Harvest Sideshow

This recipe, Harvest Sideshow, comes from a delightful workshop I attended in 1999 called Jazz Cooking, led by the amazing Twin Cities author and thought leader Leah Skurdal. The essence of the class, explained so beautifully by Leah, is that there are basic flavor and texture groupings in cooking, just as there are basic chord progressions and patterns in jazz. Once we know those groupings and patterns, we can work with them and "riff", playing within that framework.

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What Brings You Alive?

What Brings You Alive?

One day the question “What brings you alive?” caused her to sit up. Her immediate response was, “Not a doggone thing.“  With eyes brimming and a knot in her throat, she wondered, “When did I become so small? I need more! I want to LIVE!” she proclaimed aloud.

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The Blue Table Dialogues

The Blue Table Dialogues

We settled around the blue farm table in Deborah’s kitchen. Its worn wooden surface carried many layers of aqua-colored paint, applied seasonally by Deborah, a five-foot tall sprite with bright eyes, vibrant wit, and a flare for bringing people together….

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