Nothing screams “SOUP!” like an oxtail or two. Of course, you can still whip up an impressive pot of stew without oxtails, but browning the tails solo and then simmering them into your soup is a fantastically inexpensive way to impart a rich, meaty flavor to your base broth. Individual oxtails are a little smaller [...]
Some recipes don’t take long to make; others will require a slot in your schedule. When it comes to the time-hungry recipes, though, there are those that require hands-on attention and those that can pretty much fend for themselves while you do something else nearby: relax with a book, check your email, get caught up [...]
What do chestnuts, pecans, beech nuts, and hickory nuts all have in common? They’re all native to North America. While beech nuts and hickory nuts are hard to find since they’re usually foraged rather than farmed, chestnuts and pecans are relatively plentiful. Roasted chestnuts are especially findable around the holidays. (Although this Flourless Chocolate Chestnut [...]
For a while, kale chips were all the rage, but now it seems like seaweed chips have taken center stage. I love both! Especially if you make them yourself. Not only are they much less expensive that way, you can go with a dunking approach for the seaweed chips. It’s simple and fun, plus you [...]
Continue reading about Sesame, Seaweed & Soy: Making Your Own Tasty Chips
What’s a grain, a flour, and a sweetener? Hint: it used to be a popular foodstuff in the U.S. back in the pioneer days, and it’s still popular in African and Indian dishes. You can make beer out of it, too. It has more fiber (and iron) than and nearly as much protein as soy [...]
Continue reading about A Grain Too Useful to Ignore — Especially for Breakfast!
When I was a kid, every mall had an Orange Julius kiosk and every grocery store sported dry-mix packets of faux fruity milkshakes. (I absolutely loved those kiosks and those little packages.) I’m still a big fan of creamy fruit shakes, but nowadays I go the qualitarian route: whole milk plus suitable fruit (bananas, pears, [...]
Roasted peppers are one of the most versatile ingredients to have on hand and also one of the easiest to make yourself. (You can buy jarred roasted peppers, but it’s much more cost- effective to pop some raw peppers into the oven.) And since most bell peppers are pretty big, one roasted pepper can go [...]
If you visit my e-kitchen on a regular basis, you know that when I like an ingredient, I tend to use it a lot. The only thing better than having plenty of [insert favorite ingredient here] on hand is getting creative with it! Recasting a favorite is also a delicious way to love your leftovers [...]
If you’re in the mood for an unadorned artichoke, nothing beats a freshly steamed one, but if you want to make a dish featuring artichokes as the main ingredient, the canned route suddenly gets a whole lot more appealing. To make this savory baked custard — which is fantastic for either breakfast or lunch — [...]
Continue reading about A Heart(y) Breakfast, Artichoke Style
If you have a bit of spare time and a sacrificial kitchen towel*, making a baked potato cake — which can be turned into the world’s tastiest hash browns if you have leftovers! — is a fun way to prepare potatoes. All you need is butter, salt and pepper, and baking/starchy potatoes. (As opposed to [...]
