Revealing where our food comes from
Tomorrow the weather is going to change here in California. We expect the temps to drop down to freezing at the garden on Sunday and Monday nights, so the first thing that I helped with today was to put up some row cover over our green bean plants. They are full of flowers, and I…
Just like people, vegetables come in all different shapes and sizes. The grocery store doesn’t allow us to appreciate this variation. Everything needs to be the same size and weight for consistency when pricing. When you grow vegetables or buy them from a small farm, you inevitably end up with an assortment of items that…
Made from scratch green beans with a simple recipe improves the texture and taste. Returning to college after Thanksgiving, during my freshman year, I first learned that Green Bean Casserole was not a secret family recipe. I was a little crushed, and a lot embarrassed that I never noticed that the recipe is plastered on…
Just when the weather cools off and the winter season is getting close, mother nature gives us greens. These green vegetables come in all shapes and sizes, but they all like the cold, and if we had more sunlight, they would flourish through the winter. The greens are where the photosynthesis happens, and the green…
A dozen is nice but not for your waist. Scones are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. They’re one of my favorite baked goods. If you think that you don’t like scones, likely, you have never had one fresh from the oven. I love sweets in all their forms. But I have…
There are very few items I consider essential in the kitchen. As a minimalist, I kept my kitchen equipment to the bare bones when I was single. My husband, on the other hand, now finds something that I must have and purchases it for me for birthdays and Christmas gifts. Some women get jewelry. I…
About 10 years ago, I moved in with my now-husband and wanted to get everyone eating more vegetables. Knowing that carrot sticks are a gateway vegetable, that was where I was going to start my introduction. Of course, I would serve them with Ranch. The classic buttermilk dressing that is now famous in the United…
I somehow made it through culinary school without cooking a pot of beans. I guess we were more interested in haute cuisine than a simple, inexpensive dinner. I did, however, get an excellent bean cooking education at Rubicon, one of the first fine-dining establishments I worked. Stuck in the pantry station for a year I…
A pan, butter, garlic, and red pepper flakes are all you need. So, I just told you the secret recipe. (If I believed in secret recipes.) When someone sees a vegetable that they are unfamiliar with, there is a typical first question: How do you cook it? My answer is almost always: Sauté it with…
Do you need to save a little money? Do you need to eat a little better? Today I’m going to introduce you to oatmeal. We as Americans are used to having choices, and the breakfast cereal aisle is the epitome of choice. So much so that in the movie The Hurt Locker, when James comes…