Meals

Category: Meals

Who Knew Rice Was So Versatile?

Yes, I know. It really was a rhetorical question. Most people know, rice is the most important staple food for a large part of the world’s human population, especially in East and South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the West Indies. And I think I’ve recently joined them. Blame it on Northstar’s rice

April 20, 2011 2 Comments Short URLcooking, dinner, family, food, ingredients, protein, recipes, riceDinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Recipes

I Have a Thing for Leeks

I don’t know why, but for some reason I love leeks. As far as I know my mom never really cooked with them so it’s not like I’ve got some wonderful childhood memories tied up with the smell of gently simmering leeks, (like I do with spaghetti sauce.) They look like big, fat overgrown scallions

April 19, 2011 3 Comments Short URLcooking, dinner, family, food, ingredients, recipes, vegetablesDinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Recipes

“You’ve Got a Funny Way of Saying ‘That was delicious.'”

Sometimes dinner is just dinner – nothing fancy or extravagant or particularly exciting. But still, it’s always nice to hear, “That was a good dinner.” Growing up, my mom’s standard way to cook chicken was to put the bone-in breasts in a big frying pan and cover them with a ton of onions and a

April 13, 2011 2 Comments Short URLcooking, dinner, family, food, menu planning, recipes, seasonal, vegetablesDinner, In the Kitchen, Ingredients

Pie is My Favorite

I love pie. I love fruit pies, cream pies, savory pies. Basically serve anything in a light, flaky crust – whether for breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner or dessert – and I’m done for. I think Rose Levy Beranbaum said it best in her cookbook, “The Pie and Pastry Bible”: There are two kinds of people:

April 7, 2011 4 Comments Short URLcooking, dessert, food, pie, seasonalDessert, In the Kitchen

International Breakfast Pastries, kinda…

Unless I’m completely hung over or have just finished running 4 miles, I rarely enjoy a big breakfast. I think breakfast is perfect when it’s nothing more than fruit, a protein (like yogurt, string cheese, nuts or an egg), and a bit of starch – like a piece of toast or a granola bar. The

March 30, 2011 3 Comments Short URLcooking, food, ingredients, pastryBreakfast, In the Kitchen, Ingredients

Umm, yeah so I’ve had a little wine….

I apologize in advance for going all Julia on you, but really, what do you expect after a (quite large) glass of wine and total immersion in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” volumes one AND two. I may ramble. And you have been forewarned. It’s no secret to my family that I’ve been struggling

March 16, 2011 1 Comment Short URLdinner, family, food, inspiration, julia childDinner, In the Kitchen, Inspirations

Breakfast for Dinner

It’s easy to create a routine which quickly degenerates into a rut. I’ve found this to be especially true with food and cooking. Often I find a new taste, ingredient, tool or method of cooking and that’s what I stick to for awhile. (Case in point: I’ve made a total of five tarts – both

March 8, 2011 5 Comments Short URLcooking, family, food, recipesBreakfast, In the Kitchen, Recipes

A Legacy in the Kitchen

My Grandpa Vern passed away just this past October and at his service, each of his three kids (my mom and two uncles,) my brother and I were all asked to speak. Inevitably, we shared stories about his career, international travels, vacations to Tahoe, strict rules (eating bacon with a fork?) and love of the

February 24, 2011 2 Comments Short URLcooking, dinner, food, ingredients, inspiration, pasta, recipesDinner, Inspirations, Recipes

Not Your Mother’s Pot Roast

Pot Roast – the bastion of 1950’s kitchen cuisine. A foundation for countless recipes using leftovers. Gentle reminder of Sunday night dinners everywhere conjuring images of women in pearls and oven mitts. Comfort food at its’ peak. I’ve never really been a big fan of pot roast and not because of the misogynistic images it

February 23, 2011 2 Comments Short URLdinner, family, food, recipesDinner, In the Kitchen, Menu Planning, Recipes, Winter

A Tale of Two Tarts

I mentioned recently that I have been acquiring kitchen gadgets at an alarming rate and I wanted to share a story about one of them – my new tart pan. I’ve been making “tarts” for years, but really, they were just tart crusts in a pie pan. They tasted different than a plain ‘ol pie,

February 22, 2011 0 Comments Short URLbaking, cooking, dessert, dinner, family, food, ingredients, recipes, seasonal, tartDessert, In the Kitchen, Ingredients, Recipes, Winter

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