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Turns out my recipe for almondy cookies easily adapts to a gluten-free version. I made a half-batch last week just to test it out. Everyone loved them, including visiting gluten-eaters. They are not too sweet and have a nice shortbready-type texture.

I make my own gluten-free flour blend in large batches according to the recipe in Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking, but you could probably use any GF flour blend.

GLUTEN-FREE ALMONDY CUT-OUT COOKIES (adapted from this cooks.com recipe)

Makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your cutters, but you can easily halve it if you don’t want that many.

2 sticks butter (I’ll have to try subbing coconut oil another time….)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 1/2 cups almond meal

3 cups gluten-free flour blend (homemade or purchased)

pinch of salt

Cream together butter, sugar, egg, and almond extract. Beat in flour, almond meal, and salt.

Make a ball and flatten it, wrap in wax paper and place in the fridge for an hour or a day.

Preheat oven to 325°, roll out dough, and use cutters to cut shapes. Ours were a little thicker—in the 1/4 inch range, but you could go thinner, depending on how crispy or chewy you want yours. Just watch the time—you definitely don’t want to overcook them.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or more. They should be very lightly browned. I should’ve cooked ours a little longer, but I got impatient.

I’m tempted to up the almond meal further and lower the flour portion. Maybe next time. Also hoping to try out a GF molasses cookie recipe. Stay tuned. For other eating and cooking adventures (including gluten-free) click here.

Author: Nisa Burns
Publisher: Kitchenability Press
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 978-0-9856430-0-3
Pages: 176
Price: $17.95

Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon

It’s so easy for college students to be seduced by pizza and burgers when making meal choices. But are they only choosing these fast food options because they don’t have anything better on-hand? In Kitchenability 101, Nisa Burns shows college students that there is a better way to eat, and it’s much easier than they think.

Kitchenability, as defined by Burns, is the ability to make one’s way around the kitchen. In this book, she provides recipes that can be crafted in dorm rooms or small apartment kitchens. Access to a few tools – stove, blender, good knife, etc. – is required, and some recipes are simpler than others.

Why choose a cheeseburger, when you can have a mint and cucumber sandwich? [bread, cream cheese, cucumber slices, and mint leaves] Maybe a chili burrito is more your style? [tortilla, canned chili, salsa, shredded cheese, and sour cream] Or try your hand at one of the recipes that call for some simple cooking, and treat your friends to a nice meal after mid-terms.

Although some of these recipes are a little more complicated than I expected, they look yummy, and are much healthier than anything you might find on campus. If you’re looking to get creative with food and enjoy some home-cooked meals, Kitchenability 101 would be a great “textbook” to keep in your dorm room.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

It was a great day in the studio.   My characters for my story are growing.  Can you see how they almost tell their own story?  Look at this little pigs face. Does he like cooking?  What is he making? What is he thinking?

Writers develop their characters with pen in hand. I also have pen in hand, but mine is to draw the characters first… then move on to writing the story. 

There is still so much to do… I have only JUST BEGUN!

Y’all, I’ve tried a LOT of gluten-free pizza. Some baked goods are easy to make GF, but pizza isn’t one of them. It usually tastes kind of card-boardy. The best store-bought kind I’ve found was of a ball of frozen dough from Earth Fare (sorry, I don’t know the brand). But it was crazy, crazy expensive.

This recipe is by far the best I’ve had. Favorito. Really nice texture, not sandy or weird like some others. Even our six-year-old (who is newly gluten-free) loved it. It’s also incredibly easy if you’ve already made your stash of gluten-free flour mix.

And the best part is, the dough only has to rise 10 minutes, so, unlike traditional homemade pizza dough, you don’t have to plan so far in advance. It doesn’t require kneading, either, just mixing.

This recipe is a TOTAL keeper! Like my recent GF recipe trials, it’s also from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Kelli and Peter Bronski. The recipe for a similar version of it is here.

The book includes a recipe for a bulk batch of GF flour mix, and then you’re all set to use it in many of the recipes. It’s completely worth the effort, and, although not inexpensive, is a better deal than buying pre-mixed GF flour.

One note on the recipe. My hubs grilled it, which went really well, but he had to pay close attention to the cooking time. I like it nice and crispy, but there are also directions for deep dish pizza in the book.

Yes, I hear you, you’re not gluten-free, and you wonder when my regularly scheduled cooking program is coming back. No worries, this is not going to become a blog solely about GF baking. It’s just what I’m excited about right now.

In other news, I’m waiting to get editorial notes on my young adult novel, and I’m currently researching for a nonfiction book project that had been on the back burner for quite awhile (since we were living in Germany over a year ago). Now that I’m researching in the U.S., with access to an American library, it’s way more fun! I’m still struggling with the shape of the project, but I’m happy to find that I’m just as interested in the subject matter. Hopefully I can share more about it when it’s a bit further along.

Meanwhile, I’ve been sewing a lot. Close to finishing a couple of projects that I hope to show you soon.

For more posts on cooking, click here.

Publisher: Hamlyn
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 978-0-600-62675-6
Pages: 192
Price: $19.99

Website
Buy it at Amazon

Healthy eating habits are best acquired when we’re young. Letting kids help in the kitchen is a fun way to get them interested in the meals they eat. Ella’s Kitchen: The Cook Book encourages parents to let their kids touch, taste and smell foods as they get their hands dirty preparing meals.

