Spice up the holidays
Many non-cooks cook in December. Fast-food fanatics dig out aprons and seek out grandma’s old recipes. This is the time to indulge in special treats, many of which are flavored with spices like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg. Aromatic, pungent spices became a hallmark of the Christmas holidays during the Middle Ages, when these Oriental flavors began to infiltrate Europe. During this time the term “spice” (derived from “species”) came to mean for rare, exotic foods — especially aromatic, vegetable substances whose intense flavor is used as a seasoning. The flavors come from essential oils found in the bark, roots, buds, seeds, berries or fruit of tropical plants. Examples are black pepper (berries), mustard (seeds), cloves (buds), nutmeg (nut), cinnamon (bark), ginger (root) and cardamom (seed). These flavorings traveled from India and China to Europe along the caravan route, via the Persian Gulf, Arabia (which became the center of the spice trade) and eventually o
» Full StoryDon’t ditch that carcass
It is Friday after the big Thanksgiving feast. The guests have left, and things have quieted down. Whether you come home from the mall on this Black Friday (the busiest shopping day of the year) or whether you’re boycotting the tradition on Buy Nothi
» Full StoryButternut squash
Beige colored and shaped like a vase, butternut is the most popular of all our winter squashes. Compared to its cousins, hubbard, acorn, kabocha or delicata, it has the densest flesh and the most consistent flavor. It also has the thinnest skin, so i
» Full StoryThanksgiving sides
The Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner. The trees are bare. The days are cold, dark, dreary and often wet.
While we’re living in a time of economic and political turmoil with our nation at war and a looming economic crisis,
Colorful root vegetables dress up fall salads
It’s Indian Summer in the North Country. A foot of snow fell late in October, but then the weather turned warm and the ground thawed out again. The warm spell allowed us to catch up on last-minute garden chores before the frost returns and snow start
» Full StoryMy favorite summer treat
A traditional treat of summer in Poland are pierogi: dumplings filled with fresh-picked blueberries. Most cooks would agree that making any filled dumpling is a time-consuming job — and pierogi are no exception! So when the berries begin calling to u
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Whiteface Mountain Opening Day
Moose on the Loose
Lake Placid Veterans Day
Tupper Lake Veterans Day
Saranac Lake Veterans Day
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Placid's Halloween Pub Trek
Lake Placid Halloween parade