Strata with Corn, Scallion and Cheddar

Corn, Scallion and Cheddar Strata

A strata, or bread pudding, is one of the best options when you want all the breakfast things in one pan. Our version is made with fresh corn, chopped scallions, and cheddar. Best part? You can have it any time of day, not just for breakfast!

We had only lived in Beacon for about six minutes before Matt decided he wanted to build a coop and raise chickens. Being a born and raised New York City girl (whose idea of the “country” was the slightly less organized part of Central Park), I thought he was nuts. Well, I know he’s nuts but I that’s pretty much why I married him. I still thought raising chickens would be … unwise for two people who had lived the rural life for all of a millisecond. [Matt says: Speak for yourself, city girl, you know where I grew up, every set of directions included the step, “Turn left at the first cow, and if you reach the second cow, you’ve gone too far”]

Now I can admit it. I was wrong. Not only have the chickens been awesome, they’re also the easiest of our animals to take care of and they contribute to the household by laying delicious, fresh eggs. In fact, they lay so many damn eggs that using them up is actually the most difficult part of keeping them. [Matt is holding a shovel and a large bag of chicken poo and shaking his head sadly for some reason.]

Nerd alert: I’ve come to realize that chickens are hilarious so let’s have a chicken caption contest. Write in the comments what you think each chicken is thinking.

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Puy Lentils with Spinach

We love this Puy lentils with spinach dish, a balanced recipe full of healthy pulses and colorful spinach greens. It’s an ideal side to a meat dish but can be enjoyed as a filling lunch.Puy Lentils with SpinachI’ve never been what you would call a lentil “fan”. I mean, they’re fine and everything as far as legumes/pulses go but I certainly don’t wake up thinking about a lentil dish I absolutely can’t wait to make. Until now.

There are a few … I don’t even want to say ‘tricks’ because it’s not like there’s any fanciness or magic going on here. It’s just that there are a couple of ingredients that elevate this humble dish and turn it truly delicious. In fact, it’s so simple that I’m afraid you’re going to roll your eyes and wonder if I’ve finally gone off my rocker. It’s not the huge bunch of baby spinach that gets stirred in or the swirl of Crème fraîche that it’s topped with.

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Roasted Peaches with Honey and Thyme

Easy roasted peaches makes a versatile baked fruit that you can use as a side to duck or other dishes, or as a dessert.  

Roasted Peaches with Honey and ThymeThis recipe is one of those surprises that happens when you find yourself with an abundance of an ingredient (in this case, peaches) and you decide to just wing it, making something up on the spot and it turns out even better than you imagined.

It’s crazy simple but it went so well along with the Crispy Spiced Duck Legs with Thyme, that I wanted to tell you how I did it.

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Baby Back Ribs With Coffee-Honey Barbecue Sauce

You, yes YOU, can make oven-baked ribs. And even better, you can slather those ribs all over with coffee-honey barbecue sauce. Prepare to be popular.

Blackberry-Ginger Fizz

There are times in every person’s life when you have to make the hard decisions. When you find yourself at a crossroad. Do you turn left or right? Recently I was faced with one of those decisions. My own personal King Solomon’s choice, except if the baby was a blackberry. Here’s how it began. It was an ordinary Sunday morning. Matt and … Read more

Easy Baked French Toast

Hello gang! Ready for some delicious baked French toast? I do like to think of us as a gang, by the way: we, the writers of this madcap screed, and you, our wonderful readers. Not a particularly effectual gang, I have to admit. It’s not a gang to strike fear in the hearts of our … Read more