Not only is this a cookbook, but it’s also filled with photos of kids enjoying their food, as well as images of the interesting dishes presented. Drawings and food facts accompany these photos, and the color palate is as varied as the flavors. Simple, healthy meal ideas use all-natural ingredients and a minimum of processed foods, and the unique combinations create a tasty dish. Fruit is used liberally as a natural sweetener kids will enjoy.

Ella’s Kitchen is known for its healthy organic baby foods. But food preparation done at home can be easy and delicious if you have the right recipes. Encourage your kids to experience the all-natural foods they eat, and be sure to pick up a copy of Ella’s Kitchen: The Cook Book for your own kitchen. I highly recommend it!

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Hubby, Oso and I went to a great BBQ potluck on the 4th. We love the mountains and hubby’s family has been going up there for generations. So, there were a lot of new and old friends at the BBQ. Not only did we celebrate the country’s birthday, but a few actual birthdays too Anyway, during most of the party there was this girl in purple pants sitting  far away from everyone on her rock. She went and got her food (oh, man was there some AMAZING food!) and went back on her rock to eat by herself. When her brother came and sat beside her, she didn’t really get mad, but she didn’t want anyone to sit with her on her rock either

Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July. Any good potluck recipes you shared/ate this weekend? Here’s the recipe for the salad I brought, it’s one of my favorites

Author: Jane Murphy & Allison Fingerhuth
Illustrator: Neal Sharp
Publisher: Mutt Media
Genre: Adventure
ISBN: 978-0-615-38808-3
Pages: 145
Price: $16.95

Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon

Pipper’s food blog is popular, and her readers expect her to dish up some tasty morsels. But Pipper is stumped, and doesn’t know what her next topic should be. When she meets with her friends, she stumbles on the idea of finding the “secret ingredient” to the best biscuit. They help her make arrangements, and off she goes on a trip around the world.

Unbeknownst to her, Bull Bogus of Bogus Biscuits has sent out a spy, hot on her tail. Bumbles follows diligently behind, leaving chaos in his wake. But Pipper has been warned about Bumbles, and she’s watching for him. Pipper meets some interesting characters and samples some wonderful food along the way. And when she finally discovers the secret ingredient, her friends agree. Her blog is a success, as is her newest enterprise.

Pipper’s Secret Ingredient blends adventure, friendship, and food in delightful proportions. Kids will enjoy Pipper’s travels, while cheering for her to outsmart Bumbles. And everyone will agree that the secret ingredient is perfect, and well worth the search. I highly recommend this entertaining adventure.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

I’m on a cauliflower kick, what can I say? I seem to be eating a lot of it, roasted, with various toppings. I think it’s because my friend Laurel mentioned it, then it was in the paper (something about a cauliflower trend—yes I still read a paper paper) and then I just couldn’t get it out of my head.

Besides cutting out wheat, I’m avoiding large servings of grains in general, so the idea of something mild  and non-grain that takes flavors very well —–a sauce depository, if you will—-is very appealing. I was never a huge fan of cauliflower in the past, but I think, as with many veggies, I just had to find my favorite cooking method. Roasting wins.

Roasted Cauliflower

First, preheat the oven to 375F. Slice the cauliflower into pieces about 1/4 inch to 1/3 inch thick, brush with olive oil and roast for about 20 minutes (just like the broccoli here). If you’re going to make the vinaigrette below, throw in a clove or two of garlic and roast them while you’re at it.

When the cauliflower is tender but still firm, with browning on the edges, it’s done. At least, that’s the done-ness I like.

At this point you could serve it with any number of sauces or toppings: peanut sauce? bread crumb/ nut topping? curry?

I made this vinaigrette in homage to a bread dipping sauce from a favorite restaurant, Passion8 Bistro in Fort Mill. Charlotte area friends, seriously, you MUST go there. It’s this funky little farm-to-fork place in the middle of nowhere. Besides great food, it has loads of character.

But I digress.

The vinaigrette is a loose combination of:

Olive Oil

Roasted Garlic, minced

Chopped Olives (I used green ones but kalamata would be excellent)

a spoonful of Capers

a judicious amount of red pepper flakes (I’m addicted)

Red Wine Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

I usually do a little more olive oil than vinegar and just add however much I like of the rest of the stuff, to taste.

Charlotte friends, I feel compelled to mention a couple of places we’ve eaten recently that, in addition to Passion8 Bistro, were just outstanding.

• The King’s Kitchen (which is owned by the same guy that owns Roosters, which I also love) is outstanding—-sort of re-imagined upscale meat and three, and btw it’s non-profit, which is totally fascinating and you should read about it on their website. I had the hangar steak. Yum!
• Doan’s Vietnamese Restaurant: try the hotpots!! It’s like a Vietnamese broth fondue. So excellent and fun. Best tomyum broth I’ve ever had.
• And one more: Zeitouni’s Mediterranean Grill at Toringdon in Ballantyne. Seriously, how did I not get a clue about this place earlier? The falafel is TO DIE FOR!

