It's getting prettier outside, in case you haven't noticed: in fact, this is one of the earliest and warmest springs I can remember.  So, assuming you started your warm-weather seeds about a month ago, they're halfway on their journey to your garden. This means you'll need a place to put them once our last-frost date of May 15 comes around! I've done the old-fashioned gardening thing before.  You know -- strip the top few inches of soil, dig two shovelfuls down, remove rocks, break up clay, work in organic matter and fertilizer.  It is achingly, sunburningly, cursingly difficult work.  Not to…

In a small town in a country that's about as meat-centric as they come, tofu gets no respect.  (Try ordering it in a restaurant and see what kinds of stares your friends give.) But the time may come, or may be now, when you're feeling a little more adventurous.  Maybe your vegan brother/cousin/colleague is coming over for dinner and you want to feed him more than salad.  Maybe you've been keeping up with the pink slime question in the news and are looking for something a little more natural: tofu is just soybeans and water, plus a mineral that makes it firm up, and you can make it yourself. …

I had visited the Le Creuset store half a dozen times over a span of several years before I finally purchased the pot I'd been eyeing all along. I gulped, signed the receipt and brought home the cherry-red skillet, waiting to see whether it would change my life. Paying almost $200 for one pan was hard to do but it was amazing how quickly it became the most indispensable item in my kitchen. The cast iron conducted heat beautifully, and the enamel finish came clean instantly. I used it for everything: chili, coq au vin, rice pudding. Bacon left beautiful, crispy browned (not burned) spots that …

This time of year, home gardeners fight to quell a rising tide of internal panic with every weekend that passes unsowed. Willy Loman's obsessive lines start sounding more and more reasonable until we echo them ourselves: "I've got to get some seeds, right away...I don't have a thing in the ground!"   If you've ever thought about starting a garden, there's no time like the present, and no age that offers more resources and options, either! A few hours this week is a worthy investment in your summer crops; then you can take it easy for the next month until it's time to start preparing the …

She shuts the water off and reaches, fingers dripping, for the what isn't there. She thinks it will be wherever hers is -- above, to the right, on the wall, vertical, horizontal.  She glances around, takes a step back, and begins to form the question: "Where are the . . . ?"   I smile and hand her the tea towel that hangs on the drawer pull just by the door. A fleeting look of surprise until it registers that this is okay, too. It usually doesn't even start a conversation, even though it happens almost every time a guest washes her hands in my kitchen. This is fine by me: I didn't eliminate …

If you've ever eaten Smith Island Cake (preferably baked by Sugar Bakers and served at Catonsville Gourmet after shrimp bisque and soft crabs) you probably see it as a daunting dessert.  TEN layers?  It's served lying on its side for a reason.  But what better way to end your Valentine's Day dinner than with the official dessert of our state?  Honestly, it's a long process, but not too tedious or complicated. This adventure started with a recipe from a cookbook, which supposedly got it from a Smith Island housewife -- but there were so many problems with it that the instructions below bear …

Like most Americans, I'd be ashamed to admit how many meals per week I eat in my car.  It's just too tempting when I'm rushing out the door hungry, late to a meeting, or simply in need of some peace and quiet. Luckily for me, there's been a recent resurgence in food trucks locally.  It's a great way for small businesses to promote their cuisine: a mobile retail space is cheaper and easier to maintain and can travel with the flow of customers -- to a business park during lunchtime, or near residential areas in the evening.  So you don't have to eat in your car -- you could take your meal to a …

It may seem odd, when the air is frigid and the daylight precious, to start making plans for the summer months.  But this is exactly what you should be doing.  In case you missed the rundown last spring, here's why you should join a CSA: Enjoy fresh, delicious, local food all season long Support local farms even in hard times Experiment with a wider variety of produce Options abound, but here are a few of the best from areas served by Patch: Baltimore County One Straw Farm (White Hall) Contact: Joan Norman, 410-343-1828 Pickup: Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday at roughly 40 pickup sites in the …

For the average, mainstream Marylander, starting a home compost pile may sound ridiculously West Coast (or -- dare I utter the words today -- New England!) But once you get started, you'll be surprised at how amazingly easy it is, and by how many benefits it has to offer -- for the environment, your community and your own household. Step One: Get the Facts Basic: Composting is what nature does on its own, very efficiently and well. Take a walk in the forest and sift through the layers on the ground.  On top will be freshly-fallen leaves; below, leaves and twigs in various stages of decay; …

My friend Rod, blogger extraordinaire, remembers opening a gift from his wife a few Christmases ago and "tearing up at the thoughtfulness of that present." Was it an engraved pocketwatch?  A book of poetry?  A family heirloom? Nope.  It was kitchen knives.  And to tell the truth, I was a bit misty myself as I read his wish that "she could take these knives back and give them to me all over again." There is no tool more delightful and useful to wield than a high-quality knife.  On the other hand, there is no experience more frustrating than, say, trying to mince an onion on a glass chopping …