Waterfront dining is always popular, but even more so when the food is “fresh, local and delicious,” as The Loft in Poulsbo proclaims on the front cover of the crisp-white menu. Chef Michael Bucholz believes that food should be made from scratch, using fresh, local and organic ingredients whenever available, as the seasons allow. He […]
vegetables
Heirloom Tomatoes
No matter how you say it – “toe-MAY-toe” or “toe MAH-toe” – there is no doubt these luscious, juicy fruits are at the top of the list for late-summer, garden-to-table enjoyment. Tomatoes are the No. 1 produce grown in home gardens, and frequently the reason most people start gardening in the first place. A resurgence […]
Always a Dark Side in the Garden
Welcome to the dark side. Almost every new gardener wants a garden full of flowers. Usually the flowers on their wish list come from plants that need full sun. And tomatoes — almost everyone wants to grow tomatoes. Yet it is going to be impossible to grow a decent tomato in a shady garden. Sorry. […]
Pressure Canning a Great Way to Preserve Your Garden Bounty
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt adapted from the book “Modern Pressure Canning,” recently released by Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. The glass clinks gently in the hot, soapy water as I wash my jars for this year’s canning. Sitting on the counter are colanders full of tomatoes and peppers that need to be saved […]
Manette to Host Edible Gardens Tour
Has gardening been on your mind but you don’t know where to start? The Manette Edible Garden Tour is one idea. The biannual tour, now in its fifth year, is geared to aspiring local gardeners who wish to learn from Manette’s veteran gardeners, beekeepers, landscapers, arborists, and chicken keepers. The tour, hosted by the Manette […]
The Collaborative Farm-to-Table Spirit of Mossback
Mossback. It’s a slang term for anyone who prefers the gray drizzle of the Pacific Northwest to its elusive, sunny days. And we all know what happens sans sunlight — moss grows. Except in Kingston. There, Mossback is a restaurant with an ever-changing farm-to-table menu, a supportive community of local family farmers and producers whose […]
Gardens — Oh, the Stories They Tell
This year’s Gig Harbor Garden Tour is going to tell some enticing stories about gardens and how they came to be. Each garden, no matter how small or large, simple or exquisite, has a story to tell. Now in its 21st year, the Gig Harbor Garden Tour has recruited seven local hosts, who are opening […]
Dinner Changes Everything
It started as a way of helping girls who were being sold into human trafficking and turned into something much more than expected. Kelly Welk, owner, event designer and top dreamer at CiderPress Lane, heard about Seattle nonprofit Rescue Freedom International, whose goal is to help stop human trafficking, and as a mother of three […]
A Few Herbs — A Little Spice — A Little Lore
Imagine life without spice — boring! Truly, those little bottles of dried herbs that you line up in the kitchen and reach for when you cook add flavor to your life. Try cooking without a pinch of this or a dash of that. Herbs are the spice of life. They make the skin glow and […]