Okay, that’s a lot of exclamation points, but really, it’s been good dining lately. What about you? What’s got you inspired in the kitchen/ out to eat lately?

This is Heidi Swanson’s recipe (Broccoli Gribiche) from Super Natural Every Day. But it’s basically a potato salad with more stuff plus a delicious dressing. Check out the recipe here if you don’t have the book.

I’m sure mine would’ve been even better if I’d had the fresh herbs—this was just before we put in our new herb garden. I added roasted cherry tomatoes, and for the dressing, I cooked the shallots on low to soften them up a bit before adding them. I’m sure this cranked down the flavor a bit, but we just don’t do raw onion relatives around here very well.

Anyway, if I make it again, and I probably will, I’ll definitely do the fresh herbs and maybe add a wee bit more vinegar….or a squeeze of lemon.

But the basic idea (roasted veggies and eggs with dressing) is pretty simple and really effective. Also very filling. If you couldn’t tell, I’m really into roasted vegetable salads right now. For more of my posts on less-meatarian cooking, click here.

Hope you have a great weekend! So sorry, friends in northern climates, about the weather. I hope spring will make its way to you very soon. I hear you could use it.

I threw this together the other night when I needed something pretty quick and had to use what I had on hand. It was a perfect easy supper.

It’s inspired by Rachael Ray’s Calabacitas Casserole, which is yummy but more involved, with no beans. I once had it at my sister-in-law’s house, and was immediately sold.

My casserole is based on three main ingredients: black beans, salsa, and pre-cooked polenta. Anything else is icing on the cake.

Quick Black Bean and Polenta Casserole

Measurements are approximated. What you want is enough salsa to give the beans plenty of flavor.

2-3 cups canned or pre-cooked black beans, drained (I used up leftovers I had cooked the day before)

1/2 to 1 jar chunky salsa (I used Herdez salsa, which was great, but would’ve been better semi-drained. I think semi-drained Ro-tel would also be excellent, and maybe even Mexican-style stewed tomatoes)

1 tube prepared polenta, sliced into 1/3 inch rounds (you could also cook your own, then chill and slice)

Olive oil

Optional add-ins: diced scallions, cilantro, chopped veggies, spinach, cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F. I made a smaller version of this (since it was just for me) and cooked it in the toaster oven.

Place the beans in an oiled casserole dish (maybe 8 x 8), and add enough salsa to suit your taste. You want a little less salsa than beans, but enough salsa to add lots of flavor. Lay the polenta rounds on top and brush them with a little olive oil.

Bake for 35 minutes or so at 375 F, then add, if you feel like it, a handful of spinach and chopped scallions, and turn up the heat to 400 F. When the spinach is wilted, the polenta is getting crispy, and the beans are bubbling, it’s done.

The polenta adds structure and has such a great creamy/ crispy texture that I really didn’t miss having cheese. This one will definitely go on my repeat list. I think I’ll add more spinach next time and maybe cilantro. Hmmm…what about sweet potato?

For more of my recipes and recipe trials, click here.

You have less than a day left to join the giveaway for a gorgeous Dawn Hanna print. Details here. All you have to do is comment about which print is your favorite—-you won’t be added to a mailing list. Just enjoy!

The ongoing broccoli battle in our house is, I believe, finally won. No, it wasn’t over whether or not certain people will eat it. The kids don’t love it, but they’ll eat it without much of a fuss. The battle is over the best way to cook it.

Hubs prefers stir-frying with soy sauce, but I find that time-consuming and too hands-on to do all the time. For a long time my favorite method was steaming, then rolling in olive oil, garlic, and breadcrumbs. Hubs ate this broccoli dutifully but missed the stir-fry texture.

Enter Mollie Katzen’s vegetable roasting guide from Vegetable Heaven. I’ve used the roasting guide so much that the book naturally opens to that page. It’s great for many a veggie, but at our house, it’s helped us find the broccoli method that results in the perfect texture + flavor+ easy-ness.

Add a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette, and you have us battling again, over seconds.

So, here’s my adaptation of the original Mollie Katzen recipe. It’s less of a recipe, more of an idea for you:

Roasted Broccoli

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice your broccoli florets in half. I find this helps things cook a little faster and more evenly.

Brush a cookie tray with olive oil, and arrange the florets on it.

I usually cook about 20 minutes, but check at 15 minutes to see how it’s going. Personally, I like the broccoli still firm but tender, with some brown edges.

Serve with your favorite vinaigrette. Here’s what we use:

Balsamic Vinaigrette

In a jar or bottle, combine:

about an inch Balsamic Vinegar

about an inch and a half, maybe more, Olive Oil

a big squirt/ soup spoonful Dijon Mustard (you can use powdered mustard here as a substitute)

small squirt of Honey, to taste

freshly ground Pepper

dusting to half a handful freshly grated Parmesan (*optional)

I always taste the dressing and adjust seasonings to suit.

Enjoy! For more of my cooking posts, click here or on the “Food” category.

Do NOT forget to join the giveaway for a gorgeous Dawn Hanna print. There’s no downside here, people. You won’t be added to a mailing list. Just check out her gorgeous work and decide which is your fave, then comment on it. You do not have to live in the U.S. to enter.

