Have you ever been walking peacefully along on a warm afternoon, enjoying the sounds of nature, when suddenly a grating sound not unlike the popping of a flame starter on a gas stove, but about one hundred times louder, pierces your ears?
It’s probably a chipmunk.
We saw this duck today on the edge of the lake while we were on our walk. We argued for a while over what kind of bird it was (Companion was convinced it was a gull until he caught the color of the bill), because white ducks are not a common thing around here. While it could be a leucistic (partially albino) mallard … Read more …
Sorry about the silence over the last week, but it’s Hippie Christmas here in Madison and I’ve been a tad busy with the festivities. For the uninitiated, Hippie Christmas happens every mid-August around the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. That’s when most of the student rental contracts turn over, and kids who didn’t have the time or foresight to empty their apartments ahead of time dump their unwanted belongings on the curb for the garbage collectors—or whoever gets there first. Read more …
Here’s an easy recipe for when you have just a small amount of greens on hand. With their dark purple stems, beet greens add a nice bit of color and earthy flavor to this simple scramble. Read more …
Strawberries were supercheap at Aldi a week ago, and I ended up with a glut. I chopped and froze a lot of them for later use, but today as I was looking through my refrigerator, I found some fresh ones that threatened to go south if I didn’t do something with them soon. I also had a few brown bananas. The combination reminded me of my favorite yogurt flavor when I was a little kid: strawberry-banana. If it works in yogurt, why not in muffins? Read more …
Romano beans, also known as flat beans, Italian pole beans, or fagioli a corallo, are large, flat green beans. They can be green, purple or yellow, but their green variety is paler than the other green beans typically available in supermarkets. They also have a milder flavor. And, in a bit of a surprise, they pair wonderfully with strawberries.