http://www.tallcloverfarm.com Homeward bound on Puget Sound. Putting in a good day on Vashon Island time. Wed, 16 May 2012 17:03:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/6070/how-to-make-creamy-potato-leek-soup http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/6070/how-to-make-creamy-potato-leek-soup#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 17:18:53 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=6070 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } A leek is an extra-special onion. I have crop envy. My pals at Island Meadow Farm grow leeks the size of lodge poles . Joe and Celina from Sun Island Farm offer up tender baseball-size turnips with the sheen of a polished pearl. On the east side, Greenman Farm does just about everything right, while [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/6070/how-to-make-creamy-potato-leek-soup/feed 12 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/6011/worthy-recipe-apple-berry-crumble-pie http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/6011/worthy-recipe-apple-berry-crumble-pie#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:48:50 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=6011 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } If forced to choose one dessert for the rest of my life, chances are I would respond with pie, and if I sensed leniency and wiggle room for negotiation, I’d insist on pie and ice cream. Sure, each can stand on its own merits, but when paired on the plate, there’s no finer dessert to [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/6011/worthy-recipe-apple-berry-crumble-pie/feed 24 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5759/lemon-pineapple-marmalade-recipe-for-a-rainy-day http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5759/lemon-pineapple-marmalade-recipe-for-a-rainy-day#comments Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:28:51 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5759 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } I’m not sure what the impetus is, perhaps a Northwest sky determined to drop a snow-rain mix, or one too many Facebook friends sharing albums of tropical beaches, but I need a little sunshine. Not a lot mind you, but just enough to jump start me on this gray flannel day. When winter weather and mental outlook [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5759/lemon-pineapple-marmalade-recipe-for-a-rainy-day/feed 16 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5750/kitchen-tip-dont-get-burned-by-the-phone http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5750/kitchen-tip-dont-get-burned-by-the-phone#comments Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:03:23 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5750 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } I’m pretty handy in the kitchen, but grand failures do occur, especially when I add a heaping spoonful of distraction to the recipe. So let my burnt rock hard candied orange peels be a lesson. When the phone rings, turn off the burner. My new doorstop: hardened block of candied orange peel in a pan.

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5750/kitchen-tip-dont-get-burned-by-the-phone/feed 14 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5213/spreading-the-chestnut-love http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5213/spreading-the-chestnut-love#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:40:36 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5213 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Autumn’s bounty: a bowlful of chestnuts, a tabletop of squash I have a thing for chestnut trees; let me count the ways. I love the tasty nut and the porcupine casing that protects it. I love the tree’s reaching habit and stately form. I love the way the sawtooth leaves dry to the color of [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5213/spreading-the-chestnut-love/feed 20 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5346/soups-onham-hominy-and-a-pumpkin-on-the-edge http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5346/soups-onham-hominy-and-a-pumpkin-on-the-edge#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:15:48 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5346 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } I’m a leftover kind of guy; let me rephrase that, I like leftovers. Some days, my dinner plate resembles a puupuu platter of  the week’s greatest kitchen hits. And on the very tip-top of my leftover food group pyramid (in addition to pie) resides soup, the pot of homemade goodness that ladles up its best [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5346/soups-onham-hominy-and-a-pumpkin-on-the-edge/feed 12 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5001/apple-dumpling-recipe-comfort-food-with-a-cap http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5001/apple-dumpling-recipe-comfort-food-with-a-cap#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:27:02 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5001 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Fruity, doughy,  buttery goodness on a plate… When I first moved to Seattle in the early 80s, I may have taken up residence in Pioneer Square, but I ate in Pike Place Market. A quick trip on the free-zone bus would land me at First and Pike, and a mere brioche’s throw from my favorite [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5001/apple-dumpling-recipe-comfort-food-with-a-cap/feed 35 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4738/plums-in-a-jar-spicy-spirited-keepers http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4738/plums-in-a-jar-spicy-spirited-keepers#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:38:23 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4738 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } I’m a man who’s a fan of things to can, a preserve practitioner ready to bottle up summer sweet things at a moment’s notice or as availability allows. So when the folks at the SweetPreservation.com asked me to be a CANbassador, delivering a case of succulent Washington state plums, peaches and nectarines along with the question, [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4738/plums-in-a-jar-spicy-spirited-keepers/feed 10 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4673/recipe-index-eileen-bakes-up-a-fine-idea http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4673/recipe-index-eileen-bakes-up-a-fine-idea#comments Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:58:50 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4673 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Last month, I asked my favorite baker Eileen of Passions to Pastry about adding a search feature to her blog. I felt my request was a little cheeky, considering Eileen is the busiest woman (and best baker) in the state of Minnesota. Eileen kindly responded that she was doing something even better, adding a recipe [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4673/recipe-index-eileen-bakes-up-a-fine-idea/feed 13 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4621/preserving-tips-how-to-thicken-jam http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4621/preserving-tips-how-to-thicken-jam#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:46:10 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4621 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Countdown to ecstasy… The goal: Jam that drops from a spoon but stays on a biscuit (at least until I eat it, which is usually less than T minus ten seconds). As a jam maker from way back, I never really embraced commercial pectin. This had more to do with my end results than any [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4621/preserving-tips-how-to-thicken-jam/feed 19 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4601/apricot-appetizer-easy-pretty-and-berry-tasty http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4601/apricot-appetizer-easy-pretty-and-berry-tasty#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:20:18 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4601 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Freshly anchored: Blackberries in apricot boats Yesterday my dear friend Julie turned 40 (such a young thing), a milestone ushered in by her close friends and husband Matt. Matty as she likes to call him (though we may not)  had planned a surprise birthday party for her at our friend Kurt’s farm, as dreamy a [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4601/apricot-appetizer-easy-pretty-and-berry-tasty/feed 16 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4337/my-strawberry-cake-is-going-to-the-dogs http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4337/my-strawberry-cake-is-going-to-the-dogs#comments Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:24:54 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4337 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } This weekend all roads on the island lead to the Vashon Strawberry Festival as we celebrate 102 years of bringing together friends, family, fried foods and fun. Somewhere in the mix you’ll find a strawberry or two, as islanders also honor the berry that put Vashon on the map, that is before K2 skis and [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4337/my-strawberry-cake-is-going-to-the-dogs/feed 24