Menu Planning

Everyone loves mashed potatoes. Creamy, buttery, smooth. The ultimate comfort food. Your basic ingredients are quite simple: potatoes, milk or cream and butter. But why not mix it up a little? With just a bit of tweaking your basic mashed can be transformed into a high culinary masterpiece. So get on the bus, Gus! Here are 50 Ways to Mash your Taters. Read more »

Originally posted November 6th, 2007.

Keeping breakfast light and nutrition-packed is a great idea for most of the week. But come Sunday, something more substantial and rib-sticking is usually in order.

Most large American or English-style breakfasts can be overly heavy and laden with fat. Or soaked in sugar and syrup. There is a healthier but still filling option: break your fast in the traditional Central American manner. Read more »

I have three children — a 5-year-old, a toddler and a baby — and I'm always looking for kid-friendly dishes that are tasty, nutritious, cheap and quick. Looking through my cupboards the other night, scrambling for dinner ideas, my eyes rested on a particular canned good that most people never even buy outside of the holidays. Read more »

Today I planted one of my easiest/hardest gardens, the Heirloom Dry Bean Garden. It's one of the easiest because once you get them planted and — with a little weed cultivation later on — you don't have to do a darn thing to them until you harvest them. Which is the hardest. Read more »

I've had a pressure cooker for years. My dad gave it to me as a birthday present. He has a huge garden and always does tons of canning in the late summer. Dad passed the passion on down to me, and I've used my pressure cooker over the years for preserving many a batch of fruits, vegetables and beans. One thing I have rarely used it for is cooking dinner. My meal last night reminded me why that's a bad oversight. Read more »

I was passing by a Korean market recently and was drawn in by the exotic sights, sounds and smells. Instantly I knew...Korean was what was for eats that night! Read more »

These days we all want to help improve the environment, minimize global warming and leave behind a better world for following generations. But the enormity of the environmental issues we face can be overwhelming and intimidating. What can li'l ol' you do to make a difference in such a big, big world? Read more »

So last night I made some seafood jook for the kids-that's just leftover rice boiled into a soupy rice porridge. You know, add some caramelized onions, chicken broth and soy sauce and call it a day...I added some shrimp, scallops and some vegetables (in particular some of those frozen kinds of vegetables-along with a fresh zucchini, some leftover carrots and some bok choy).

It wasn't a ton of veggies, but when I work late, I can't really handle chopping too much so you get what you get! Darn straight! Read more »

Ah, the French. Chicken in a pot — what perfect winter comfort food. So easy. I used carrots, celery and turnips as the veggies and made sure to chop the liver up and add it to the stuffing. Much more flavorful that way. I saved the broth and will probably make soup with it sometime this week. Leftovers are going into chicken salad sandwiches for dinner tonite!

Poule au Pot Recipe Read more »

I love mole poblano. The subtle heat of the ancho, pasilla and mulato peppers. The sauce, its flavor deepened with chocolate and thickened just enough to coat slices of turkey or chicken with a cocoa-velvet sheen. But all that wonderfulness can take a long, long time to make. I came up with this speedy version that—while not quite as ethereal as the hours-long stuff—can still make your heart sing and your tummy beg for más! Read more »

Being a self proclaimed "one pot wonder", I'm awesome at whipping together nice tasting meals that get eatened up by the family. However, there's often little left for leftovers and heavens forbid, someone doesn't like what this mama cooked up-there's no other option to enjoy. It's eat it or starve kiddo! Read more »

A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from Cousin Joni. She said, “What are you doing Saturday morning?” Since it was early in the morning, and I had not finished my first cup of coffee, I absentmindedly said, “Nothing.” Joni said, “Good, we need some help butchering our rabbits!” Read more »