My husband builds model rockets. It’s a perfect hobby for him, one that combines art and science and also lets him get outdoors. I’ve been wanting to go to one of the monthly launches, so last weekend we got in the car at the ungodly hour of 6 am (ungodly because it was Saturday) and headed out to the launch…
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Although I’ve used sassafras twigs and roots for years, I’ve only recently started using the dried, ground leaves of sassafras, better known as filé. Yup, the filé in filé gumbo is dried, ground sassafras leaves. You can buy it in good spice stores, but if you’ve got access to sassafras trees, there’s no reason not to make your own foraged…
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I am not a tea drinker. I have nothing against it, but coffee is my go-to, hot beverage. But yesterday afternoon my thoughts turned to chai, maybe because it’s been cold and we got a late snow, maybe because I was in need of something warm and comforting, or maybe just because it was tea time. Once I realized that…
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About the Hosta Plant Hostas are one of the world’s most popular shade plants, but most American gardeners don’t realize the young hosta shoots are a tasty spring green. Hosta enthusiasts have been know to fill entire gardens with different species and cultivars: blue leaves, chartreuse leaves, green margins with a white center, white margins with a green center, plants…
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Legend has it that malfatti (Italian for “poorly made”) were whipped up by a resourceful peasant woman who needed to feed a group of hungry men and had little more than some stale bread and a few eggs in her kitchen. I love stinging nettle malfatti because they’re fluffy, easy, and inexpensive to make; I think they’re tastier than gnocchi.