Eating From the Ground Up

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lacto-fermented hot sauce

Friday, September 12, 2014 by alana

Last weekend, I got to teach a preservation workshop with Margaret Roach. I loved it–the group was wonderful, we were surrounded by ripe tomatoes, and it all happened against the backdrop of Margaret’s garden, which is a truly inspiring place. It was such a success that we decided to make it the first in a…

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Filed Under: peppers, Pickles and Preservation, Sauces, Dressings and Spreads Tagged With: fermentation, summer food, tense moments

yummy sauce

Monday, March 10, 2014 by alana

Last week, our big bookshelf in the den spit a book out at me. It’s more of a pamphlet than a book really, from that time when self-publishing meant typing up a book and taking it to a printer for stapling. I’m not sure if I’d ever seen it before, although someone must have shoved…

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Filed Under: cookbooks, Family, Grains, Sauces, Dressings and Spreads Tagged With: Food and Memory, Grandma, Mollie Katzen

so that it might last

Monday, September 16, 2013 by alana

Sometimes, the idea of “preservation” brings up images of other people. Hippies with epic sauerkraut crocks. Farmers with 200 pounds of tomatoes. Brooklyn hipsters with secret connections at the Greenmarket. People with more time, less work, more gardening skills, better grandmothers who taught them how to make blueberry jam. 

Filed Under: peppers, Pickles and Preservation, Sauces, Dressings and Spreads Tagged With: Favorites, preservation

lemon curd

Sunday, May 12, 2013 by alana

Joey gave me a lemon tree for my last birthday. It went right into the kitchen next to the sunniest window, and ever since then I’ve been feeding it, singing to it, and showing it off to guests like a proud parent. My reward was an explosion of blooms that released a smell so sweet…

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Filed Under: eggs, Pickles and Preservation, Sauces, Dressings and Spreads, Sweets, The Garden Tagged With: holidays, lemon curd, parenting, preservation

kumquat ricotta tartine

Wednesday, April 17, 2013 by alana

Again. I start writing on an ordinary day. I put it down with the hope of finishing later, and then in that time in between, the New York Times starts yelling at me from my phone. I check the news, I check Twitter (which on the whole I don’t love, but it’s always where I…

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Filed Under: Bites, breakfast, Cheese, Home Dairy, Mains, Pickles and Preservation, Sauces, Dressings and Spreads, snacks, Sweets Tagged With: cheesemaking, Tiny Pleasures

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Welcome!

I’m Alana, and I write about food, family and the wonderful chaos that ensues when the two combine. If you’re new to the site, here are a few good places to start, or learn more about me on my about page.

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The Homemade Pantry, The Homemade Kitchen, Eating From The Ground Up 🍳