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Relish by Lucy Knisley

First Second

A few years ago, if you were told about the rise of the Internet and asked to predict one of the top things that people would blog and post about, can you honestly say food would have been up there as a contender? And by food, I don’t mean cookery, recipes and dedicated food sites, but Facebook statuses, Tweets, Instagram photos, all that jazz. Out of all the little banalities of life, who would’ve thunk that narrating what we eat would be the common denominator of web sharing, and in such a wholly ubiquitous fashion.

Telling strangers on the net what you’re eating isn’t groundbreaking, constructive or thrilling to others in any way- by and large it reflects a personal enjoyment of consumption that has or is about to take place, made more understandable, I think, if you’re of the view that food is one of life’s true pleasures, and not of my sister’s mindset; she who see food as fuel and a necessity to survive, not caring  particularly about taste as long as it’s not detrimental to her health and fulfills her needs (yes, she really is my sister).

Lucy Knisley, it’s safe to say is, is firmly in the former camp. Knisley’s Relish, a book that follows her through various periods and moments in her life framing them in relation to her culinary experiences, has been one of the most anticipated releases of the year for many- not least myself. For Knisley, these ‘taste-memories’ are no tenuous associations: she has been immersed in food culture in some form or manner since she was born- her mother a chef, her father himself a cook and discerning consoeur, her uncle owner of a food-shop selling gourmet comestibles and homemade food-  and has generally been raised in an environment filled with ‘cooks and bakers, eaters and critics.’

Growing up, food remained a strong presence in different ways; working in cheese shops, farmer’s markets, growing and sourcing ingredients, getting involved in the business side of things. So Knisley’s relationship with food is much deeper than your average persons, and despite feeling a little different for being a cartoonist, it’s a theme that turns up  naturally and with happy regularity in her work. They marry well, do food and comics.

The book is divided into chapters, with each one recounting a specific food-related memory and a recipe for that food then given at chapter’s close. Both the experiences and foods are diverse in range, from a trip to Mexico where her friend Drew learns about the penalties for smuggling porn across the border, backpacking through Europe and discovering the world’s best croissants in Venice and feverishly attempting to recreate them to no avail, to navigating horrible lemonade chicken cooked by good friends.

As someone who salivated over Enid Blyton’s terse descriptions of hard-boiled eggs and cold ginger beer, Knisley’s recollections paired with her drawings are almost a sensory overload (her move to the country with its ripe, colourful fruits and freshly plucked produce left me feeling a little light-headed).  That said, what I particularly enjoyed here wasn’t what I expected. And that’s the way in which each memory, each anecdote genuinely tells you a little about the author and her life- it’s not just ‘hey, delicious food art!’, it’s much more thoughtful and reflective than the bright colours and subject matter belie. In between food chopped and dishes cooked, there are insights into her close relationship with her mother, attempts at bonding with her father over dinners, queasy coming of age experiences shared with friends who are still friends, the developing of a cook’s resilience and tenacity.

Having said that (paradoxically) -and this is my sole criticism of the book- there is a strange sense of remove and disconnect of Knisley as a character. The reader is reading about her without any strong emotional investment or relatability on her behalf. Relish arrived in the post the same day I got Christophe Blain’s In The Kitchen with Alain Passard; in that book, a charming and effusive Blain slings an arm around the readers shoulder and guides him around, managing to thoroughly absorb him, as a novice, into the life of a Michelin-starred chef. This may have something to do with the first person narration, planted in the present but talking about the past, making it difficult to get a sense of Knisley as a person today.

I’ve always been a big fan of Knisleys cartooning and it’s as accomplished and attractive as ever here, with line and expression on point. To my mind, she’s the only cartoonist who controls the art so deftly in terms of what it conveys emotionally, perfectly straddling the realms of cartoony while maintaining an aspect of brevity. Make no mistake, Relish is a great achievement, pulling off a truly tricky combination of genres and tones to produce a book that will not only make you want to get into the kitchen and fondling food at the farmer’s market, but one I am confident will be a highlight of the comics year.

Oh, and a top tip for when you’re reading this: surround yourself with tasty snacks because you will be needing them.

With my recent down time, I’ve been doing some thinking since I am not doing too much else. I’m thinking writing is a lot like cooking. Now for those of you who know me well, this may seem like a strange comparison considering that I dislike cooking and am rather fond of writing. Allow me to explain.

My husband and I have a blended family of six. Our mixture of his and hers children creates a unique schedule for many meal times. Some nights it’s just the two of us and other nights, we are feeding six. Over the years, meal time caused a certain level of angst for me. Trying to make sure I created meals that were healthy, that pleased everyone, and that were within budget were a challenge. I have never enjoyed cooking but trying to tackle this task made it more daunting. I fretted over meal planning, shopping, preparation, all of it.

As time as passed, I have started to worry less about covering all these bases. I began to focus on creating meals that were a little more fun and different and thought less about trying to please the masses.

And this is why I think cooking is like writing. So often, we are encouraged to write in a genre or style that we are not passionate about or simply have no interest in. As writers, we are sometimes pushed to try a new category because it is what’s “new” and “popular” but when it comes down to it, we may not care a bit about it.

