The Cabbage Core Challenge

We want to eat more vegetables, but what if they are pretty awful tasting? Four easy tricks take the nasty taste from the harsher tasting vegetables.

“Accelerated” Slow Cooker Beans

You want the great taste of beans fresh-cooked in a slow cooker, but you forgot to soak them the night before. What do you do? Use the accelerated method.

What’s for Dinner on Hot Summer Nights?

When the weather turns hot, deciding what’s for dinner can leave you feeling completely cold and clueless. The problem may lie less with the weather and more with our mealtime “wardrobe.” Find out how to add a little “summer style” to make your mealtime lineup more appealing when the hot weather rolls in.

Green Kitchen Tip: Use Citrus Bags for Herb Washing

Try to chop a waterlogged bunch of herbs and it turns into a mess of green slush. This trick spin dries herbs quickly–using citrus bags that would otherwise end up in the landfill!

Scrubbing Vegetables: “Veggie Scrub” Makes It Easier

Check out this great new 2-for-1 find:  A vegetable scrubber + fresh herb colander for just $3.50
Although I’m a still big fan of my $2.50 nail scrubber from the cleaning supply store, I put the “Veggie Scrub” to the test on Jerusalem artichokes (also known as sunchokes.)  These gnarly and knobby vegetables are the toughest [...]

Make a Simple Salad Special

I just wanted to make an easy meal after a long day of gardening and computering. Just a little soup and salad–but we have no dressing. Was I going to have to futz and fuss with a homemade salad dressing before I could sit down and eat?

Washing Spinach vs. Packaged Spinach

Washing spinach is a pain, but you don’t want to spend the extra $$$ to buy the pre-washed. Make sure you don’t get caught in-between with no spinach at all.

So That’s What They Mean by “Slow Cooking”

For years, I’ve known the rule for cooking tough meat cuts: low and slow. But in my hurry up world, I tried to do low on a gas stovetop that was calibrated for hot, fast cooking. My last batch of soup bones came out as tough as leather, even though I had cooked them on low. . . Patience and forethought came to my rescue

Using Herbs and Spices: More on Flavor Families

Here’s the great thing about herb and spice flavor families. Find one you like and you’ve got an easy springboard to creative fun, as in this recipe for Eggplant and Garbanzo Stew with Spicy Coriander Flavors.

Is it OK to use the garlic and ginger that comes in jars?

Those little jars of prepared garlic and ginger are so completely convenient!  No fussing
with paper-thin garlic peels, no paring gnarly knobs of ginger or endangering fingers on the ginger grater and no garlic-smelling hands for the rest of the night.  But is it OK to use these conveniences?
I get this question a lot, usually phrased [...]