Here is a hearty and tasty winter vegetable-loaded beef stew for the slow cooker. You can vary the root vegetables in this stew—choose from carrots, turnips, parsnips, new potatoes, onions, or leeks and add mushrooms or celery. The combinations are many. As well, you can vary the stock—use all beef stock, or chicken stock, or […] More
The ham and cheese and potato gratin is a flavorful and sustaining winter dish. I usually call on this recipe a day or two after a big baked ham dinner by simply reserving 1 or 2 pounds of ¼-inch ham slices. But you can pick up a 1 to 2 pound ham steak at the […] More
Family and friends will gobble up chocolate chip and dip applesauce cookies. In this recipe, I substitute chocolate bits and chunks that I’ve chopped myself for standard chips—I just like the surprise of finding those just-a-bit-bigger bits and chunks along the way. Also in this recipe let solid shortening and applesauce take the place of […] More
Poached pears and chocolate can be either a hot or cold dessert. For poaching, I like either the early-season Bartlett pear—a medium-large fruit with white, sweet, and tender flesh, or the late-season Bosc—a large, long-necked fruit with white, tender-juicy and sweet flesh. I poach the pears whole then serve them halved with spoonfuls of dark […] More
The baked stuffed apple is a delicious, traditional, and easy-to-make winter and holiday treat. I bake these apples on the oven shelf right under the baking ham. Choose any one or two of these great baking apples for this tasty dessert: Honeycrisp is sweet, Braeburn is sweet-spicy, Jonagold and Rome Beauty are sweet-tart, and Granny […] More
McIntosh and Granny Smith are two apples that are slightly tart and juicy and well suited for cooking and applesauce making. (Once I have the applesauce, it’s hard to resist the baking up a dozen applesauce muffins.) McIntosh is an East Coast and Midwest favorite. Granny Smith, originally from Australia is a West Coast favorite. It’s […] More
The secret to making delicious homemade grape juice is to never boil the grapes. Grape juice reduces bad cholesterol, helps maintain healthy blood pressure, prevents damage to blood vessels in your heart, and reduces the risk of blood clots. Do you see a down side to drinking fresh-made grape juice? Concord grapes are great for […] More
Strawberry jam, plum jam, peach jam, blueberry jam, grape jam—any fruit can be cooked with sugar to make jam. Late summer is home-made jam season—unless you grow apricots and then mid-summer is jam season. My Santa Rosa plum tree is a jam factory in September. Whatever fruit you grow or buy at the farm market […] More
Fresh corn, herb, and tomato relish is a mix that comes together naturally as the summer harvest peaks. When sweet corn kernels can be cut from the ears and popped in your mouth as a garden snack—well, that is the same time you are going to find meaty tomatoes ripe on the vine. For this […] More
To make the most nutritious tomato juice the easy way, do this: wash your tomatoes, cut out the cores and bruised or bad spots, and place the whole tomatoes in a blender—no peeling required. Blend until smooth and drink. Freeze what you don’t drink now for later use. Most recipes for tomato juice ask you […] More
Squash blossoms are the big, satiny yellow or orange, and edible flowers of the pumpkin, squash, and zucchini. You can use them as a tasty garnish on crêpes, fruit salads, soups, and quesadillas. You can also stuff and bake them, stuff and serve them raw, batter and fry them, or use them as wrappers. One […] More
The difference between an average green salad and a great green salad is the choice of greens, the flavors you match with the greens, and the dressing. Start a green salad with two or three greens—choose varying flavors and textures. Next combine or toss the greens with flavor affinities—foods and seasonings that bring out the […] More
Stephen Albert