Sheryl Cornett

A work friend and I were discussing how we were going to cook up the gifts of acorn and butternut squash that another colleague had given us. I was rattling on about trying an Alice Waters winter squash risotto and other complicated recipes when Matt looked at me blankly. “We just mash ’em up with […]

It seems every year we turn on the heat pump and fire up the woodstove a little later in October. Inevitably, though, we go to bed one night comfy in mild temps and with all the windows open, and wake up seeing our breath in the chill morning air. The mercury dropped lower than we […]

Apples are everywhere at the farmers’ markets right now. Along with pumpkins and Indian corn, this fruit symbolizes our romantic ideals of harvest season and reaping what we sow, with good reason. Apples can be stored through the winter in a cool, dry, dark place for as long as they last before you eat them. […]

Long before Jenni Ferrari-Adler edited the collection Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone (Riverhead, 2007), Laurie Colwin’s essay by the same title appeared in Gourmet magazine and reappeared in her 1988 collection Home Cooking. A funny read-aloud piece, “Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant” brought […]

Picture yourself on a beachfront deck somewhere on the coast of Carolina. Instead of grabbing a sandwich on the run, you’re about to sit down to a relaxed lunch on pottery plates, talk with friends and stay out of the sun’s burning rays. It may not be the Côte D’Azur, but then again, there’s no […]

I’m chatting with a cheese vendor at the Wednesday farmers’ market when my cell phone trills, alerting me to an urgent text message from my daughter: Don’t forget the blueberries! We’re lucky around here. We’ll have some variety of the blue darlings through mid-August. For vitamins, fiber and, of course, pure sweetness, buy a pint. […]

We are creatures of habit, and in spite of the abundance and diversity at our high-summer farmers’ markets, it’s a likely default to think of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and watermelon for a July Fourth cookout. And why not? It’s an easy and delicious fix, and locavores have the option of grass-fed beef and […]

Tomatoes have been in the news lately. Florida’s dubious harvest calls for us to buy summer’s No. 1 favorite fruit closer to home. This is good news for locavores and farmers alike. And as tomato season comes into its own, the options for eating local grow, too. Tomato sandwiches on (locally baked, real) whole wheat […]

Around Father’s Day is when I make the first peach cobbler of the summerusually on the day itself to celebrate. The peaches start arriving at the farmers’ market around now, quietly at first and selling out early, and their perfume and perfect freshness make it really worth the effort to get to the stands early […]

Freshwater fish finder If you really have your heart set on a particular variety, call ahead to be sure it’s in stock. Trout in particular seems to be carried in smaller quantities. • Capitol Seafood in Durham and Raleigh • Whole Foods Market, Trianglewide • Tom Robinson Seafood, Carrboro • Weaver Street Market, Carrboro and […]