I love writing children’s stories and short stories. I am also working on my memoir about my battle with heart disease. My focus is narrow and I am okay with that. I could try to write paranormal or horror but I promise, it would not worth anyone’s time. I think it is better to stick with what makes you happy. In my case, I write because I enjoy it rather than it being my job. Since I have that luxury, I can be picky. And as for the cooking, I fortunately married a fantastic chef!

Karen Guccione-Englert fell in love with words at an early age and now shares her love of reading with students at Orchard Farm Elementary. Outside of the classroom, she primarily writes children’s stories and short stories. Karen enjoys entering a variety of writing competitions to practice and refine her craft. In addition, she is an active member of Go Red for Women with the St. Louis chapter of the American Heart Association. Karen resides in St. Peters, Missouri with her husband, four children, and loveable pug.

You may think I’m a vegetarian from all my veggie posts, but I DO eat meat. Just not a lot of it. More on that here.

We love burgers around here, but I’m always trying to get my people to eat ones that don’t involve red meat. The turkey ones always seem to need a bit of doctoring, in my experience. I love the Mar-a-Lago burgers championed by Oprah, but really, they’re just too much work for a weeknight and the flavors, while delicious, don’t really go with our favorite toppings (like ketchup and pickles).

These are a good compromise, and, with a few recent tweaks, they’ve entered into that rare realm which is the full-family-seal-of-approval. Like, all four members. I’m probably jinxing that status just by typing this, but I’m willing to risk it, just for you.

My recipe is adapted from this one.

Favorite Turkey Burgers

1/2 cup rolled oats*

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (I use breast meat)*

3 TB mayonnaise

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped onion (the finer the better, in order to trick the kids)

1 TB Worcestershire sauce

dash of hot sauce

good sprinkling of sweet paprika

a judicious amount of ground pepper

1. If your turkey meat is fairly dry, moisten the oats with about a tablespoon of water and let rest for a minute or two. If the meat has a fair amount of water content already, skip this step.

2. Combine with other ingredients. I hate doing this with my hands so I use two big spoons. Mix just enough to get it well-combined and make into patties.

3. You can grill these, but I find it’s actually a lot easier to cook them in my cast iron pan on the stove. They fall apart easily on the grill. I cook them at medium low for several minutes on each side to make sure they’re all the way done. This way the outsides don’t burn. Check to make sure there’s no pink.

4. Add toppings and enjoy!

*So, like many turkey burger recipes, the mother recipe called for bread crumbs. Since I’m not eating wheat, I could use GF bread crumbs, but I decided instead to try oatmeal. Bingo! Totally works and in fact is an improvement in my book.

*Last night I discovered I had a pound of turkey, not a pound and a half. The whole mixture was gooey (ew!) so I added a second half cup of oatmeal. I was a little nervous about the gamble, but they turned out great, with no comments from the peanut gallery. And as a bonus, they used less meat.

One question I have for you—-all turkey burger recipes seem to have something like mayo in them for, I guess, texture and flavor. Do you think the mayo nixes the health benefits of changing to turkey meat? Do you think I could skip it?

And one more question: anybody have a fantastic gluten-free vegan burger recipe? I know, sounds like a tall order, but I’m totally convinced there’s one out there. So far I haven’t done any trials, but let me know if you’re ahead of me.

For more recipe trials and food posts, look here.

I know, I’ve been doing a lot of tacos. I can’t help myself. Here’s yet another simple twist.

I’ve had plenty of spinach and mushroom enchiladas before at restaurants but somehow never thought to recreate something similar until the recipe here, in Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson (she of 101cookbooks fame).

Her version is minus the spinach and uses fancier mushrooms (chanterelles, or Pfefferlinge, if you’re German—btw wouldn’t it be great to see this on a seasonal Pfefferlinge menu?). I just used plain brown mushrooms. Along with the mushrooms, there’s garlic, onions, and a serrano pepper involved. Yum.

I used frozen chopped spinach from Trader Joe’s. I definitely recommend spinning or squeezing it dry if you’re going that route. Fresh spinach would also totally work, of course. Either way just saute it a little in the pan, but separately from the mushrooms so each veggie cooks at the right temp and length.

I find the mushrooms really satisfying and a welcome change from my normal array of vegetables. And it was a quick lunch.

Do you get stuck in veggie ruts? I’m not-so-patiently waiting for the local-ish asparagus to come in. I’m guessing it’s still Rotkohl (red cabbage) season in Deutschland? That’s one of those dishes I’ve only appreciated in restaurants and haven’t yet ventured into cooking myself. (If you’re wondering why I’m talking about German vegetables, it’s because last year this time, we were living in Hannover, Germany).

In other news, our local chapter of the WNBA (no, not basketball—the Women’s National Book Association) had a great joint meeting the other night with the Charlotte Writer’s Club. It was a panel about the process of getting published, with lots of great food for thought from industry folk.

Meanwhile I’m still plugging away at my character interviews led by these questions. Writers, have you ever done this? It’s such a Magic-8-ball/ subconscious-channeling kind of exercise. Feels weird at times, but I’m coming up with lots of good character stuff that relates to the plot.

