Washing Spinach vs. Packaged Spinach
Washing spinach is a pain, but you don’t want to spend the extra $$$ to buy the pre-washed. Make sure you don’t get caught in-between with no spinach at all.
Mary Collette
So That’s What They Mean by “Slow Cooking”
For years, I’ve known the rule for cooking tough meat cuts: low and slow. But in my hurry up world, I tried to do low on a gas stovetop that was calibrated for hot, fast cooking. My last batch of soup bones came out as tough as leather, even though I had cooked them on low. . . Patience and forethought came to my rescue
Using Herbs and Spices: More on Flavor Families
Here’s the great thing about herb and spice flavor families. Find one you like and you’ve got an easy springboard to creative fun, as in this recipe for Eggplant and Garbanzo Stew with Spicy Coriander Flavors.
Is it OK to use the garlic and ginger that comes in jars?
Those little jars of prepared garlic and ginger are so completely convenient! No fussing with paper-thin garlic peels, no paring gnarly knobs of ginger or endangering fingers on the ginger grater and no garlic-smelling hands for the rest of the night. But is it OK to use these conveniences? I get this question a lot, … Read more
What to Do with Extra Eggplant?
Know how many pounds of eggplant are grown in China each year? A lot. That’s why Chinese cuisine is a good source of inspiration when facing a surfeit of eggplant.
Want Your Vegetable World in Color or B & W?
Do you remember the movie Pleasantville? The beginning, set in the 50s, was filmed in black and white and everything was, well, pleasant. Mom and Dad and the the two perfect teens, living good, pleasant lives. Then the teens got blasted into the future (in a way that only happens in movieland), and life suddenly … Read more
The Benefits of Nibbling
Nibble while you cook. Dieting gurus might not approve of this recommendation, but it’s the only way to root out potential meal time spoilers. Here’s a case in point: I was making a simple green salad tonight with green leaf lettuce and shredded red cabbage. Casting about for a quick accent, I came upon several … Read more
Q & A: Are Carrots and Peas Too High in Sugar?
It’s an understandable question that anyone might ask. But do I answer it or step back and ask where that question comes from in the first place?
Don’t Pitch that Browned Rice
“Browning” rice is not like “browning chicken breasts until golden,” or “toasting nuts until brown and fragrant.” No, it means forgetting about the rice simmering on the stove until a thick brown, hard crust forms on the bottom. But now there’s a new use for it–so don’t pitch it in the composter.
Mutant Produce Now Comes Complete with Stickers
Do you remember when you could buy a pear, wash it, then eat it? Not anymore. Mad scientists have successfully hybridized every last produce species. Shortly after harvest, fruits and vegetables now develop a brightly colored, impossibly sticky scab on the outer skin. Being highly toxic, the scab must be removed before eating, presenting consumers … Read more