Quinoa and Brown Rice Baked Apples

  Baked apples have always been a fun way to eat dessert. Each eater has her own contained serving filled with warm, oozing deliciousness. Why, I wondered, can’t we do the same with dinner? There are a few recipes out there, mostly stuffing an apple shell with onions and sausage and sage. But I wasContinue reading “Quinoa and Brown Rice Baked Apples”

Broccoli and Burrata Arancini

Score another one for the kids! My son picked an arancini recipe out of a cookbook this summer when it was his turn to make dinner. Turns out, we all love Italian rice balls. Who knew? But really, what could be better than transforming cheese sticks into dinner! I used that basic recipe as aContinue reading “Broccoli and Burrata Arancini”

Spinach Swiss Souffle

We’ve grown a lot of spinach this Spring — which makes me really happy because I adore this veggie’s thick leaves and big crunch. I love how well it pairs with cheese and eggs and cream — and nutmeg. It’s wonderful in salads and sautés and smoothies. I honestly can’t imagine ever feeling tired of spinach.Continue reading “Spinach Swiss Souffle”

Ginger Orange Sesame Slaw

While I’m a big fan of creamy coleslaw stirred together with homemade mayonnaise and whatever’s growing in the garden, sometimes a girl just needs a change. And this lovely recipe — with its cool cabbage, orange and cilantro — is crunchy, bright and flavorful. Featuring cabbage and radishes, it’s another Spring salad star. Pair itContinue reading “Ginger Orange Sesame Slaw”

Stacking Up a Satisfying Salad

If someone asked my favorite course of a meal, I would, without a moment’s hesitation, tell them: Salad. Not bread, not dessert, not a thick juicy piece of meat. Not even soups or sandwiches or vegetable sides. Nope. It’s salad. I love how fresh and raw most of salad’s ingredients are. I love that soContinue reading “Stacking Up a Satisfying Salad”

Cast Iron Skillet Spatchcocked Chicken

Some time in the last year or so, the concept of spatchcocking your chicken or turkey (think of butterflying a pork chop) has taken off. Why? Just like the Instapot craze, spatchcocking turns whole food ingredients into dinner in a fraction of the time more tried and true methods take. In the case of spatchcocking, it’s easierContinue reading “Cast Iron Skillet Spatchcocked Chicken”

Kale: It’s What’s for Dinner

It is kale season in our garden. I mean big time. We often have a little stand that grows throughout the fall and might stay strong in a mild winter. But spring is when the kale takes off. Which, of course, means it’s kale season at our table. This is not a beloved season at the dinnerContinue reading “Kale: It’s What’s for Dinner”

Surprisingly Good Corn Soufflé

Recently, I was staring down a bag of corn I’d blanched and frozen the summer before. And seeing as how the hens were laying like crazy, I reached back in my memory to a dish my mom used to make. She called it Corn Pudding. It had eggs and corn and onions and butter and milk. AndContinue reading “Surprisingly Good Corn Soufflé”

Ginger Sesame Dressing

It’s a rare bottled salad dressing that makes it into our house. But we certainly eat our share of lettuce — and spinach and carrots and sprouts. So variety is key. This dressing has an Asian flair; I love it atop salads served alongside fish and chicken. It’s especially good with a base of greens and rawContinue reading “Ginger Sesame Dressing”

Scratch-Made Sloppy Joes

If you’re a parent of certain aged kids, you know the drill: From school to swim practice for one kid, a swing by the ballet studio for another and a stop at the track to fetch a third. All this in the crucial 5 to 6 o’clock hour when it would be helpful to actuallyContinue reading “Scratch-Made Sloppy Joes”