Oh, and one last aside. I did a Skype call to talk about Slowpoke with a class of first graders last week. So fun. Best question, which still has me laughing: “Are you ever afraid you’ll never finish another book?”

Today is Chinese New Year! Traditionally, the night before Chinese New Year, Chinese families will gather around and eat dinner together, much like this plate from the LEE & LOW title, Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic:

Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic author and illustrator Ginnie and Beth Lo were kind enough to share one of their favorite soybean recipes with us: Mapo Tofu! While not a traditional Chinese New Year dish, the Lo sisters say that “mapo tofu is a Lo family favorite that we eat on the holidays, Christmas, and Chinese New Year.”

MAPO  TOFU

• Stir fry in small amount of veg. oil about 1lb of ground pork unseasoned over med-med hi heat. Salt lightly. When it is just losing its pink color add 1 ½ to 2T soy sauce and 1T sugar.  Stir fry until done.  Remove from pan, set aside.
• Stir fry one chopped onion in veg. oil until translucent.  Set aside (you can put it in with meat).
• Stir fry in remaining oil, 2T or more hot chili sauce (hot bean paste with chile, or hot chili sauce with garlic etc.), for 30 sec – 1 minute.
• Add  2 packages cubed firm tofu, the pork and the onion, stir fry until well combined.  Add edamame, frozen green peas and cook 10 minutes or more, until flavors are well blended.  Add salt or more hot sauce to taste.

Just before serving, remove from heat and add 3 scallions, finely chopped and 2T Chinese Sesame oil, stir and serve.

Enjoy, and feel free to let us know how it turned out!

Further reading

Angelo’s Sosa’s Chilled Edamame and Spring Pea Soup

What is Chinese New Year?

On Thanksgiving, everyone looks forward to the turkey. Valentine’s Day is the time for chocolate. During Chinese New Year, one of the most popular dish is one called jai, or Buddha’s Delight.

Jai is a vegetarian dish and is eaten on the first day of Chinese New Year to bring good luck. According to Buddhist tradition, no animal or fish should be killed on the first day of the lunar new year, thus, a dish with lots of vegetables is considered purifying.

While most of the ingredients are probably not available at your local grocery store, they can be found at Asian grocery stores in many parts of the country.

Want to try your hand at cooking jai? Here’s a good starter recipe from Vegetarian Recipes and Cooking website, reposted with their permission:

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup bamboo shoots, thinly sliced

2 dried bean curd sticks, soaked for 45 minutes in hot water to soften, cut into 1″ chunks

1/2 cup cellophane noodles, soaked in hot water until soft

6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water until soft (reserve soaking liquid for sauce)

1 carrot, julienned

1/4 cup dried lily buds, soaked in hot water until soft

1 oz. dried fat choy (black “hair” moss), soaked in hot water until soft

1/4 cup canned ginkgo nuts, drained

1/4 cup canned lotus seeds, drained

1/2 cup napa cabbage, thinly sliced

1/4 cup peanuts, roasted

1/2 cup snow peas, julienned

1/2 cup fried tofu, cubed

1/2 cup wheat gluten, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh wood ear mushroom, cut into strips (or soak dried wood ears)

1/2 cup bean sprouts

1/2 cup straw mushrooms

1/2 cup lotus root, thinly sliced

1/2 cup arrowroot (a starchy tuber), cooked and diced

1 TB peanut or vegetable oil

For sauce

1/4 cup mushroom soaking liquid or vegetable stock

1.5 TB Shaoxing wine

1 tsp ginger, minced

1 TB vegetarian oyster sauce

1 TB light soy sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

 Heat 1 TB oil in wok or large pan over medium-high heat. Add bean curd sticks, cabbage, snow peas, mushrooms, and carrots and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl, stirring to dissolve cornstarch, and set aside. Add remaining ingredients, except cellophane noodles and peanuts, to wok, along with sauce, and stir to combine. Simmer until bubbly and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes, stir in cellophane noodles and peanuts, and serve.

Happy cooking! And Happy Chinese New Year!

Further reading:

What is Chinese New Year?

These are just a riff on the chickpea tacos I made here (recipe from Amy’s Cooking Adventures).

I just made enchilada sauce from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (subbing ancho chiles for the kind he calls for) and used the roasted chickpeas and baby spinach as filling and baked according to Bittman’s enchilada instructions.

After struggling with several different methods of preparing enchilada shells, I stumbled upon the easiest trick. Just stack a few in a clean dishtowel and wrap like a present. Zap for about 30 seconds, and they’ll be perfectly warm and pliable. So much easier than frying or dipping them!

Though the sauce was a lot of work (maybe something to make in advance) these were delicious, and my husband even preferred them to the meat version I had also made. I think it’s because the chickpeas are so spicy and lime-y.

If you’re interested in more of my less-meat recipe trials, just click on the “Food” category on my blog.

Have a great weekend. Friends in Northeastern North America, I hope you stay warm and get to play in the snow!

Sautéed spinach, hard-boiled eggs, garlic, lemon, toasted almonds, harissa. These are things I never ever would’ve put together, but they totally work.

This recipe is a perfect example of why I love Heidi Swanson’s work (she of 101cookbooks fame). She can put together ingredients that previously seemed un-mixable, then photograph and write about them in such a way that I HAVE to try them.

