Lisa on August 4th, 2010

As a kid, I always liked marbled pound cakes and swirled cheesecakes.  And two-toned frozen yogurts.  Somehow, seeing two flavors intertwined on one plate (or in one cone) makes both of them doubly delicious.  And you know what the best part is?  It’s ridiculously easy to make marbled and swirled desserts — doing so usually [...]

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Lisa on June 14th, 2010

First it was omega-3s, then it was antioxidants; now, the food rage is probiotics.  (Mind you, these have all been mainstay elements of whole, unprocessed foods for millennia, long before food scientists and genetic engineers and corporate interests got involved in our food chain.  Thankfully, we’re now “discovering” that traditional cuisines contain plenty of foods [...]

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Lisa on May 19th, 2010

It’s summertime, and the blueberries are calling.  (So are the strawberries and the blackberries and the rest of the berry bunch.)  Time to celebrate with some fruit soup!  It’s ridiculously easy to make — which is probably one of the chief reasons fruit soup is on every cruise ship’s menu — and can be made [...]

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Lisa on September 23rd, 2009

Lately, I’ve been wondering what would happen if I re-strained strained Greek yogurt (the double-straining it goes through initially is what makes it thicker and creamier than the standard American variety).  Logically, I figured, it would get even thicker and turn into some sort of a queso fresco or farmer’s cheese.  I snipped off a [...]

Continue reading about A Palomino Twist

Lisa on July 6th, 2009

You may have tasted currant jam or jelly, but have you tried fresh currants?  They come in a variety of tastes and colors:  black, red, white (really more of a golden hue), and pink.  The black ones are the most common and has a very distinctive flavor–they remind me of a woodsy, almost-creamy blend of [...]

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Lisa on May 6th, 2009

They look like perfectly-round brown apples, their light and crisp flavor is reminiscent of starfruit, and they have the texture of a Bosc pear:  they’re Asian pears.  You’ll probably find them encased in a white Styrofoam netting (meant to cushion them during transit) in the apple-and-pear section of your produce market.  Like apples, they hold [...]

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Lisa on March 27th, 2009

Making this smoothie is as easy as pie–and since it has a healthy helping of pecans accented by spices, it even tastes a bit like a pecan pie. I used almond milk as the base, but you could also use hazelnut, oat, or high-quality dairy milk. (Raw and grass-fed if you can get [...]

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Lisa on February 25th, 2009

While frosting can be a delightful addition to a cake, it can also weigh down a cake’s delicate flavor and texture.  That’s why I prefer to use full-fat Greek yogurt–not only is it much lighter than buttercream, it’s much more versatile.  In this example, I topped Death by Chocolate with a dollop of yogurt, a [...]

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Lisa on February 12th, 2009

Greek yogurt–thick and rich and consisting simply of milk, cream and cultures–is a staple in my refrigerator.  Not only is it a fantastic stand-in for sour cream, if you want fruity yogurt, you’re far better off blending your own by adding fresh fruit to Greek yogurt than buying any of the commercially-prepared fruity yogurts.  The [...]

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Lisa on October 4th, 2008

What began as a way to use goat milk ended up as one of the nicest breads I’ve ever made. Although this is a quick bread–in fact, it’s a heavily-modified version of Irish soda bread–it has a very open crumb and light, almost cakey texture. To me, it tastes like there’s butter on [...]

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