the cook & the garden — Recipes & Stories

Check out the link to my Mountain Xpress article all about sweet potatoes!

Black Bean Paw Paw Salad

In our neck of the woods we can get a little taste of tropical flavor with the miraculous Paw paw. These strange looking fruits, native to the eastern United States, grow on trees and are the largest edible fruit indigenous to this area. Not only do they survive, but they thrive without much care, growing just as well in the shade as the sun

Autumn, Lunch, Salads, DinnerCathy ClearyOctober 25, 2017paw paw, cathy cleary, thecookandgarden.com, black beans, peppers, salad, local food

Amy’s Birthday Brunch

Birthdays don’t always arrive when you feel like celebrating. Life can be hectic, stressful, chaotic, and downright tragic. But I contend birthdays should always be celebrated, even in the midst of life’s roar. Taking time to be with dear ones to appreciate their birth, is good for the soul.

Off the Grid - Pedal to Plate

It takes just the right kind of person to enjoy spending an entire Sunday riding up and down steep mountain inclines with bicycle pedal power in order to see small farms in action. I guess I fall into that “right person” category because I had a ridiculously good time at Pedal to Plate in Madison County.

Better than Butter

I have recently experienced a bumper crop of corn on the cob, which is lucky for me because I have had a bumper crop of house guests. I get them to pick it and shuck it while I get to hang out in the kitchen mixing things into butter.

Cathy ClearyAugust 18, 2017

Polenta Tomato Pie

I have a friend (identity not revealed) who hides the leftovers in the back of the fridge when she makes this pie. It’s so easy to make that I don’t bother hiding the leftovers I just make more. It’s a great entrée to serve if you have a gluten-free friend, because it’s gluten-free without trying too hard.

Dinner, Gluten-Free, SummerCathy ClearyAugust 8, 2017tomato, tomatoes, pie, gluten free, cornmeal, cheese

Blueberry Waterfall Birthday Cake

It wasn't my idea to run 14 miles through the woods scaling ridges and fording slippery rocked streams to celebrate our birthdays. We can blame that one on Elizabeth. Luckily I am a glutton for punishment and I can't think of a better way to spend a day.

Goats and Rhubarb

Rhubarb Ginger Mostarda with Goat Cheese inspired by our new arrivals out on the farm! Welcome Buckwheat and Snowflake!

Appetizers & Snacks, AdventuresCathy ClearyJune 14, 2017goat cheese, snacks, appetizers, rhubarb, ginger, mostarda, relish, pickle, cheese

FEAST in the Sunny Point Garden! Plus pig and pickles

I'm so excited to help organize this event with such generous businesses! On August 7th, 2017 Riverbend Malt is donating a pig (fattened on their spent grain) and Sunny Point Cafe is preparing a FEAST to benefit FEAST!

More Mussels

I always want more muscles and mussels. I go about getting them in different ways but always want more of both. I like to ride my bike, run, and do hard core garden workouts for the first kind of muscle. The second kind of mussel is much much easier to enjoy. They look like elongated clams or small smooth oysters, but the mussel is not something you see on menus in this country all that often.

Morels - or not...

I joined the Mushroom Club partly to learn about mushrooms, and partly to hang out with cool people who geek out on mushrooms. With great anticipation I signed up for my first foray hunting for the elusive Morel.

Sweet Potato Slips

Sweet potatoes don’t grow from seeds. They are one of those fascinating regenerative vegetables. Plant a sweet potato and it will grow baby sweet potatoes. Onions, ginger, turmeric, cassava, and potatoes all fall into this crazy category. Wouldn’t it be so cool if we could grow our own babies all by ourselves? Well, maybe I should save that for another discussion.

Free Cookies

I have a lot of experience making cookies, but not so much experience with political activism. My safe estimate is over 100, 000 cookies baked, and probably 30ish rallies and protests.

Stand-Up Dinner with Pickled Collards

I’d like to make the case for Stand-Up Dinner. Not all the time, or even very often, but every once in a while it makes sense to eat while standing. Cider making evenings are just such an occasion in our household.

Spring Salad with Herb Vinaigrette

Any spring mix will do for this salad but if you are a gardener and have fresh greens in the yard pick a mixture of baby kale, arugula, spinach, and pea shoots for a great flavor combo. Despite its name the dressing does not require homegrown herbs. As a matter of fact, you don't have to use herbs at all.

Bloody Mary Mixer or Virgin Mary

I was invited to be on a neighborhood garden tour one summer. I had declined the invitation for a few summers in a row, because my garden is often more about production than beauty. But this particular summer I decided to take on the challenge.

Fried Zucchini Pickles

County Fairs are a big deal in our neck of the woods. Folks bring out their biggest pumpkins and prettiest pigs to show off, pies are tasted and judged, and handmade patchwork quilts are on display. Fair food is almost always fried. These pickles remind me of fair food, and the best part is they are delicious even if you don’t want to fry them.

Extreme Canoeing

It will be fine! I kept telling myself, as the weather reports showed rain, wind, and temperatures in the low 20’s forecast for our weekend canoeing adventure on the Roanoke River.

Disappearing Deviled Eggs Dilemma

I have done an informal survey asking folks what disappears first off the buffet table. It is always the deviled eggs. Spanakopita triangles come in close second. It seems the most labor intensive, time consuming dishes disappear the fastest.

Hash to San Diego with Love

There are friends who grow apart, and those who grow together. One of my oldest and best friends lives in San Diego. We talk often, and try to visit at least once a year. We wear the same clothes, read the same books, and enjoy the same (sometimes obscure) entertainment unknowingly. When we do compare notes there is always a thread of common experience.