• Skillet cornbread topped with tomatoes and rosemary
    Baking,  Food

    Skillet Cornbread Topped with Tomatoes and Rosemary

    Skillet cornbread may be the best kind to serve, as it cooks up with a toasty bottom and tender middle.  I love to top mine with garden tomatoes and chopped rosemary to hold onto every last bit of summer. Since corn is available through September, fold some into the batter for added texture and flavor using the recipe below. Recently I recommended this as the ultimate side to my summer Cobb salad, and with Labor Day weekend here, this is a crowd-pleasing addition to the menu.  By the start of September, our vegetable gardens have become looser, more natural and sprawling, and our dishes follow suit.  The actual amounts of…

  • Raspberry peach mocktail
    Drinks

    Raspberry Peach Mocktail with Rosemary

    Sunlight poured through the window just as I put the finishing raspberries in my glass.  A quick storm gave way to such glow I was happy to have a drink ready for the moment.  Plentiful rain has given us rejuvenating late afternoons and kept the herbs growing strong, making rosemary a natural addition to this raspberry peach mocktail.  Prepare the peach puree and raspberry syrup during the next midday storm and fill your glass as it starts to slow, then kick back and watch the summer light burst. Mix this drink again when the sun is unflinchingly strong for another fill of summer goodness.  Lounge about, bask in the light,…

  • Parmesan focaccia with rosemary and olives
    Baking,  Food

    Parmesan Focaccia with Rosemary and Olives

    With a dimpled surface and plenty of air holes, focaccia is the quilted pillow of breads.  When I’m in the mood for a freshly baked loaf with flavorful toppings, I want to enjoy it within a few hours, which means making the dough and baking the bread on the same day.  Recipes that require letting dough rest in the refrigerator until tomorrow won’t have my kitchen smelling like a bakery or pizza shop today.  This Parmesan focaccia with rosemary and olives comes together quickly and yields a bread that’s delicious on its own but also perfect sliced for a sandwich with roasted vegetables, cured meats, and all your favorite fillings.…

  • Baked Polenta Fries
    Food

    Asiago Polenta Sticks with Rosemary Salt

    Baked until the outside is crispy but the inside retains its creamy texture, a polenta stick gives you the best of both ways to eat this Italian staple. Often we think of polenta as a porridge served warm, but it can be grilled or baked to become a crisp surface for a host of toppings or a way to sop up every delicious drop of a pan sauce that’s lingering on the plate. Sprinkled with seasoning before being baked in the oven at high heat, these polenta sticks give a nod to another Italian staple, focaccia. While there are many ways to season loaves, rosemary is a must for me.…