Archive for October, 2009
by TT on January 30th, 2012 | Soups & Stews
Having one person that is vegetarian in our house doesn't make meal planning difficult, usually. When there are four or more of us for dinner, I simply substitute the meat item with a non-meat protein, and everyone is happy. In fact, quite often I make two of the non-meat protein, as I enjoy a good number of vegetarian items.
The tricky times are when there are only three of us dining. It feels more cumbersome to make two different entrées for a party that small. Our of deference to our vegetarian, I make a meal that is vegetarian and (hopefully)
by TT on December 9th, 2010 | Healthy Cooking, Recipes, Soups & Stews
With the cool fall weather turning into cold winter weather, we have spent many weekend days purchasing groceries, canning, and cooking. Early in the fall, we bought a half-bushel of apples and made apple butter and dried apple slices. Between the two recipes, we used the whole bag. It went so well that we decided to buy a second half-bushel and make some more apple items.
In hindsight, purchasing a second half-bushel may have been too much. We didn't need to make more apple butter, as we already had many jars in our pantry. We made a couple batches of dried
by TT on July 7th, 2010 | Recipes, Soups & Stews
It is hot.
That's about all I feel inspired to write at this moment. With temperatures in the high 90s and lots of humidity, the weather is less than comfortable. As my mom (who lives in Florida) explains, I just am not used to these wonderfully warm days. That is true. I like warmth, say 80s, and I can do without the humidity. However, I don't get to pick the weather.
To add to the excitement of the heat, one of my home's central air conditioning units decided this would be a good time to need new parts. The good news is
by TT on March 1st, 2010 | Recipes, Soups & Stews
In the past week, I don't believe I've seen the sun for more than a few minutes a day. Looking at the extended forecast has become monotonous, with day after day showing predictions of snow and rain. Granted, our accumulation has been little to none, but the weather has been dreary. After days of gloomy skies, I decided to warm our home and ourselves with bowls of steaming hot soup.
Reviewing our store of meat in the freezer, I had limited options. We had ground lamb, veal medallions, and chicken wings. Chicken wings seemed like a bad choice, and ground meat
by TT on February 22nd, 2010 | Healthy Cooking, Recipes, Soups & Stews
So, the last recipe that I'll be posting from our
belated Chinese New Year dinner is the simplest. As I was writing my articles last week, I thought about the order in which I should publish them. I'm glad that I had a moment of clarity and considered how hectic Mondays can be and saved the shortest recipe for last.
Mondays are busy due to the nature of my job, but this Monday is extra busy. First, it is February break, which means that I have a 12 and 13 year old hanging around the house, and although they understand
by TT on January 7th, 2010 | Recipes, Soups & Stews
For our family Christmas celebration on Saturday, my husband made a beef roast. Even though we had a dozen people for dinner, there was plenty of leftover beef. So, what better to do in the winter than make soup?
For the kids I made a simple veggie-beef-noodle soup. For us that sounded way too bland and boring. And as their afternoons were filled with practices and they needed to eat earlier than us, it was the perfect reason to make two pots of soup. With no wrinkled nose ingredients to avoid, the obvious choice was French onion soup.
I have made French
by TT on October 14th, 2009 | Recipes, Soups & Stews
With the chilliness of fall upon us, dinner thoughts have changed from light dinners of salad to warm meals, such as soup. Last Friday was one of those chilly, gray days, the sort of day where you wish you didn't have to leave the house. Of course, that wouldn't be happening in our home with an orthodontist's appointment, karate lesson, and extra gymnastics class. However, enjoying some piping hot soup before our evening of playing taxi would help.
Our basement freezer typically is filled with an assortment of meat from our favorite butcher. So, before I headed to my office to
by TT on October 12th, 2009 | Food News
I learned about this interesting nut company thanks to one of my writers, John, who attended the
Wicked Wine & Brew Fest. Based in Keene, New Hampshire,
True Nut Company combines creativity, support for community service organizations, and cooking.
With the help of my video editor, Greg Cote, I was able to interview Steve Ryder, the creator of True Nut.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgiR7RbgYOs[/youtube]
by TT on October 7th, 2009 | Healthy Cooking, Recipes, Sandwiches
As I mentioned recently, braised meats tend to be a fairly common dinner item in our house as of late. However, that doesn't mean that there are leftovers, which is unfortunate. I thoroughly enjoy having wraps for lunch and find that leftover braised chicken or beef makes a great starting point for a wrap.
Last week, we had
Pulled Coconut Chicken for dinner, and even with eight of us dining, we had a decent amount left. With coconut chicken in mind, I headed to the grocery store to find other fillings for my wrap. To compliment the coconut flavor, I
by TT on October 5th, 2009 | Breakfast Dishes, Recipes, Side Dishes
I don't know if it is just my household, but we get into culinary trends. My husband tried braising meats late in the spring, and ever since then it has been his go-to dish. Not that I'm complaining. Braising produces such a wonderfully tender meat and makes the house smell incredible. Since his first foray into braising, we have had many wonderful dinners of beef, lamb, and pork.
My recent culinary trend has been caramelizing. I have made caramelized onions, bananas, and squash, among other ingredients. For a weekend breakfast for two, I decided to make caramelized apples to top French
by TT on October 1st, 2009 | Main Dishes, Recipes
When my mom was here visiting last month, we had a get together at my little brother's house. With a group of sixteen for an early dinner, we wanted something that would please kids and adults with minimal clean-up. For our contribution, my husband and I brought the ingredients for make your own burritoes. To please all diners we brought shredded taco beef with onions and without onions (for aforementioned little brother and kids) and pulled coconut chicken.
The pulled coconut chicken wasn't tried by many of the kids that day, as there was the onion-free beef option. However, anyone that
