Good Things by David

Dear Readers,  I will be taking a small vacation from the blog through Labor Day Weekend, but rest assured that I will be back with lots of great stuff.  I'm currently working on reorganizing my cookie cutter collection (above), giving my treasures a much-needed space of their own.  Stay tuned for that post. I hope everyone is having a great summer! Cheers, David

Many of us are looking forward to the end of the season.  This is the time of year when kids are back from summer camp, the school year is about to begin for many, and when us bakers begin planning for the fall and winter baking seasons. I'm already anticipating making cakes, breads and cookies spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and clove, because I know that my house is going to have that wonderful medley of scents. However, it is still summertime and we should take advantage of the long days, the warm sunshine and the fleeting beauty of what mother nature has to offer.   Walking around the patio of the barn the other day, I was so happy to see the flowering joe pye weed buzzing with activity.  Such healthy, busy bees were jumping from flower to flower gathering as much pollen as possible to take back to their hives. These tight clusters of flowers seem so delicate and dainty, but rest assured, they can handle bees, butterflies and other insec...

Are you looking for an end of summer white wine that will go with the season's best?  Turn to a cool white wine from Italy made from the indigenous Sicilian  grillo grape for an undoubtedly fruity experience.  If you've never had the pleasure of tasting a chilled grillo , I recommend looking for some the next time you're shopping for wine.  This full-bodied wine is pale yellow in color, with notes of bright, refreshing citrus and tart apple.  Gavi wines are great, pinot grigios are reliable, but this Terre Siciliane is a great alternative.     Enjoy this wine with chicken piccata, grilled lemon chicken, pastas with cream sauces, or even as an accompaniment to a cheese tasting.  It's great as an aperitif with honeyed nuts, artisanal crackers and a variety of spreads.  Serve well-chilled in clear glasses.

Depression-era kitchen utensils with colored handles in shades of green, were prevalent in American kitchens during the 1930s.  Not only were these instruments meant to be utilitarian in their everyday function, but they were fashioned to harmonize with kitchen tables, cabinets, countertops and tilework of that period.  Many of us collectors like the fact that so many of these kitchen tools blend exceptionally well with jadeite from subsequent decades. Integrating them into present-day homes is not only a great way to enhance the character of one's kitchen, but it's also a nice way to keep them from becoming obsolete relics of a bygone era. I had the good fortune of coming across several examples of kitchen utensils, glassware and tin from this era, while antiquing in Long Beach, California a few weeks ago.  It happened by pure chance and luck that these items caught my attention, and I couldn't be happier having them in my colonial kitchen here in Pennsylva...