fat free opinions on a food centric life
I’ve had greens on my mind quite a bit lately, and so it was only a matter of time that a vegetable not classified as a “green” but which is very green would surface. Spring has exploded here, and it’s difficult to avoid the beautiful …
One of the difficulties that arises when I cook is not being able to find particular ingredients. Most often, the item is one of a few featured in a recent issue of a food magazine I enjoy, and because the content is seasonal, one would …
When we were in the thick of our remodel, I had my eye out for magazines that would help me narrow down the paint choices since we were having the whole interior repainted. O At Home caught my eye while I was standing in line at the grocery store because The Color Issue was emblazoned across its cover and promises of 21 frsh, can't fail palettes lured me to throw it in my basket.
Along with the good advice I came across that did inevitably help me choose my colors, tucked in the back was an article on One-Pot Meals with gorgeous photos of food I wanted to make right then and there. Of the four recipes featured, I tried Alice Waters's Winter Minestrone first with average results. I could take the blame for this because I used scarlet runner beans instead of cannellinis, and potatoes instead of turnips, but neither of those changes would have turned this soup into something less than good if it had been a decent tasting recipe to begin with. I love minestrone, and this recipe just didn't cut the mustard.
The second recipe I tried was Art Smith's "Chicken and Dumplings." It caught my eye because I grew up eating very different dumplings than the flat, egg noodles looking strips nestled in the clear broth and vegetables I was staring at. I had to try it since my life long idea of a dumpling was a dollop of wet dough that was dropped onto the hot contents of a pot of chicken soup or stew and covered for a time to steam and puff up before being uncovered to finish off the cooking.
Besides, it was going to be tough to ignore a piece of chewy dough. Sad but true. Unfortunately, again, something was amiss….
I love beans. I always have. Although you might catch me sampling the piquant flavors of a great baked beans recipe at a barbeque, I’m more of a straight bean sampler. Someone who enjoys the texture and taste of a big pot of beans without …
I've always loved Brussels sprouts. I guess the fact that my mother didn't cook vegetables in general until they were soft and grey helped. The Brussels sprouts we had on our plates were most often whole, frozen, then cooked in a bit of water for …