by autumn on October 7, 2014
My new kitchen, which I promise to share “before†pics of soon, is pretty big. The fun challenge is that it’s maybe the most awkward shape–basically the longest galley kitchen ever (it runs the entire length of our house). At the opposite end of the kitchen from where the stove, sink, etc are is what the previous owners used as a craft room. I’ve dubbed it my kitchen office/appliance annex because it has a low counter that I use for my computer and a slightly longer, higher counter where I have all my small appliances set up so they don’t take up valuable counter space in the actual kitchen.
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by autumn on October 3, 2014
by autumn on October 1, 2014
The past few months have easily been some of the most challenging of my life. I’ll be the first to admit that I like things to be calm, settled, and stable, and our landing here in Arizona was anything but. We’ve lived 4 places (it makes my stomach churn just to type that) since arriving at the end of June. It has been a huge personal challenge for me to find stability internally during this time (real talk). When we left New York people asked if we had jobs, a place to live, and I just kept saying “We’ll figure it out.†Well, after a few crazy months, it finally feels like we’re figuring it out and I am so grateful!
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by autumn on September 22, 2014
I’m really honored to have a guest post over at the Joy of Cooking (!!!) today. I’m sharing a big, bold roasted pear infused mezcal and a recipe for a smoky roasted pear old fashioned. Is it like fall in a glass? YES. I’m also sharing my new favorite hack for getting the most flavor out of your infusions.
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by autumn on September 9, 2014
A couple of weekends ago I got to try some prickly pear pico de gallo. The guys at the little burger stand that was serving it were so darn proud, I think they asked us three or four times how we liked it. It was pretty amazing, so much so that we had a fairly serious debate about the appropriateness of asking for a cup or two for the road. I was too bashful to ask for more, but have been regretting the decision ever since. [click to continue…]
by autumn on September 2, 2014
Two summers ago, before we went away to Vermont, I set up a ziploc baggie assembly line and measured out a vacation’s worth of dry ingredients for my favorite buckwheat pancake recipe. I needed to be prepared for the maple syrup. Once we were there, I made Paul drive me out to this farm that was waaaaay further away/in the mountains than I initially thought to get what was–thankfully–maybe the best bacon I’ve had in my life. I cooked the pancakes and bacon in my cast-iron on the grill of our Airbnb and we had some legendary porch breakfasts.
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by autumn on August 29, 2014
I guess at this point, it’s unofficially prickly pear week on Autumn Makes & Does. My prickly pear antics continued and I made some prickly pear tequila by using this recipe from Cauldrons & Crockpots as a guide. I burned the spikes off of 10 or so prickly pears, sliced them into coins, put them in a quart jar, and covered them with an inexpensive silver tequila.
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by autumn on August 27, 2014
I’ve encountered a number of people before and after leaving New York City that have given me some variation of the sentiment “Oh, you’re going to miss it.†Sometimes, it comes in the form of a question, which I find a lot more palpable because it gives me a chance to respond. Honestly, the thing I really miss is the privilege of access–the ease of bringing home the of-the-moment seasonal fruit or vegetable and cooking through the year that way. First world problems, I know.
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by autumn on August 26, 2014
If there’s one thing I’ve learned definitively about harvesting and processing the bright magenta fruit of the prickly pear cactus, it’s that everyone pretty much does it their own way. Last week, we went over to Paul’s grandmother’s house and she put us to work on her prickly pears and gave me crash course on her process.
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by autumn on August 22, 2014
It has been a big week of food-learning here! Last weekend we learned about harvesting and cooking both prickly pear cactus paddles (nopales) and their bright magenta fruit, which are at their peak of ripeness right now. I sampled some smoked nopales, which were so darn good–bright, smoky, chewy–that they bumped a smoker up a couple spots on my must haves list. Tomorrow is the—wait for it–Prickly Pear Festival and I’m pretty amped about it. Expect a lot of bright pink treats here in the coming weeks because we also spent this afternoon harvesting a couple big bowls full of prickly pear fruit. I think I’ve found the desert equivalent of when the first rhubarb shows up at the Union Square Greenmarket 🙂
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