All Things Food
As I wrote in the column below, and as I have mentioned in previous columns as well, sometimes I figure out what to make based on what items in the larder need to be used. This recipe turned out so wonderfully I wanted to share it, but I didn’t think it was anything close to an actual Thai recipe, even though I used Thai curry paste.
Read MoreDo you still have turkey leftovers? Are you tired of your 4th or 5th Thanksgiving meal yet? Over the years I have made all sorts of recipes, using leftover turkey in place of the ubiquitous chicken, from cuisines across the globe. They’re not so authentic, as the original recipes usually start with raw, not cooked, chicken, but still I’ve found it’s a great way to add flavor to your leftover repertoire!
The easiest way, however, is to use leftover turkey in a curried turkey salad, as I suggested in my Berkshire Eagle column this past week, which ran the day before Thanksgiving. Honestly, this is a favorite for leftover chicken throughout the year, and it always makes for what I call a “happy lunch day” at work!
Read MoreThanksgiving hasn’t even happened yet, and I’m already planning for next year! We’ve been at an event this weekend, and in the course of conversations, I’ve invited some friends to join us for dessert this year, and others to join us next year! We are so blessed, and truly thankful, for the “framily” that enriched our lives.
Meanwhile, I have a shelf of the freezer already piled high with baked goods for this week, to be frosted, iced, or topped for Thursday, and I’ve ordered a variety pack of containers to send everyone home with leftovers.
Read MoreSometimes something as simple as a baked potato makes me happy, and I love the smell as it cooks. And other times it’s fun to take something simple and jazz it up a bit.
This past week in the Berkshire Eagle I did just that with twice-baked potatoes. The link is here, or scroll down, but also know that this is one of those recipes you can make your own! If you don’t eat meat, omit the bacon. Add caramelized onions or roasted veggies! You’re only limited by your imagination!
Read MoreWhen I was testing recipes for the Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook, I frequently had to work on meat, vegetarian, and vegan versions of the same recipe. There is even a recipe in the “Meat” section of that book, collard leaves stuffed with meat, in the fashion of stuffed cabbage, that has a vegan version!
Ever since then, I have been mindful of ways I might adapt a recipe for different dietary needs. Although there are fierce debates over what makes a true pasta all’amatriciana, and I am under no illusions that the vegetarian and vegan versions below would ever be considered such by any Italian, I do think the adaptations I’ve devised here provide a quick and easy and delicious pantry recipe, whether you are cooking for meat-eaters or not. And it can certainly be gluten-free as well with your favorite brand of gluten-free pasta!
Read MoreI know this week’s recipe highlights a product from a local bakery, but let it serve as inspiration! Even if you are not in the Berkshires, find a local, artisanal bakery and try making bread pudding with similar proportions.
Follow this link for this week’s column in the Berkshire Eagle, or just scroll down!
Read MoreI was so excited today when we arrived at Woven Roots to pick up our CSA share and again they had rainbow chard! And someone had put a bunch of it on the “swap table” so I traded one of our other items for a second portion. As I try to offer recipes that fit with the season, it’s not surprising that my column this past week included a recipe for chard.
Read MoreMy kids have a fail-safe option when looking for gift ideas for me. They can always get a newly-published cookbook and I will be happy! This week, for my birthday, I got Melissa Clark’s new book, Dinner in One, offering recipes that only require one cooking vessel. Hank looked at it and said, “That’s just what you did with your last column!”
Read MoreWe have never before had a year with so many tomatoes from our two, small raised beds! Our home sits on a hill of solid rock, and in many spots there is hardly any soil, which precludes a big garden. So we limit ourselves to tomatoes and basil, belong to Woven Roots, a CSA, and frequent farmers markets for other fruits and vegetables.
Read MoreSoon after this recipe appeared in the paper this past week, I got a comment from a friend about how she adapted it! Yay! I love hearing how readers get ideas from my columns, or even get reminded of forgotten favorites.
