A good biscuit is hard to make. I lived–and worked in restaurants–in Durham, North Carolina for five years before I dared to say I knew how to make a good biscuit, and I still know there are those who can make better biscuits than I can. Mike Hacker at Pie Pushers tops the list. That…
One of the benefits of living in Guilford is Bishop’s Orchards has fresh asparagus every May. I had never tasted fresh asparagus–I mean asparagus that was still growing this morning–until we moved here. I now eat asparagus in May and then wait for next year because I know how it really tastes. Something about asparagus…
One of the windfalls of our unfortunate isolation is I am cooking a lot more. The combination of having more time and Ginger not having meetings twelve nights a month means we get to eat dinner together. The last week in particular my depression has decided to show up for a return engagement (so much…
During the first spring we lived in Guilford, we were surprised to see them set up a big stage in the middle of the town green (the largest in New England and designed by Frederick Law Olmstead), along with rows and rows of folding chairs, for Guilford High School graduation. The seniors line up in…
Two of the great unexplained shortages of our unfortunate isolation is flour and yeast. For some reason, everyone decided not only that they wanted to bake bread, but that they needed enough yeast to last until early 2025. Bread is one of those things you don’t just decide to make. I am quick to say…
One of the ironies of my life is that I am married to a woman named Ginger who does not, for the most part, like ginger–except when it comes in a good ginger molasses cookie. When i think of ginger cookies, I think of ginger snaps with the spice and the crunch, but I am…
Tonight’s post is a continuation of my occasional series, “Cookies with Stories.” As I have mentioned more than once most of my recipes come from my cookie-baking days in Durham, North Carolina. Tonight’s cookie is the first one with a Guilford story attached to it. We moved to Connecticut for Ginger to become co-pastor of…
Order an entree from an Italian restaurant in New England and it will come with a side of pasta. I don’t mean the entree will be served over pasta. That’s a pasta dish. I mean any entree comes with a side of pasta. Night before last, we ordered from Centro Pizza, one of our regular…
Some of my cookies can be made on demand. These take some time. These cookies came about as we began exploring new flavors to add to our repertoire. Early on in the Milton’s Famous days, we began to say we wanted our cookies to tell a story: there was a beginning taste, a middle, and…
Sunday mornings are a bit different around our house these days. The elements of the worship service were recorded on Thursday so they could be e-mailed this morning. Ginger doesn’t have to go over for the 8:30 chapel service and we will all stay home at 10 to worship online and visualize all the things…