Winter squash soup

We made our first winter squash soup of the year with the Sibley Squash that I picked up at the Hillsdale Farmer’s Market this morning .  Our main purpose of going to the Hillsdale Farmer’s Market was to procure some Ayers Creek Farm heirloom beans but I couldn’t resist when I saw this beautiful squash [...]

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Cranberry beans in tomato sauce over polenta

I couldn’t wait to make this when I first saw the photo of borlotti beans in tomato sauce over polenta in the Heirloom Beans cookbook by Steven Sando of Rancho Gordo.  You are probably wondering when we will get sick of beans.  We have made pot beans, and ham and bean soup over the last [...]

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Crustless quiche with winter squash, leeks, and prosciutto

Crustless quiche is one of my favorite go to breakfast dishes for company – it looks beautiful, tastes delicious, and it’s all done at once.  What’s not to love?  I developed this crustless quiche recipe a few years ago by experimenting with ingredients that go well together.  Quiche is really forgiving that way, which makes [...]

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Bolognese sauce

We were looking for an easy meal afterreturning from a long weekend in Bandon.  And I didn’t want to go to the grocery store, so pasta with bolognese sauce it was.  Typically bolognese sauce simmers for several hours, but I found a recipe in Cooks Illustrated last year that cuts the time way back (to [...]

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Ham and bean soup

Staying with the bean theme, we made ham and bean soup for dinner.  Ham and bean soup has always been one of my favorite comfort meals.
My original intention was to make black-eyed pea soup for an pre-New Year’s Day good luck meal, but I couldn’t find any locally grown black-eyed peas, and opted for the [...]

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Pot beans

When we decided that we would eat as much locally grown food as possible, we started using mostly dried beans.  There are sources for some dried beans (mostly black beans) in the Willamette Valley, but that will hopefully be increasing with the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project that is focused on converting grass [...]

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Borscht

I have never thought that borscht looked like a soup that I would like to eat, let alone make.  But our visit to Belly changed my opinion of borscht.  Brian ordered borscht for dinner and kindly let us all taste it and it was delicious.  I think the color is what turned me off.  Its [...]

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Baked eggs with dungeness crab

Baked eggs, or eggs en cocotte, are a new dish for us.  For some reason, I avoided French egg dishes because I thought they would be overly complex or fussy.  Nothing could farther from reality with eggs en cocotte.  They also make an attractive presentation, so would be a great breakfast/brunch to serve to company.  [...]

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Amy’s crab dip

Another awesome recipe from my awesome sister-in-law, Amy.  It is week 2 of dungeness crab season and I returned to Newman’s to pick up 2 crabs for this delicious recipe.  Instead of shelling them by myself, I recruited Matt to help me after work on Friday.  He is a champion crab sheller (see exhibit below).  [...]

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Roasted beet salad

Unlike our President Elect, I love beets.  And this is my all-time favorite beet recipe.  I have tried others and always wish that I had just made this one.  If you haven’t tried beets in years or only know beets from salad bars – this is your recipe.
The beets are roasted, which is the easiest, [...]

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