Instagram post 2337331591407595410_13442450 Sending off my taxes today with intention and prayer that they will be used to support programs for the most vulnerable, and that my little contribution will join with others to help move us towards the country I know we can be. #taxmagic ✨
Instagram post 2335726864949371764_13442450 Goodies en route to @north_plain_farm today for pickup! Word about town is that LOTS of moolah was raised for BRIDGE in this little #bakersagainstracism bake sale. Thanks to North Plain Farm and @raisinporpoise for the organizing, to everyone who bought and bid, and most of all to BRIDGE for the essential work they do. (Want to learn more about BRIDGE? Head to the link in my profile.)
Instagram post 2332756427273440195_13442450 So technically you’re not supposed to send food when trying to find an agent, but I did it it. 10 years ago, my granola helped seal that deal, and he insisted I send it to publishers when we were selling The Homemade Pantry (another general publishing no no) That Landed-a woman-with-no-platform-a-book deal Granola is up for grabs in this amazing bake sale, as well as goodies by some of my very favorite bakers (@madeinghent , @raisinporpoise , and @thedooryard to name a few). Oh and maybe my favorite item in there are the magical @susanspungen ginger chocolate cookies I mentioned a few weeks back, made by Sadie herself. All of this is to support the work of @multiculturalbridge , and the order form is up in my bio. Get to it! #bakersagainstracism
Instagram post 2330317921708403058_13442450 My friend @afgoldfarb has been part of a team of people working on this vital project. The link to learn more and help out is in my profile.
Instagram post 2330131706816229761_13442450 I’ll be baking up a storm for this! Local bakers- there’s still room for more! Let @north_plain_farm know that you want IN.
Instagram post 2324845496300301430_13442450 To those who ask here? In Great Barrington? YES. In Great Barrington.
Instagram post 2324091364266290851_13442450 I know there are so many resources out there right now, but I want to share one that’s been really helpful for me in the last several months. There are many seasons of this podcast, but I recommend Season 2 on Whiteness as well is Season 4 on Democracy. #sceneonradio
Instagram post 2322615811734696638_13442450 Black lives matter.
Instagram post 2319329508599466327_13442450 I did not bake these cookies, as I am no longer the cookie baker in this house. But this is the second time that  Sadie has made @susanspungen ‘s Triple-Ginger Chocolate Chunk Cookies (and also the second time I’ve talked about a recipe Sadie has made from the #openkitchencookbook), and I think these might actually be the best cookies I have ever had. I’m often looking for the perfect ginger cookie and this is it, and I’d also choose it over a chocolate chip cookie (or let’s be honest-any other kind of cookie) any day.
Instagram post 2316311882260313364_13442450 No matter how many rulers and pizza cutters and other magical tools I use, it seems that the straight line will always elude me.
Instagram post 2314127252740427104_13442450 Living it up. 💥
Instagram post 2312088043104000827_13442450 Every day my neighbor’s yard gets prettier.
Instagram post 2311325683330503572_13442450 @paulaperlis sent us @susanspungen ‘s new book and of course the first recipe Sadie picked is marked with the *project* heading. She’s been cooking all afternoon and the house smells like ✨✨✨ (With gorgeous images by @gentlandhyers ❤️)
Instagram post 2311141543964321092_13442450 When I took on a day job a few years ago, I found that the first thing to go was all the homemade stuff I’d been making and writing about over the years. I’m still going out to work most days, but I’m finding now with a full and captive house and more downtime in general that those things I love to make are back. For me, it’s granola, yogurt, bread. Hello, old friends!
Instagram post 2308503311808232748_13442450 All the things in the house pasta: roasted cauliflower, a few sad leaves of kale, one jar of fancy tuna saved for a special occasion (how about Wednesday?), Rosemary, homemade breadcrumbs from the freezer fried in butter, crispy sage leaves, pasta water, salt, so much pepper. Success!
Instagram post 2307412630968777107_13442450 @artbywoodgy made this beautiful thing for me for Mother’s Day. All the veggies are on Velcro so I can plan to my hearts delight.
Instagram post 2306345003953662730_13442450 Happy Mother’s Day to my brave and beautiful mom, who birthed two different humans in such different times in her life. With me she was so young, and she figured it all out just as she was learning how to be an adult. This picture was taken nineteen years later, when she was pregnant again and I was almost an adult myself. Thanks for keeping at it, Mom, and for always showing up with love. ❤️
Instagram post 2304888771283579843_13442450 What we do for cake.
Instagram post 2302665269449083186_13442450 It’s a magnolia year for sure.
Instagram post 2295808104927071821_13442450 A long time ago, Joey talked about his crush on this particular alien-like flower with a good friend of ours. Months later, little bulbs arrived in the mail. We put them in the ground last fall, and now they are everywhere. If that isn’t some kind of magic, I don’t know what is. ✨ (🙏🏻 to @wildflowers1 for the cool vase, too.)
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Front cover The Homemade Kitchen

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Front cover The Homemade PantryAmazon
B&N
Powell's


Tense moments

failed cornbreadPan shattered in the oven? Jelly didn’t set? Trying to find a solution for a problem in the kitchen? Let’s get through the tense moments together, starting here.

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

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