I baked this bread for a family brunch (to go with a frittata and fruit salad). It was a great success. I got the original recipe from Judy Kivi’s book, Myths and Recipes of the Last Frontier: Alaska. Ingredients 1 pound chopped dates 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 cups boiling water 2 tablespoons shortening (I […]
Latest Posts
Spam Sushi (Musubi)
I take great delight in convincing people they like foods they thought they hated. Spam is one of them. I re-examined this ingredient after a trip to the Spam Museum in Albert Lea, which led me to stumble across this recipe. It is also known as spam musubi, and it is native to Hawaii, where […]
Merguez Sausage Tajine
I’ve been finding Moroccan style sausage at many different meat shops lately. This was made with goat merguez sausage from Clancey’s, which had really good flavor. I used a spice blend, but I’m sure you could use fresh spices and add some more ingredients (like dried fruit), but it turned out tasty when made this […]
Strawberry Shortcake
After a recent visit to North Carolina, where strawberries are already ripe, I was inspired to make this simple but wonderful dessert. Makes six. 1 pint strawberries1 c. heavy whipping cream, divided1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. sugar, divided3/4 c. flour1 egg3 Tbsp. cold butter2 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. salt Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. […]
“Soylent Green” or Involtini with White Beans & Greens
We made these for a “fictional food” themed party. This makes 10, so you may want to scale it down. Thank you to Clancey’s meats for accommodating my cutlet request. The rest I based on Roman flavors and the goal of making everything as green as possible. They turned out delicious and I didn’t even […]
Chive Pesto
If your chive plant is anything like mine, you need to hack it back so it doesn’t compete with the rest of the herb garden. Also, it’s going to be months before we have an abundance of basil, so here’s a yummy spring pesto! 1 large handful of chives1 medium handful of parsley1 small handful […]
Meat Consomme with Vegetables and Egg Royales
I highly recommend making this recipe if you fulfill all of the following criteria:1) You just got a whole mess of new kitchen equipment2) You live a stones throw from more Asian supermarkets than you can count3) You took Friday off and have a French-themed dinner party the next day5) According to the DSM-IV you […]
Smoky Potato Leek Soup
Hard to believe we now have 300 posts, but no potato leek soup! This soup is almost elemental in its simplicity, and is unparalleled for winter-time comfort (and thrift). My version includes bacon and omits cream. Cream has a way of killing flavor–but you can stir in a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche […]
Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cinnamon Frosting
Gotta love Midwestern desserts: easy, delicious, and based on the magic of industrial food science. I combed the internet for a more ‘scratch’ version of these, but this semi-homemade version would be hard to beat. They are very soft and moist, like muffin tops. Cooooookies 1 box Betty Crocker spice cake mix1 can pumpkin puree1 […]
Chili Relleno Casserole
This is not exactly the dish from our childhood, since it’s a bit more complex than the “quick, we need some food” version that’s in the Melting Pot cookbook. However, the freshly roasted poblano pepper really gives it a lot more flavor than if you use canned chilies, and roasting them really doesn’t take that […]