Category Archives: Preserving

Preserving our Spectacular Roses

By | Ingredients, Local, Preserving, Sauces, Seasonal, Sweets | No Comments

Every year at this time, I attempt to preserve the mind-blowing aroma of the tea roses in our front yard. This is inevitably followed by me throwing out the untouched rose-infused products I made the year before.  Previous experiments with rose water and simple syrup infused with rose petals were charming, but quaint isn’t really my cooking style, so I never worked them into a recipe. I can only imagine the look of surprise on Jeff’s face if I spritzed rose water on our linens, and then his sleep-deprived scowl after a night of my constant sneezes.  Last year I made some very nice Rose Scented Almond Milk. It was good enough that I included it in the book. But milks don’t keep. My compulsion for preserving the roses is threefold. 1) Our antique rose bush produces, without question, the most aromatic blossoms I have ever come across. I’ve shared…

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Great Grandma’s Pickles

By | Dishes, Obsessions, People, Preserving, Seasonal, Traditions | No Comments

My ancestors were a colorful bunch, but they were not cooks. My Grandma’s grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches and brownies were spectacular. Since we liked them so much, and we only visited her for a week in the summers, that’s all she would make us – for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Inheriting three collections of treasured, sticky recipes tucked into  boxes and books seemed like a goldmine. Unfortunately 99% of them called for boxes of JellO, canned condensed soup, and/or Crisco. The only decent cook on either side was my Mother’s Grandmother, Catherine Miller. She was a first generation German/Russian immigrant who came to Washington near the turn of the 20th century. I remember her as a tiny woman with thin dresses and a thick accent. Mom had a few fond memories of rustic cabbagey and noodley dishes, but all I ever remember tasting at her house was second hand…

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