Maria's Farm Country Kitchen

November 20, 2009 • in Food & Recipes

Stuffing Wars: Mrs. Cinquino’s Recipe Wins Them All!

I grew up with my mother’s favorite stuffing, which is really “potato filling.” I never really liked it, and much preferred my grandmother’s Pepperidge Farm stuffing—even though she would put dried apricots in it. But I never liked either stuffing …

The Cranberry Sauce Controversy (with Poll and Recipe!)

Generally, there are three types of people: Those who won’t eat cranberry sauce at all. Those who like it cooked and gelatinous. And those who prefer their sauce raw. I fall firmly into the raw camp. It is simply not …

How to Find and Cook an Organic Turkey

As Barbra Kingsolver writes so charmingly in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, turkey farming is a brutal business—unless you can find an organic, preferably small-farm, source. My mother raises turkeys every year on her farm, and the birds are surprisingly sociable, friendly, …

The Great Thanksgiving Countdown

If you are not hosting everyone at your house, consider yourself lucky. You don’t have to clean up the whole house, manage all the expectations, or think about whether or not everything can fit in your stove at the same …

‘Tis the Season for Hot Apple Cider

Actually, the season is almost over. That’s why we have to enjoy every second left of apple season, and with it, apple cider both cold and hot. Here in Pennsylvania the leaves have already fallen, and the frost has killed …

The End of Farmer’s Market Season…Waaaaaaah!

November is here, and the last farmer’s market of the season in Emmaus is on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This week things are already winding down. The vendors are thinning out, and the crowds are filled with hard-core regulars rather …

How to Get Your Kids to Read

It occurs to me that I might have found the secret formula for getting kids to read. While the media and teachers complain that kids don’t read anymore, I can’t get my kids to stop. Even Lucia, who is too …