As we head towards Spring, this is an excellent time to consider composting: The warmer weather tends to break down organic materials more quickly, and you don’t need to brave the cold to get to an outdoor bin.  Also, if you start now, you should end up with some excellent quality soil for your summer …

Dry cleaning is amazing: you bring in your wrinkled, stained clothing and several days later pick up crisply pressed clean clothes. There is, however, that faint chemical odor. Therein lies the problem! In 1996, the National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOSH) found that the leading dry cleaning chemical, perchloroethylene, commonly known as PERC, was indicated …

Sunchoke and Spinach Soup 3 ½ cups scrubbed and peeled sunchokes, cut into 1-inch pieces [Tuscarora Mountain Farm, Spring Run, PA] 3 cloves of garlic 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1-inch pieces [Porter Farm, Elba, NY] 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup spinach 2 cups whole milk 2 cups vegetable broth ½ teaspoon salt …

[Sorry about the hiatus, friends! Here’s something to warm you up after the snow!] Butternut Squash, Purple Carrot & Broccoli Bowl with Chipotle Almond Sauce For the Bowl: 1 Bowl. But also… 1 small butternut squash [The Farm at Sunnyside, Washington, VA] 1 large purple carrot [Second Spring Farm, Wheatland, VA] 1 tablespoon olive oil …

Creamy Mushroom, White Bean & Rosemary Soup with Rosemary & Sea Salt Flatbread Flatbread: 1 cup warm water 1 package (1 tablespoon) active dry yeast ½ teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon honey 2-2 ¼ cups flour 3-4 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped [Shenandoah Herbs, Harrisonburg, VA] Coarse sea salt, for …

OK, so I’m stretching it a little bit with the puns today. Whatever. BBQ Pulled Sweet Potato Sandwiches With Collard Green Coleslaw Coleslaw (Make this first) 3-4 cups collard greens [Kirby Farms, Mechanicsville, VA] ¼ teaspoon salt 1 medium Pink Lady apple [Crown Orchard, Batesville, VA] 1 medium carrot [Van Dessel Farms, Accomack, VA] ½ …

Sweet Potato and Acorn Squash “Nachos” 1 Covington sweet potato [Scott Farms, Lucama, MD] ½ acorn squash [Leone Farm, Vineland, NJ] 1 tablespoon olive oil 1-1 ½ teaspoon Southwest Seasoning [Von Brake Spices, Deep River, CT] ¾ cup refried beans ½ cup black beans 2-3 tablespoons salsa (I used black bean and corn salsa, because …

Roasted Beet, Watercress, and Ricotta Grilled Cheese 1 Beet [Van Dessel Farm, Accomack, VA] Just a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper 1-2 tablespoons butter 2 slices of bread Some fresh mozzarella cheese Some Ricotta cheese A handful of watercress [Mock’s Farm, Berkeley Springs, WV] Before you start grilling any cheese, peel, slice, …

Grapefruit Cornmeal Cake Cake: 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled (plus more for greasing) 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup cornmeal [from Woodson’s Mill, Lowesville, VA] 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 3 large eggs 1 tablespoon finely grated grapefruit zest plus 1/3 cup fresh grapefruit …

Women Laughing Alone With Salad. Fall Vegetable Salad Salad: 2 cups red oakleaf lettuce – Fresh2o, Stevensburg, VA 1 medium fall carrot – Van Dessel Farms, Accomack, VA (Honey herb butter roasted, recipe to follow) 1 small apple (CrimsonCrisp, maybe?), chopped – Rock Hill Orchard, Mt. Airy, MD 1 ½ tablespoons dried cranberries 1 ½ …