edible plants Archives - A Way To Garden

foraged and homegrown: whole-food cooking, with amy chaplin

margaret — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 16:35:43 +0000

I CAN ALMOST taste it now: the flavors of the first spring crops, whether homegrown, or from your CSA share, or even ethically foraged…with the promise of a whole growing season of the freshest, tastiest produce to come. It’s the perfect time to think about adding some new recipes to our repertory that can really show them off, and who better to ask for inspiration on that score than Amy Chaplin, whose approach to cooking is nature-inspired and whole-foods based. It’s the 10th anniversary of Amy’s James Beard award-winning cookbook, “At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen” (affiliate link), and a special updated edition is about to be released to celebrate. Amy has worked in the food world around the globe for three decades, as a cookbook author, vegetarian chef, teacher and recipe developer. She is a native of Australia who now lives and gardens in the Hudson Valley of New York State, and I asked her help to get us all ready for making the most creative and delicious use of the botanical bounty that’s ahead of us. Plus: Comment in the box near the bottom of the page to enter to win a copy of the new book. […]

The post foraged and homegrown: whole-food cooking, with amy chaplin appeared first on A Way To Garden.

exploring ‘the exchange,’ seed savers’ online heirloom seed swap

margaret — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 17:15:06 +0000

YOU PROBABLY KNOW the popular Seed Savers Exchange catalog, which this year features 600 varieties of seed to choose from and supports the beloved nonprofit preservation organization by the same name that in 2025 is turning 50 years old. But maybe you haven’t clicked around in Seed Savers’ online seed swap that’s simply called The Exchange, where homegrown open-pollinated seed for more than 14,000 unique varieties is offered this year. Some of it from Seed Savers’ own vast collection, and others from hundreds of individual gardeners all over the country and beyond. It’s the ultimate seed rabbit hole for keen gardeners to explore, and then some. Josie Flatgard, Exchange and Outreach Coordinator for Seed Savers Exchange, based in Decorah, Iowa, told me about their preservation work, and how The Exchange fits into the mission—and how we gardeners can join in the effort and also access some heirloom seeds with compelling stories to tell. Read along as you listen to the Feb. 10, 2025 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here). heirloom seeds from the exchange, with […]

The post exploring ‘the exchange,’ seed savers’ online heirloom seed swap appeared first on A Way To Garden.

medieval herbs for today’s gardens, with the cloisters’ carly still

margaret — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 15:07:38 +0000

WHEN MOST OF US think of growing herbs each spring, what we probably put into our shopping cart, whether from online seed catalogs or at the garden center, are the culinary must-haves: the basil, the parsley, the dill and such. At the Met Cloisters in Upper Manhattan, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art focused on the medieval era, the herb collection is far vaster, with possibilities for culinary use, sure, but also for purposes like dying and other crafts or for household uses, or for medicine, for magic and ceremony, and even herbs for promoting love. Each one has a story to tell, and some of those stories along with various plants you’ll want to try are what I talked about with Carly Still, the managing horticulturist of the Met Cloisters. Carly oversees the three main gardens that hold the museum’s living collection. One of those three is the Bonnefont Cloister Herb Garden (above). Read along as you listen to the Aug. 5, 2024 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here). medieval herbs for […]

The post medieval herbs for today’s gardens, with the cloisters’ carly still appeared first on A Way To Garden.