Sarah Lemon
Journalist and food writer turned cooking instructor who believes that healthy food is within anyone’s reach — and can taste delicious.
Beloved local peach varieties signify summer in Southern Oregon
“Millions of peaches — peaches for me.” “Millions of peaches — peaches for free.” The hit lyrics from the Presidents of the United States of America couldn’t have been more suited to my family’s Saturday morning at a local U-pick orchard. Well, it wasn’t millions of peaches my family picked at Central Point’s Coats Ranch. But it’s more than we can eat in a sitting. So the question becomes how to...
Hold the mayo for lighter side dishes
When soaring outdoor temperatures and outdoor cooking collide, the casualty can be classic mayonnaise-dressed side dishes. I love grilled foods alongside homemade, well-seasoned, all-American potato and macaroni salads. No factory-made versions with their preservatives, thickeners and fake flavors, please. However, mayonnaise-based salads — homemade or store-bought — tend to get a bad rap when...
Rhubarb has a surprisingly savory side
Resolved to squeeze as much food as we can out of our small-ish suburban yard, my husband and I intermingle ornamentals and edibles. Pencil-sized leeks punctuate our flower beds. Strawberries sprawl around our backyard rosebush. And our front yard is a riot of perennial herbs, including rosemary, lavender, catmint, thyme and sage. Recently joining the perennial party are two rhubarb plants that...
Use your noodle to adapt pasta dishes to diverse cuisines, personal tastes
Pasta is a mainstay of my kitchen, something I simply won’t do without. I’ve been known to say that if stranded on a desert island with only one food to eat for the rest of my life, I’d choose pasta, provided I also had butter or oil and salt. Not the most nutrient-dense pick, of course. But what would I care? I’d prefer to spend the short time I likely had left, relishing those fast carbs and...
Local eggs fill gap in nationwide supply
My enthusiasm for eggs runs strong all year long. So it’s easy to forget that this supermarket staple has a season — unless you make a point to shop the region’s first farmers markets of spring. While March markets’ fresh produce is still scanty — even supplemented with overwintered and stored crops — egg supplies are strong. And demand this year for locally raised eggs is likely to be even...
Broccoli is widely beloved of Americans
It’s a bleak season for seasonal eaters in Southern Oregon — a time of “default-mode” cooking, rather than inspiration from nature. After a solid three months of eating winter squash, interspersed with potatoes and root vegetables, propped up by hardy greens, I’m defaulting to broccoli. And I’m not the only one. Ask any American of any eating persuasion in a majority of states which vegetable is...
Indian kootu cleans the produce bin
After the celebration comes the catharsis — that inevitable literal and figurative purging following the holiday season. After taking down and packing up holiday decorations this week, I deep-cleaned the kitchen, sifted through piles of paperwork on my desk and organized some clutter in the garage. Because we’d spent a week away from home, the refrigerator load was lighter than usual. But there...
Family recipes conjure sweet visions of Christmas past
My grandmother was the queen of Christmas. “Elf” might be a more fitting title, given her diminutive stature. But my grandma didn’t discreetly execute anyone else’s holiday plan. She orchestrated the whole show — with sights, smells and tastes to ensure everyone in our extended family joined the merry-making. Numbering between 13 and 17, our gathering wasn’t too large to blow...
Choose chicories for cold-season salads
Do you switch up your salads according to the season? If apples have swapped places with tomatoes and citrus with cucumber, your salads are halfway there. Now consider the salad greens, themselves. The bulk of your salad bowl deserves a fresh look with each turn of the calendar’s pages. Shoppers who pay close attention in grocers’ produce sections can envision more on the menu than cabbage and...
Fall feast doesn’t sate pumpkin cravings
This year, I’m grateful for family who helps with the Thanksgiving feast. I’d already purchased canned pumpkin puree, though, when my mother-in-law said she wanted to prepare pumpkin chiffon pie. Who am I to argue? A lighter alternative to classic pumpkin is fine by me, particularly when it’s served alongside a slice of my family’s indispensable pecan pie. But what to do with the can of unused...