by Joyce Peters When I was growing up in New York City, ages ago, my Chinese- American family did not eat much broccoli. It just wasn’t available in our neighborhood stores. When we did have it, my grandfather would discard the florets and slice the stems for his stir fries. […]
by Joyce Peters Kale has been the “it” vegetable for a while – cooks add kale to smoothies, soups or roast them into chips for flavor and a nutrition boost. It is a powerhouse vegetable, loaded with vitamins A, B6, C, K, folate, fiber, carotenoids and manganese. Salad is the […]
ABG’s Sauerkraut Making Class WHEN: Saturday, January 10, 2026, from 10 – 11 AM WHERE: Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave., Alameda This fun, tasty class was all about making sauerkraut! We learned how to turn fresh cabbage into a crunchy, flavorful food that’s great for your body. Sauerkraut […]
by Joyce Peters In the past parsley was an afterthought. A spring of French curly parsley was added as a garnish not a flavoring. Today Italian flat-leaf parsley is commonly used to season foods. According to Rachel Ray Magazine, flat-leaf parsley adds a boost of fresh flavor without overwhelming food, […]
by Joyce Peters Salads add variety and crunch to any meal. I did not grow up eating salads. I think that families whose roots are in countries where clean water is not readily available, don’t eat raw produce without hesitation. Luckily in the United States, the water is potable. Also, […]
by Joyce Peters Ideal for small gardens, radishes are an easy and quick vegetable to grow. Home gardeners can raise unique varieties besides the red little globes we find in most supermarkets. Radishes are root vegetables that are low in starch and a member of the cruciferous family. Like their […]
by Joyce Peters Cabbage is one of those overlooked nutrient powerhouses. The cabbage family, which includes arugula, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower and kale, is rich in folate, vitamins C, E, and K, and fiber. All are good sources of phytonutrients that help lower inflammation and reduce the risk of cancer. […]
by Vicki Scott It’s winter in California, which means it’s time for citrus! While many plants in our Bay Area gardens are sleeping, these magical trees are bursting with fruit, their branches heavy with bright yellow, orange, and green juiciness, just begging to be picked. Whenever I have extra lemons, […]
By Joyce Peters Beans & Greens is a healthy, wintry dish that features greens at their peak sweetness and tenderness. 8 ounces of dried white beans or chickpeas 1 medium onion, peeled 1 bay leaf 1 clove Salt & black pepper to taste 1 bunch (about 1 ½ lbs.) greens […]
by Joyce Peters Roasting brings out the best in vegetables. High dry heat caramelizes the vegetables to give them sweetness and intensify flavor. This dish is a great company dish that can be prepared ahead by cutting all the vegetables except the potatoes. When you are ready to cook, add […]
by Maricelle Cardenas, StopWaste In preparation for the big food gatherings coming up, we’ve asked StopWaste, the agency in Alameda County focused on reducing our county waste stream, to tell us about ways to minimize food waste over the winter holidays and throughout the year. The holidays often provide the […]
by Joyce Peters An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Few other proverbs have stood the test of time. We’ve known that apples are a good source of vitamin C and fiber. They also contain pectin, a fiber that breaks down in your gut and makes you feel fuller […]
by Joyce Peters I remember fondly the school lunch program in the 50’s, but not the commodity canned green beans – pale,tasteless and soft, so different from just picked green beans – beautifully green, tasty and chewy. Even home cooks then overcooked all vegetables, sometimes boiling for an hour. Cooked […]
by Joyce Peters Tomatoes are a gardener’s treasure to enjoy in the summer heat when their flavor is at its peak. Besides being delicious and versatile in recipes they are a powerhouse of nutrients. A good source of vitamin C and vitamin A, tomatoes also provide fiber and other trace […]
by Margie Siegal At the end of the summer, gardeners and farmers from many different cultures faced a similar problem: tomatoes that got started too late and never ripened. Gardeners and farmers around the world share two traits: first, they never throw anything away if they can help it and […]
Contributed by Linda Carloni This recipe is adapted from the version handed down to me from my late mother-in-law, Lillian Carloni. Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine in large bowl and beat until creamy (hand mixer is good): ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup white sugar 3 eggs Add to […]
Contributed by Kristen Smeal This (plant based) recipe is adapted from the one my grandmother used to make, which she called “pigs in a blanket,” a Pennsylvania coal-country adaptation of a traditional Eastern European food, Halupki. They are commonly served around the holidays, at weddings, and at the county fair. […]
