Half pieces of vegetables in the refrigerator and partial packages of frozen meat are an inevitable part of living by yourself. Things just don’t come in single person sizes. You may very good at planning out menus and using everything up or you may be like me and save the unneeded portions until it is a question of toss it or use it. Today is a use-it day. I really didn’t feel like going to the store so I went to my fridge instead. And I found half a butternut squash, half an onion, some apples, and some frozen bratwurst. And carrots. (I always have carrots). This calls for a ...
Search Results for: Vegetables
BACK TO BASICS WITH QUICK BREAD: NECTARINE AND MANDARIN ORANGE BREAD
A Basic Quick Bread Recipe is used to make a sweet, moist bread featuring fresh nectarine puree and dried Mandarin oranges. People often comment on how unusual my life has been: the many places I have lived and how different that is from their lives. It is true I have lived and traveled all over the world. But what I noticed is, that while the setting was different, the things we were doing, wherever we were, were the same things our families were doing back home. Thus it was that I sat on a beachside terrace in Bali and listened to my brother-in-law explain chemical equations ...
PISTACHIO AND DRIED CHERRY KALE SALAD
A quick and easy recipe for Kale Salad with Dried Cherries and Pistachio Nuts I have never been a huge fan of Kale. I’ll eat it. Sometimes I will even choose a Kale salad off the menu. But I don’t usually buy it. It always seems like a lot of work: stripping off the leaves and massaging them to a squishy mess. It never felt compelling enough to me. Then my daughter asked if she could have one of my raised beds in which to plant some seeds. Of course I said yes. Now, thanks to her, I have mustard greens and kale (and even watermelon!). Lately I have been harvesting the Kale every ...
PASTA WITH FRESH PEA SAUCE
Garden peas and fresh herbs are quickly combined to make a fresh and versatile sauce for pasta or fish. Many years ago we lived outside of London in a lovely house with a large walled garden. It was a rental and in order to ensure the garden was well maintained the owners required us to use their gardener, the eponymously named Mr. Green. Much of what I do now I learned from him. The quarter acre was lush with fruit trees, wild flowers and a small rose garden which he lovingly tended. In addition to this, Mr. Green kept us well supplied with home grown vegetables. An early lesson for ...
CHINESE STYLE POACHED CHICKEN
A whole chicken is poached in sherry, soy sauce and Dr. Pepper along with Chinese spices for a dish that is reminiscent of the food courts of Singapore. When I lived in Singapore, I would often go to the local “Wet Market” to purchase fruits and vegetables and other Asian products. Located underneath one of the large public housing apartment towers near me, it was important to go early in the morning before it got too hot. These markets are called wet markets because they clean the floors with buckets of water after they wash the fresh produce, and butcher and clean fish, chicken and pork. ...
CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK ROUNDUP: MUSHROOM BOLOGNESE SAUCE
The deep earthy flavor of wild mushrooms makes this Bolognese Sauce a rich and flavorful alternative to ground beef. Although it really shouldn't be seen as an alternative to anything. It's that good! To be fair, I got Michael Symon’s Fix it With Food Cookbook after Christmas…but not too long after! And I am obsessed with it. The recipes manage to taste good while being vegetarian/vegan/gluten free/dairy free and more. I am eating all sorts of things I never really cared for much and enjoying it. You don’t have to buy into any of the diets. The recipes can be incorporated into your ...
JANUARY SOUP FOR THE BODY AND SOUL: LOW FAT/LOW CALORIE CREAMY ROASTED VEGETABLE SOUP
This has been such a long January. And it only just started. I am restarting my restart for the second time! And the weather is not cooperating. Rain and cold and the long days seem endless. Everything would be better with a rich, hearty bowl of soup. Except I am trying to recover from the wonderful joyous eating of the holidays which was just topped off with a week of eating mindlessly as we dealt with the emotional loss of my daughters’ grandmother. So “rich and hearty” is out of the question. Fortunately, there are vegetables which can be cooked and pureed in broth which will create ...
January reset, reset. Crab Cakes with Mango Salsa
I don't know that I would like someone who went all the way through December without really overindulging, ending up in January as trim and fit as that person went in! I have tried but is it worth it? I don't know. Most of us look to January as a month of beginnings. A new diet, exercise, resolutions, they all surface in some form or other in January. I have never really looked at it as a month of beginning so much as a month of returning to the good habits I willingly and happily threw aside in the past year's end. So here I am, one day into eating better, with ...
BRAISING MEAT: LAMB SHANKS TO DIE FOR
Did you ever make a meal that was pick-up-your-plate-and-lick-it good? One that was a slam-dunk to serve for dinner? Would you like to? Come with me to my kitchen…We are slowing cooking Lamb Shanks for a tender and savory meat with a rich red wine infused gravy. A little known fact about Asheville is that we have a good sized Greek population. The first Greek arrived here in 1900 and opened a restaurant. He was swiftly joined by others and in 1920 the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church was established to serve the Greek Orthodox population of Asheville. Every year the church holds a ...
FRESH MARINARA SAUCE, OR NOT.
Fresh tomatoes are paired with carrots, onions and garlic with a hint of Vermouth in this easy to make Marinara Sauce. The sky is a brilliant blue and the leaves are vibrant reds and yellows. The final tomato harvest has taken place and my raised beds have been covered with mulch for the winter. The job of cleaning out last winter’s ash and dirt from my fireplace has finally been completed (yes, I procrastinated on that all summer long) and tonight’s freeze warning seems like a good reason to start this year’s wood burning season. The seasons are so much fun and autumn’s ...