I finally finally bought her second cookbook, Super Natural Every Day. Loving it. What took me so long? If you’re interested in cooking with veggies, it’s a wonderful place for inspiration. One of the many best parts is the “Every Day” because the recipes are pared down, simple stuff for week nights. Sometimes it seems like cookbooks are filled only with special occasion dishes.

I’ve had a time looking for harissa, the Tunisian chili sauce, but this recipe works well with Cholula, one of my current hot sauce crushes (the other one is Sriracha sauce—don’t get me started).

Anyway, I love this as a simple winter meal. I seem to be craving spinach lately. And, as usual, anything with spice and citrus. For more of my less-meat recipe trials, click on the Food category.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the book signing on Saturday. What a great crowd! I felt really celebrated.

These are another new favorite at our house.

They’re “Ben’s Friday Pancakes” from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair. Recipe here. Great book, by the way.

I’ve been doing the (mostly) wheat-free thing for a couple of months now (long story, mostly related to my energy levels).

Three things that are great about these pancakes:

1) They’re full of flavor, with a great nuttiness from the whole grains and an almost lemony zing from the fresh nutmeg.

2) After eating them, I actually stay full, and I don’t get the awful sugar rush/ crash like with regular pancakes. Even though I still eat them with syrup.

3) The kids truly love them.

You do have to plan a bit ahead for these, because the grains require overnight soaking. For the milk, I use a combo of plain yogurt and water. You can also make them dairy-free by using a non-dairy milk. I think they’re gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats. Buckwheat is not actually wheat or even a true grain.

You’d think the whole grains would make the pancakes heavy as hockey pucks, but although they’re substantial, they’re surprisingly fluffy.

Be sure to mix up the liquid and grains before setting them in the fridge overnight. Sometimes our blender struggles a bit with the mixture. It helps if you let the mixture come to room temp (at least somewhat), and stir the mixture again before blending.

The batter cooks a little more slowly than traditional pancake batter, so we turn the temp down a little so they don’t burn.

Also, I always double the recipe. The leftover pancakes heat up nicely the next day in the toaster oven, for breakfast or for a nice snack with jam and butter. Yum!

By Abby Gross

I read science and social science manuscripts for work, so in my off time I like to read other genres, from fiction and fantasy to cookbooks. Here were some of my favorite reads of the year.

I hadn’t read a young adult novel in years, and the jacket description of this book was enough to send me running in the opposite direction. But ignore the copy about the teenager struggling with cancer and her friend whom she meets in a support group. John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars is a magnificent and hilarious book about two young people who game the make-a-wish foundation to pursue a meeting with their favorite author, only to find out he is a crazy drunk.

After finishing the works of MFK Fisher, the godmother of writing about cooking, I was despondent — until I found Tamar Adler, whose new book, An Everlasting Meal, channels Fisher’s practical, no-nonsense style and wisdom. If you are like me, and you prefer to cook freestyle, without intricate recipes, this book will surprise you with ideas for using up the last bits of whatever you have on hand. More importantly, it teaches the reader — Adler is a natural instructor — about how to weave cooking into life without assuming that you have tons of cash or free time.

I wish I could go back in time to my 18-year-old self, bored in Biology 101, and hand over a copy of Homo Mysterious: Evolutionary Puzzles of Human Nature, by David Barash. (Disclosure: I helped OUP publish this book.) Barash addresses brow-furrowing questions like “why do humans create religion?” and “why do women menstruate?” He swiftly reasons through the possible arguments (with jokes, which helps non-scientists through the science) eventually leaving the questions unanswered, but the reader equipped to think more intelligently about why we are what we are and why we do what we do.

Abby Gross is a Medical editor at Oxford University Press.

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The post Abby Gross’s top books of 2012 appeared first on OUPblog.

So my publisher wants to include a recipe in the press release for LULA'S BREW. Not just any recipe - THE recipe - y'know, Lula's Brew - the actual BREW.
     Well, I've thought about it for years, quietly in the back of my mind. So I thought it would be a breeze. It didn't turn out that way.
     At first I thought, Halloween... it needs to have something to do with pumpkin. So I performed the grand experiment. I divided and cleaned out an enormous squash which I roasted with its seeds (I'm lucky I didn't chop off any of my fingers doing this):

Then I diced and sauteed lovely ingredients:

I sauteed them in a pot to create a sort of white bean chicken chile with a can of pumpkin. It's real - I read about other people doing this with success.
     I also read some recipes that turned it sweet, with coconut milk and curry. So I divided the batch half-way through and made both. Then I served them in the squash halves with the roasted seeds and fresh parsley.

     Brave hubbie gave them a try and... well, the results were not so stellar. Neither recipe was IT. Neither one was Lula's Brew.
     So Monday I tried again. I needed something that was accessible to most American's, with ingredients that anyone can buy at their local store or may already have in their cabinet and fridge, but which end up delicious when combined... and witchy-stew-like.
     Then, I remembered this recipe I used to make for my poker gang nearly every week in my single days. It took some digging, but I found the recipe and... adapted it. I updated it to my more grown-up taste buds (just a bit) and renamed all the ingredients. The corn became "mummy teeth" and the black beans became the "moles from a bat's behind." Y'know, like Lula's Aunties would have directed.
     The result? YUM! No really! THIS is it! THIS is Lula's Brew! CLICK HERE for the recipe. YUM!

