spring violets

Homemade Violet Syrup–Made with Violets from Spring Gardens & Woods

April 15, 2015 By Nancy Baggett 8 Comments

Each spring I take a page from traditionalist European and some American cooks and herbalists and harvest native woodland violets for culinary use. The ones ...

Got Violets and Lemons? Make Violet Lemonade

May 4, 2014 By Nancy Baggett 4 Comments

It's wild violet season, and like many centuries of cooks and gardeners before me, I am out gathering and then putting violets to use in my kitchen. Some folks ...

Spectacular Violet and Leafy Greens Salad, Plus a Quick Violet Vinaigrette

April 21, 2013 By Nancy Baggett 2 Comments

I suppose salad doesn't leap into most people's minds at the sight of a field turned hazy purple with a carpet of wild woodland violets. But if you live ...

Welcome to KitchenLane! It’s a comfortable place where I create, thoroughly test, and photograph recipes for my cookbooks and blog. All my recipes are original, not adaptations from others. I trained as a pastry chef, so many offerings are desserts and baked goods. Some are also healthful, savory dishes I contribute to healthy eating publications. My recipes are always free of artificial dyes, flavorings, and other iffy additives, which I won’t serve my family—or you! Instead, dishes feature naturally flavorful, colorful ingredients including fresh herbs, berries, edible flowers, and fruits, many from my own suburban garden or local farmers’ markets. Since lots of readers aspire to write cookbooks, I also blog on recipe writing and editing and other helpful publishing how-to info accumulated while authoring nearly 20 well-received cookbooks over many years.