are so smart. (And I am such a ‘crybaby’ when I’m chopping onions that I am thrilled to have another way to make ‘onion’ soup without all the tears!)

  5. How about “Homemade–You Can Do It!”. How big did most of your cabbages grow? These look kind of petite. If so, maybe they were a little close. I love growing, and eating, cabbage, especially Savoy types.

    • I like that! But I think we’re going to take the word homemade out… just to make it different from the first book. Of course, there’s a lot of homemade in there…

      And yes, these were the last of the cabbages, and they were all little runts. Of course, they were too close together, as I thought I’d pull them all out! But the little ones were even sweeter somehow.

  6. I think of your book and recipes as peaceful eating. Not fussy, not stressful, not difficult; just peaceful. Is that weird?

    • Oh, JoAnn- I love that. Peaceful eating. It makes me so happy to hear it comes through to you that way (even if there’s quite a bit of chaos over here 🙂 )

  7. I am reading your book now.
    I love it! Very inspiring. I am telling all my friends….
    I make vanilla with Rum, but I am going to try the Vodka.

    I have always wanted to make Sauerkraut, your recipe is so simple, I bought cabbage and sea salt, I have my great-grandmothers 10 gallon crock, but will start with a smaller glass jar.

    I love your simple Down to Earth (how is that for a title?) book.
    The photos are beautiful.

    Thank you for this lovely book.

  8. How about “The Family Kitchen”? subtitled: “more DIY deliciousness, recipes and simple menus from the Homemade pantry.”

    And by the way, I am eating popcorn right this minute just the way you used to make in your hot-air popper!

    Naomi

  12. Will it come out early, like, say, on the 4th? For my birthday?!

    So excited, a new book from you! Sadly, I have no title idea…. guess I’ll just have to ask for it as a present.
    (Because you can’t call it: Alana changed my world when my daughter interviewed her and she reminded me that we could make good food from scratch.)

    That video was THE BEST! You are absolutely beautiful, inside and out. (I really want to order some of those Blue Q socks for my adult kids.)

    • Thank you, Julie! And yes, for your birthday! The date is the 8th, so it might have to be your birthday week, but it’s close. And you know I like your title. 🙂

  14. soo many books these days have homemade handmade andsuch in the title, maybe something outside the box to liven it up,,let your kids name it!..how about..Heart of the Home: fresh ideas on real family. dishes or…Love from the kitchen: recipes that inspire peaceful meals and happy bellies:) let me know what you think!

    • Yes- I like these! Agreed on the homemade issue- that’s pretty much gotten nixed from all sides at this point. So we’ll see where we go with it all…

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My latest book!

Learn more about my latest book, Eating from the Ground Up. It's perfect for all you vegetable lovers out there.