     Did you notice the actual copy of LULA'S BREW in the background, did ya? Did ya, huh? Yeah, it's cool.

– Enjoy this post? Leave a comment at http://dulemba.blogspot.com/ or share it with a friend.

Kohl’s Cares For Kids: Children who eat good meals are happier, healthier, and do better in school, so Kohl’s has also included these books for adults in their program. Each book is only $5.00, and all proceeds go towards kids’ health and education.

Eat This Not That For Kids
Author: David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding
Publisher: Rodale
Genre: Food
ISbn: 978-1605299433
Pages: 320
Price: $5.00 at Kohl’s

Sometimes deciding to eat healthier is as simple as choosing one food over another. In this book, food selections are analyzed for total calorie and fat content, and alternative, healthier options are offered. Items covered include restaurant fare, beverages, snacks and meals made at home.

Campbell’s Best-Loved Recipes
Publisher: Publications International
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 978-1605534671
Pages: 256
Price: $5.00 at Kohl’s

Cooking with Campbell’s soups is a long-standing tradition. This cookbook compiles some of the best recipes using these soups and other related products. But this isn’t just a soup and casserole cookbook. Recipes include breakfast, sandwiches, meats, seafood, pasta, and even desserts.

Crock-pot Busy Family Recipes
Publisher: Publications International
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1605531847
Pages: 192
Price: $5.00 at Kohl’s

A cook’s greatest time saver in the kitchen is the crock-pot. Just set it up in the morning and come home to a nice home-cooked meal. These recipes are a cook’s treasure chest of tasty and easy meals.

Authors: Dian Griesel, Ph. D & Tom Griesel
Publisher: Business School of Happiness
Genre: Cooking / Health
ISBN: 978-1936705078
Pages: 268
Price: $24.95

Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon

In TurboCharged: Accelerate Your Fat Burning Metabolism, Get Lean Fast and Leave Diet and Exercise Rules in the Dust, a new way of eating was introduced. This diet program encourages the reader to eat proteins, fats, vegetables and fruits in new proportions. Foods with hidden sugars and processed carbohydrates should be avoided. The easiest way to follow a new plan of eating is with lots of recipes designed to fit the plan, and TurboCharged Recipes delivers just that.

This cookbook provides a basic introduction to the program, but assumes the reader has already read TurboCharged. Section headings include Beverages, Dips & Dressings, Appetizers, Soups & Stews, Salads, Vegetarian, Eggs, Fish, Meats, Poultry, and Desserts. These yummy recipes can be used by a TurboCharged dieter or anyone who follows a low carbohydrate diet.

Some of these recipes combine more than a dozen ingredients, so a well-stocked kitchen is advised. Time may also be a factor in creating some of these dishes. But if you’re serious about following the TurboCharged plan, this cookbook would be a great investment.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

Whenever I get into a reading slump, I find myself reaching for a Harlequin category romance.  I don’t know why, but these things always seem to get me back on a reading track.  Maybe because of the formula, and because I know that despite all adversity, the protagonists will find a way to get together.  I’m not suggesting that they are all 5 star reads, but I find a great deal of comfort in the formula.  I have only read a few titles under the Blaze imprint, and so far, they have been quick, satisfying reads, so I  gravitated to one of these.

I picked Lead Me Home to load on my Kindle because of one thing:  the hero is a horse trainer.  I am always a sucker for a book with horses.  I am also extremely critical of stories featuring horses, because there are certain ways we do things at the barn, and then there’s the way everyone else does things.  Usually, it is in sync with how I expect horse care and horse training to be described.  Sometimes it is not.  With the exception of young Lester’s “natural” riding abilities, and the abbreviated time spent training Houdini, the unruly stallion, I didn’t have much to complain about with the horse scenes.  I would like Lester to come and show me how to canter on a runaway horse, because I am having a heck of time cantering on one of my mares.  Of course, Lester was helped out by a jerk throwing a rock, so maybe under different circumstances, he would have a problem, too.

Anyhoo, getting back to the book, Matthew is a huge guy, 6’5” and solidly built.  He is a muscle machine.  I am assuming that he’s training quarter horses, and my only other nitpick is that he is a big guy.  Quarter horses aren’t huge horses(well, except for their rear ends).  I am thinking that he looked pretty silly on Houdini, unless the stud was built like a brick sh!thouse, too.  I know how ridiculous my trainer looks on one of my mares, and she isn’t a small horse.  Oh! I am wandering off track again! Sorry!  Let’s try again!

Matthew is a famous horse trainer, probably along the lines of Clinton Anderson.  He is a published author, and everyone recognizes that he is a horse training expert.  He jets all about the world, working his equine mojo.  He also feels detached from people, and has no real committed relationships.  Both of his parents have passed away; his mother when he was a young child, and his father just a few years ago.  His father was so devastated by his mother’s death that he was an emotionally distant care-giver.  Matthew found completion training horses, and hi