Ah, collards, how I do love thee! Ditto for bacon grease rendered from real bacon, by which I mean bacon from pastured hogs. No sense in wasting that! Especially not when collard greens taste so darned tasty when cooked in it. Throw in some onion slices and a generous sprinkling of spices, and all you need [...]
This dish came about for two reasons: I had a hankering for a whole-grain, gluten-free crouton alternative, and I couldn’t find grape tomatoes at the produce market. (Sadly, it’s too early in the season for them to be plentiful in my garden. But I’m looking forward to those little flavor bombs growing a few feet [...]
The next time you make bacon, save that grease!! It’s great for making fried eggs, slow-cooked collard greens, sauteed chicken … just about anything, really. And rendered bacon grease is essential for making your own tortilla chips. Fresh-off-the-stove chips are worlds away from the pre-bagged varieties you find at the supermarket (which are usually made [...]
It’s hard to say whether the current status quo is due to an onslaught of commercials featuring kids eating carrots while playing in valleys or whether Americans have a group-mind when it comes to dressings, but one thing is clear: Ranch is just about everybody’s favorite dressing. I love the concept, too — you can’t [...]
Few culinary traditions labor under as great a misconception as sushi does. Yes, most sushi is served with raw ingredients. Sushi, however, does not mean raw fish. (Although I think sushi made with raw fish is utterly lovely.) Sushi simply refers to a mode of preparation, namely to serve raw or cooked seafood or veggies with vinegared short-grain rice. [...]
If ambrosia is the nectar of the gods, then chocolate is the main course. Specifically, dark chocolate in all its incarnations, from foil-wrapped bars to warming winter beverages. Or, as I made recently, chocolate crepes stuffed with mascarpone cheese and fresh mango slices. Talk about a delicious way to get your morning started! And it’s [...]
Continue reading about More Ways to Enjoy Chocolate for Breakfast
Eat, don’t spray! No need to buy fancy spring specials at the market when your lawn is full of free, fresh greens and herbs. I’m talking dandelion greens, purslane, and wood sorrel; wild alliums like chives, ramps, and scapes. Instead of spraying Roundup and contaminating our water supply — when it rains, all those herbicides, [...]
It warms the cockels of my qualitarian heart to see more and more farmers selling real meat at farmers’ markets. Produce is a wonderful thing, but real meat — that would be meat from animals that actually graze, mill around outside enjoying themselves, and generally live the way they’ve evolved to live — is much [...]
While I’m looking forward to the spring flowers that our April showers will bring, I’m still in full-on winter mode in terms of wanting hot beverages. How can your mind not edge towards hot chocolate when it’s gray, cold, and wet outside? Twenty degrees Fahrenheit and sunny seems warmer than 45F and raining. So in the [...]
Continue reading about An Antidote for Rainy, Cold Spring Days
Finally! Spring is here! Once more, ’tis the season of colorful veggies. And fresh-cooked whole grains to complement those lovely vegetables. Millet, amaranth, quinoa, even steel-cut oats are great candidates for savory suppers. Or how about a member of the rice family? Brown, black, red, and purple are all as delicious as they are visually [...]