Contributed by Birgitt Evans Makes 12 – 15 buns This recipe comes from “Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break” by Anna Brones & Johanna Kindvall. The English have ‘tea time’ and we Swedes have our “Fika” (pronounced “fee-ka”) which is coffee plus a sweet treat and time to […]
Contributed by Margie Siegal (for 1 person, double or triple as needed) This is an inexpensive but tasty dinner or lunch, especially if you grow your own. Kale, chard and mustard greens grow year round in our climate, and are some of the easiest vegetables to grow. Kale is often […]
Contributed by Marla Koss (Adapted from Marion Cunningham’s WILLIE’S CRISP recipe from her long-ago San Francisco Chronicle column) Fruit Filling: 5 to 6 cups apples, peeled, in medium-sized chunks or slices 12-oz. package fresh or frozen cranberries 1 to 1 ½ cups sugar, depending on tartness of apples 4 tbsp. […]
(via Food 52) Marla Koss suggested this recipe as well – it’s a revelation, as well as filled with Vitamin C! Ingredients: 2 sticks (225g) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan 1 1/4 cups (250g) sugar 3 large eggs 2 oranges (about 1 pound/450g), ends trimmed, then cut […]
Marla Koss brings us this delicious twist on a holiday favorite. The recipe has a great depth of flavor from the fruit and is a great way to use up a ripe persimmon or two. Yields enough filling for a single-crust 10-inch pie or a 9-inch pie + 2 oven-safe […]
by Birgitt Evans A delicious beverage for a gathering, and a great start to a festive meal! Ingredients: 1 gallon Apple Juice Peel from 1/2 Orange or 1 Mandarin 10 Whole Cloves 6 Cardamom Pods 2 or 3 3 inch Pieces of Cinnamon Stick Add everything to a heavy bottomed […]
from Recipes by Love and Lemons Alison Limoges recommends this salad, which was a big success at her Thanksgiving feast. Ingredients: (Serves 2 as a main dish and 4 as a side dish) 1 delicata squash, washed, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced into 1/2 inch segments 1 small red onion, […]
by Marla Koss Serves 4 A warming winter soup from Marla Koss, with both vegan and not vegan options! A cozy and yummy way to fit a lot of vegetables. Note: This is a vegan recipe, but to make it unvegan, you can toss a couple boneless, skinless frozen chicken […]
by Margie Siegal What a great idea – a savory main dish squash and greens pie! This pie keeps in the fridge for a week, so if there are only one or two of you, you can get several meals out of one pie. Many of the ingredients in this […]
It’s definitely Winter in the garden, even though it’s not yet the Solstice. This newsletter is dedicated to recipes for the meals of winter, featuring the sturdy produce still locally available, greens and cole crops you may have in your garden now, and breads to satisfy the soul. Just the […]
by Kristen Smeal, ABG board member and Master Gardener Frittatas are a perfect way to use up leftovers in the fridge. They can be prepared ahead for a weekend brunch or on-the-go workdays. They can be frozen or stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Here is a […]
by Margie Siegal Zucchini plants are prolific and very forgiving. Planted in a sunny spot, given a reasonable amount of water and some fertilizer now and again, zucchini plants will grow and produce big bright yellow flowers. The flowers attract a wide variety of pollinating insects. Once pollinated, the flowers […]
by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener Brightly colored fruits and vegetables not only add a pop of color to the table, they also add an abundance of nutrients and fun. Summertime yields a colorful palate of vegetables and fruits: red, yellow and purple tomatoes; green and yellow cucumbers; navy blueberries and […]
by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener Lavender is a drought tolerant plant that can grow in poor soil and full sun, so it grows in abundance in the Bay Area. There are 450 different varieties of lavender, all edible, but one more than the others. The most common lavender used in […]
by Kristen Smeal, Master Gardener This recipe was created by Sarah Ortega of Alameda, teacher, chef, and mom of three. She created this recipe for a garden to table cooking class so the students could experience harvesting the kale, lemon, garlic, and edible flowers from the garden and incorporate them […]
with Margie Siegal Tuesday, October 17, 2017, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave, Alameda Have too many tomatoes? Can’t manage to eat all those apples fast enough? Join us to learn about canning food. People have been preserving their harvests for thousands of years. Join us as […]
Here’s a simple egg-lemon sauce that turns blah stove-top recipes fabulously Greek–without much fuss: 3 eggs 1 tbsp water 3 tbsp lemon juice Whisk eggs in a bowl with the water until frothy. Add lemon juice a bit at a time and mix in thoroughly. Pour over fully-cooked meat or […]
