Author Archives: mosaica

About mosaica

Ugly & fabulous, warm & obsessive, brilliant & dorkmeisterish: striving to be a warrior in her little context.

Burma: Rivers of Flavor

Remember, as you read this, that butcher’s apprentices don’t live on innards alone. I am so excited that Naomi Duguid’s latest cookbook is nearly available –in fact, you can pre-order it at Amazon already. I took a peek at the … Continue reading

Posted in books, friends, vegetables | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Cometh the Fall

..the nice autumn-y fall, not the consequence of pride one. That means I’ll be going out as apprentice butcher more often, and it means a glorious profusion of apples are just around the corner, so the mincemeat post that I … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

The Sugar Mountain Farm Butcher Shop Project launches!

Pull on your galoshes and hurry on over to Kickstarter to back a really fantastic project: Walter, Holly, and their family are building an on-farm butcher shop at Sugar Mountain Farm! This really is good news, not just for those … Continue reading

Posted in alternatively sourced meat, bacon, charcuterie, curing, extremities, kidneys, liver, nose-to-tail, offal, pig's ears, pork, sausage, tongue, trotter | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Pudding Time

From the Oxford English Dictionary: † ˈpudding-time Obs. The time when pudding or puddings are to be had; hence fig., a time when one is in luck; a favourable or useful time. 1667 Dryden & Dk. Newcastle Sir M. Mar-all … Continue reading

Posted in beef, extremities, kidneys, nose-to-tail, offal, recipe | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Spicy Bright Birthday Balls

Each December my family celebrates my birthday by getting our Jule-cozy on with a Sunday visit to the Solstice & Christmas revels in Hanover, and then we head over to enjoy dinner at my favorite local restaurant, West Lebanon’s Yama. … Continue reading

Posted in beef, charcutepalooza, charcuterie, nose-to-tail, pork, recipe | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Have Feast, Will Travel

I recently asked a group of friends to help me pin down a secular, psychological, or philosophical equivalent to the term `grace’ as it is sometimes used in a religious context, describing the experience in which a person feels that … Continue reading

Posted in charcuterie, curing, duck, hog casing, liver, offal, pork, recipe, sausage, Smoke, venison | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

A Picnic with Walter

The elements which produce a well-cured bit of charcuterie are straightforward:  really great meat, salt, and time. It sounds simple, and honestly it is, but the loving and obsessive details –the herb and spice choices, the long close scrutiny, the … Continue reading

Posted in charcuterie, curing, hog casing, pork, recipe, sausage, Smoke | Tagged , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Lamb Kidneys

The butchering season is upon us here in New England, and I’ve been out a lot with my farm-butcher mentor Chet and his son Nick. Yesterday we slaughtered 9 lambs and one beef, and I came home with a bucket … Continue reading

Posted in kidneys, lamb, nose-to-tail, offal, recipe, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Everything Is Just Ducky

Okay, not really. This month my Charcutepalooza projects have been all about how good food –dreaming it up, cooking it, talking about it with friends, sharing it with friends and family, and (not least) eating it– sustains the spirit as … Continue reading

Posted in alternatively sourced meat, charcuterie, duck, liver, nose-to-tail, pork, venison | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Gala Pork Pie, Oh My!

Despite having been born in England, I had never tasted even a modest shop-bought pork pie, much less the festive Gala Pie. I had seen mention of these savory meat pies in books, had re-wound a few British television programs … Continue reading

Posted in bacon, charcuterie, pork, trotter | Tagged , , , , | 43 Comments