Read MoreI went blueberry picking this morning with my former student now friend, Kim. She and I realized today that we’ve certainly been picking blueberries together for at least a decade! We were able to meet at her family’s property at 8am with half of the bushes still in the shade as the heat has been oppressive lately.
Read MoreWell, I’m a bit later than usual to post last week’s Berkshire Eagle column here on my blog! We headed off on vacation on Saturday and so, out of my usual routine, I didn’t think of it! I did get a lot of great responses on Facebook about it, and happily many folks took my suggestion about adapting this recipe to suit what you like and what you have in the house!
Read MoreMost of the time for my Berkshire Eagle column I like to offer recipes that are easy, approachable, and adaptable. But sometimes there is a dish so special that I really want to share! As long as they are available, I simply cannot resist cooking with zucchini blossoms. This recipe, which appeared in the paper this past week (link here), is the most elaborate, but I’ve also folded them into quesadillas, tossed them with pasta, and put them on pizza. Seek out those squash blossoms and give them a try!
Read MoreFor many of us, long weekends in the summer mean cookouts with family and friends. Perhaps you already have your menus planned for this weekend, but if you’re still looking for a side, or something to bring to a potluck, this week I wrote a “centerpiece” for the Berkshire Eagle (link here), offering some ideas. Of course they need not only be summer sides – we make the coleslaw all the time year-round because it’s so quick and easy.
Read MoreSometimes it surprises me when I get a lot of remarks about a column, as happened last week. I mostly try to write pieces that fit in with the season or what is going on in life these days, and when I was writing for last week’s Berkshire Eagle (link here), I was just so overwhelmingly busy that I decided to write about this easy recipe. My parents loved to make this pasta dish when they would get home late because they always had a can of beans, a can of tuna, pasta, and a lemon in the house. I like to add capers which I buy in a large jar so they are truly a staple in my kitchen, but the recipe is fine without.
Read MoreIt’s only been fairly recently that we have started making ramen stir-fry at home. Once we started getting some Asian vegetables in our CSA farm share, I started experimenting with new dishes, and this one has become a favorite, and not only during the summer CSA season! As you will see below, it is very adaptable to whatever you want to add, and it can easily be vegetarian or vegan. Although we like to buy the fresh lo mein or ramen noodles, the dried will work as well. You can read this on the Berkshire Eagle website by clicking here, or just scroll down.
Read MoreI still have the small square of paper on which I jotted down my dad’s blue cheese dressing recipe. And I still miss him. Of course, I miss him for many reasons, but up there on the list is that he was very much the foodie, and first taught me how to “doctor” pasta sauce from a jar. (I now make my own tomato sauce, but it’s a special memory.)
Read MoreWhen I see rhubarb and ramps are in season, I know spring is really here! A year ago, I wrote a column for the Berkshire Eagle featuring ramps (here’s the blog post of this), and this past week I offered a recipe for a cobbler with rhubarb and any berry you want! (Berkshire Eagle article here, or scroll down.)
Read MoreI have a very long wooden spoon that I only take out when I make this recipe. It’s so long that it gets tucked away sideways in the back of a drawer, and it even is a bit charred near the scoop from all the times I’ve made this dish! But not to worry – I’ve included a non-flambéed version if you don’t really want to see flames leaping up from the pot as you stir the vodka-doused pasta! When I told Hank I want going to use this for a Berkshire Eagle column (link here), he insisted I also make a non-flambéed version. He was right about that, and also was very happy to have penne alla vodka twice as I worked on this piece!
Read MoreThis recipe appeared in the Berkshire Eagle before Passover (hence the flour in the recipe; click here for the link), but I got so wrapped up with Passover prep and enjoying family over the weekend, I totally forget to post it to my blog until this very moment!
It’s still pretty cold here in the Berkshires, but in an effort to feel like it’s spring we have been making asparagus with some frequency – and we always serve it for Passover. But it’s not going to feel like spring for real until I can forage for ramps, which will be soon, I hope!
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