My favorite coffee shop recently featured tomatillo soup for lunch. It was delectable and inspired me to create my own version at home. Because I keep cooked beans, caramelized onions, cooked grains and vegetable stock on hand in the freezer, the preparation was incredibly quick and easy. (You can find my directions for making big batches of beans here, caramelized onions here, … Read more
Knowing my love of slow cooking, my close and personal superior Mindy Celeste sent me a recipe from Real Simple for slow-cooker rigatoni. It’s the best kind of crock pot recipe, requiring little preparation beyond chopping and mixing. The original recipe calls for thawing and draining the spinach, but MC said, “I did not thaw or squeeze anything as I used whole … Read more
My friend who lives near the bakery brought me more day-old loaves this week. I’d also used up a jar of marinated red peppers. Only the marinating oil was left in the bottom. So I decided to use these two ingredients as the basis of another strata (savory bread pudding), this time with a stronger Mediterranean theme. Ingredients butter or cooking … Read more
My friend who lives near the bakery brought me some day-old loaves this week. Yay! The perfect excuse to make strata – an egg, cheese, bread and vegetable dish that’s as good for breakfast as it is for dinner. Think quiche, but easier. I used a whole grain sourdough loaf as the basis for the loaf. Sourdough is my favorite for … Read more
There are few things in this world as delicious as curried cauliflower. This recipe may look complicated because of its long list of ingredients, but it’s actually very easy to make. The curry goes great by itself, on top of cooked grains (such as millet or rice), or with a little plain yogurt. Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 medium yellow onions, … Read more
I have three main motives for my love of crock pot cooking. I’m easily distracted, which can lead to burnt food when I’m cooking on the stove top. With a slow cooker, I don’t have to worry about that. I am an impatient cook when I am hungry. Slow cooking allows me to prepare a meal after breakfast or lunch when I am … Read more
More of the green tomatoes that I brought in before the last frost have ripened, so today I decided to make Greek-style green beans with tomatoes and feta in the slow cooker. This recipe is adapted from the Green Beans Athena recipe in The Essential Cook Book by Caroline Conran, Terence Conran and Simon Hopkinson. The cookbook says it’s a tradition … Read more
Winter is settling in here, which means it’s time for soup. A big bag of hominy caught my eye when I opened the freezer. Naturally, I decided to make pozole. 3 frozen chicken breasts, thawed 1 large white onion, skinned, chopped and sautéed in a little olive oil until translucent (sautéeing is optional, but the final product tastes better with … Read more