Cookin' and a'Codin

06/05/2026

I MAY LIKE TO COOK.. I may like to sew.

But, when I'm working I also know something about striker bits!

06/05/2026

MEETING INTERESTING PEOPLE THROUGH CLIENTS

When you have interesting clients like Greg Patent, you hear about and meet interesting people, like Aglaia Kremezi. Greg met Aglaia on a tour of Italy, sponsored by Oldways. And her name would pop up now and then.

Last week, Greg passed along the news that Aglaia had died of cancer. Very sad for Greg, and sad that I didn't get to meet her. So, I will have to meet her through one of her books.

Here is one of her recipes. I have never made fermented cabbage. Looks like I will have to give it a try!

PrintFar from the heavy, somewhat fowl-smelling sauerkraut, this is a vividly-colored, tangy-fruity cabbage that you can eat on its own as part of a meze spread, or add it to any of your winter or spring salads.   We love it so much, that we cannot do without it and as Sandor Ellix Katz suggests, [...

05/29/2026

05/29/2026

ON OUR WAY, TO ARCHIE BRAY

We stopped for lunch at Steve's Cafe, 1225 Custer Ave Helena, MT. It was a very good choice. The outside of the building is very unassuming, but inside is a very different story.

I asked the lady at the front whether there really is a "Steve". She said that there really is a Steve, and that he is in his 80s and comes in to eat. Steve sold the business to Tony.

All the meals were excellent. The ingredients were prepped on location. There was great rejoicing at "real bacon" in the double bacon cheeseburger. My omelet didn't look like it was made by AI, instead, it looked like home cooked mushroom slices, spinach an fresh eggs. But, the hash browns were a bit too crunchy.

Their coffee mugs are very cool! I looked at the mark on the bottom, and they come from a real, hand thrown pottery company in St. Paul, MN called Deneen Pottery. In fact, you can order cups with your custom logo or text from them. They do require orders of 96+. While we were at Steve's a gent came in and bought a box of cups. I only bought 2. I hope they have enough left for their diners.

From there, we went to Archie Bray. I bought a cup there too! But that's an upcoming post. You can read ahead by clicking the bottom link.

https://stevescafe.com/
https://deneenpottery.com/
https://archiebray.org/about/

05/20/2026

THE LAST LITTLE GARDEN SHARE PUMPKIN SURVIVED THE WINTER

So, I cooked it down and made some pumpkin bread. But, it wasn't just any pumpkin bread, it was Candied Orange Peel and Pumpkin Bread. 2 of the 8 mini loaves made it to a family birthday party yesterday evening.

It looks like Alex, who will be running the Western Montana Growers Cooperative & CSA, taking over from Autumn has pumpkins that survived the winter, as well! I generally get a large share so I have plenty to ... well ... share.

ORANGE PUMPKIN BREAD
INGREDIENTS
1 - 2 cups candied orange peels

2 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

4 large eggs

2 cup pumpkin

2/3 cup water

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

1 cup chopped raisins, optional

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 8 small loaf pans

Chop candied orange peels OR
Wash and cut 2 oranges into wedges; remove and discard seeds. Grind orange wedges in blender or food processor.

Cream sugar and butter together in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time; stir in pumpkin, water, and ground orange.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves together in another large bowl. Stir into sugar-butter mixture until just moistened. Fold in nuts and raisins. Spoon into the prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove from pan, and cool on a wire rack.

This recipe is a variation on a theme: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6932/orange-pumpkin-loaf/

05/20/2026

We are so excited to welcome Will and Bailey from "Will's Noods" to the farm on Wednesday, May 27th from 6-8pm for this amazing workshop!

Learn to make a Semolina dough and 6 different shapes! And then....you will be treated to dinner by Will and Bailey using the fresh-made pasta!

Go home with a gnocchi board, ferretto, and the skills of making your own fresh pasta!

Bring a friend and enjoy this special spring workshop at the farm!

Space is very limited so sign up soon!!

05/06/2026

WHAT TO DO WITH BLACK CHICKPEAS?

I came across these black chickpeas while shopping for something else at the Double K Ranch Deli. And, I kept them for months, not quite knowing what to do with them.

Finally, I figured they were beans. I know how to cook beans, so why am I afraid of black chickpeas? Then I got into color coding mode. They would look really nice with small red beans. So, I cooked them all up in some pork stock my daughter had made, together with a bit of this and a bit of that.

They did look nice with the red beans. Even more important, they were a great office lunch.

https://shop.timelessfood.com/collections/organic-chickpeas/products/organic-black-butte-chickpeas

https://www.doublekranchmt.com/deli

05/03/2026

HOW TO JAZZ UP A SPECIAL REQUEST OF HOMEMADE BISCUITS?

Hmmm ... think about it for a while

1. Chopped cracklins from the last batch of homemade lard. It's the last of them, so I guess I'd better schedule another batch.

2. Chopped onions

3. Grated cheddar cheese

4. Home roasted red bell peppers packed in olive oil and Spanish Pimenton Dulce

THANKS
1. To my maternal grandparents for adding home rendered lard to my heritage.

2. To my daughter for the gift of Las Hermanas Pimenton

3. To my son for the reminder to keep everything cold when making biscuits

4. To my friend for the gift of the very large pottery bowl for serving

https://largefamilytable.com/how-to-make-homemade-biscuits-large-family-recipes/

04/27/2026

SO WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES ITALIAN FLOUR MAKE?

Last week, I bought a loaf of Molasses Rye bread from Seppi's Market and Deli in Hamilton. The folks at Seppi's told me that they use Italian flour for their breads.

When one of the relatives has a birthday celebration, I usually take along some unexpected food treat, so I sliced the bread and took it along with some Irish butter. The bread pretty much disappeared. It was all I could do to hold back 2 slices for the birthday boy!

What’s the difference, anyway?

03/03/2026