Author Archives: Ann Lovejoy

Smoke House Magic

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Ann Lovejoy

Peppers aren’t the only game in town, however. Jim agreed to smoke some ripe tomatoes for me, as well as eggplants, green beans and kale. Why not? Smoked eggplant makes fabulous baba ganouj, while smoked tomatoes make the simplest pasta sauce marvelous, with exceptional depth of flavor. Green beans…well, hmm. I thought they might make great snacks but not so much. They’re good in soups and chile, though. Smoked kale is similarly disappointing; oven roasted kale chips are far tastier with way better texture. Smoked corn on the cob is delicious, needing only a little sprinkle of garlic salt to make it magical. Smoked carrots and mushrooms are best in stews, soups, or casseroles, where a small piece can add a lively bass note; potato leek soup with smoked mushrooms becomes mysteriously rich and chicken casserole with smoked carrots gains depth and finish. Continue reading →

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Best Ever Breakfast Treats

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Ann Lovejoy

In summer, another favorite breakfast treat is a fruit crumble with a relatively nutritious and totally delicious topping. For the fruity filling, I often combine blueberries or raspberries with coarsely chopped nectarines or peaches. Here’s my current favorite version, which can be varied according to what’s ripe and luscious. You can also use a cupful of any combination of nuts and seeds or just one kind, whatever you have on hand. Continue reading →

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Healing The Planet Together

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Ann Lovejoy

Last week I visited several gardens where soils were powder dry after the long baking summer. Watching desiccated soil puff off a shovel like dust in the wind, I was reminded of the dustbowl days when foolish and ignorant farming practices destroyed native plants and soils. One highly productive thing we can do to help repair the ecological damage to our precious world is to amend impoverished soil. Healing treatments include deep mulching with aged compost and/or digested dairy manures, both of which help to renew soil tilth and texture as well as the nutrient balance. This fall, heap weary beds high with fallen foliage, shredding the larger leaves by running over them with a mower. A foot of leaves isn’t too much for empty or new beds, and it’s not too much for empty bays between larger shrubs or areas around trees. Do not till in these amendments; tilling is now considered an ultimately destructive practice. Just layer them on, autumn and spring. Every. Single. Year. Continue reading →

Posted in composting, Garden Prep, Health & Wellbeing, pests and pesticides, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Weed Control | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Preserving Fruits And Vegetables

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Ann Lovejoy

Of course, there’s always some fruit that isn’t quite ripe or is perhaps a bit sub par in flavor. Among the tastiest things to do with such sad stuff is roast it. Roasting awakens the latent sugars hidden in sour fruit and dull vegetables as well. When big fat cherries taste bland, roast them for 20 minutes and prepare to be amazed. Same with peaches and nectarines, or plums and pears. You can then use the gilded, caramelized results in all sorts of dishes, savory or sweet. For starters, try mashing bits of caramelized fruit into soft goat cheese for a marvelous garnish for roast chicken or grilled fish. You can also freeze these roasted gems and use them all fall and winter. Continue reading →

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