Short Ribs in a Slow Cooker

By Lori Powell

On Sundays, I like to roast a chicken, brisket or something that cooks for at least a couple of hours in the oven, perfuming the whole house. I make many a meal during the week from the leftovers.

One of my favorite appliances for the weekend is a slow cooker. It’s great for cheaper cuts of meat that require slow and low cooking.

So while at the green market on Saturday morning I stopped at Fleisher’s meat market and picked up four pieces of short ribs. Short ribs are sublime and result in meltingly tender nuggets of meat, due to all of the layers of fat. And then there is the added flavor from the bone.

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In Love with Cranberry Beans

By Lori Powell

This past weekend, I went upstate to visit with friends and neighbors that I hadn’t seen in a while. But truly, the other real draw was to visit the farmers’ market two miles up the road from my house in uptown Kingston, New York.

Much devastation was brought upon the farmers in that area. All the flooding and high winds destroyed crops to the point that they were completely washed out and their wares were found tumbling over the falls in High Falls, New York.

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Last Chance: Watermelon Salad

By Lori Powell

The last dog days of summer…humid, hot and in this case, very wet with rain. I start thinking of fall but then again I decided that we should wait just a bit more and savor the last of summer produce.

I’m not sure about you but in my neck of the woods it has been hotter than…. Standing in a sauna, but fully clothed and cooking. Makes me want to consume things that are laden with juice, such as the lovely watermelon, and that doesn’t require fire to eat. So many great things can be made with any of the varieties that you might find at your local farmers’ market, from yellow to red, from large to small, from salsas to cooling drinks.

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Too Many Tomatoes

By Lori Powell

Tomatoes are dropping in my garden…literally. My garden includes everything from heirloom varieties to the humble cherry. So, when burdened (gifted) with the luxury of gorgeous home-grown tomatoes, I say, let the salsas begin!

With infinite salsa variations possible, I change it up, given the offerings at the farmers’ market or what’s in my fridge. You could add beans, corn or grilled veggies, to name a few tasty options.

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Thinking Pumpkins; Anticipating Fall

By Lori Powell

I have never had a pumpkin patch...until now. When I moved into my rental house, there was a raised bed with rotting pumpkins.

Agreed, it was not so pretty, but thought, wow! How cool would it be to have pumpkins? Well, those pumpkins became compost over the winter and their seeds produced offspring.

First there was a small green one, which is becoming rather large. And then a small orange one popped up, and now a white mini pumpkin. They are literally taking over the garden so I had to take out a couple of plants and steer the vines to the outside of the box to protect the rest of the herbs and tomato plants that were about to be overcome by the big beauties!

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