Category Archives: Reblogged from….

For posts that are reblogged from other sources

Instant Stew

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I’ve just recently started looking at what can be done with a pressure cooker; this looks like a good place to start so I thought I would share this.

Russ's avatarThe Domestic Man

First of all, sorry about that title. Just like the elusive free lunch, there is no such thing as an “Instant Stew”. You see, I recently asked my Facebook followers what dish they’d like to see me develop, and I received several requests for pressure cooker and stew recipes. We use (and love) an electric pressure cooker called an Instant Pot, so that’s what I used for this recipe (and hence the name).

At its heart, this dish is similar to many of my other stew recipes, but with a new approach. When it comes to simple weeknight recipes, many folks like the idea of crockpot stews (wherein you leave the ingredients to slow-cook while away at work). But I’ve found that more often than not, the vegetables become too mushy and tired after a long simmer. This is where a pressure cooker really shines, as it shaves a…

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Flamusse aux Pommes (Burgundian Apple Flan)

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Looks awesome! Burgundian food and wine are some of my favorites!

StefanGourmet's avatarStefan's Gourmet Blog

For the Burgundian evening there also had to be a traditional dessert from Burgundy. I decided to prepare flamusse, an apple flan that is similar to clafoutis (made with cherries). This is a very an quick simple cake/dessert to make, but really tasty. The important thing is to use only a bit of batter and not to beat too much air into it, otherwise the flan will rise too much and although it will still taste good, it will look quite messy.

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Chocolate is Your Friend

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As confirmed chocoholic, I just had to pass this on by reblogging it. Love goat cheese, love chocolate….must try.

Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide's avatarRufus' Food and Spirits Guide

Take two thick slices of ciabatta, slather with goat cheese, top with chopped dark chocolate (an ounce of each per slice) pop in the oven at 350 until they get all gooey, about 10 minutes and viola. If you’d like, sprinkle on some sea salt or sliced strawberries to end.

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Eating hostas

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Great articles here!

Alan Carter's avatarOf Plums and Pignuts

One of my favourite seasonal treats from the forest garden is the hostas. No, no spelling mistake: hostas are really edible. In fact, they are a near perfect forest garden crop. Woodland is the natural habitat of many hosta species, so they like moist soil with plenty of organic matter and tolerate a considerable amount of shade. A friend tells me that they have a positive allelopathic relationship (i.e. they secrete chemicals that help each other) with apples, and since the research on it is published in Russian I’ll have to take her word for it. Hostas are no novelty nibble: they have the potential to be a major productive vegetable.

hosta clump

The best part of the hosta is the ‘hoston’, the rolled up leaf as it emerges in the spring, although many varieties are still pretty good even once they have unfurled. The best way of cooking them depends on the…

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Ushering in Strawberry Season

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Luscious!

Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide's avatarRufus' Food and Spirits Guide

We’ve had a weird spring, which makes us even more giddy to see strawberries at the farmers market. It’s hard to feel springy when you’re using your fireplace to stay warm on May 4. The temperature dropped from the 80s to the mid 40s that week. But berries always let us know summer is just around the corner.

We’ll be featuring strawberry recipes all week — salads, booze, desserts! — and highlighting a few of our old favorites. Here’s a look back at some of our favorites:

Strawberry Cobblers for Two

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Spiced Strawberry Shortcakes

Strawberry Balsamic Granita

Strawberries Romanoff

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15-Minutes Mushroom Sauce (for Steaks and Mashed Potatoes)

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Quick and easy!

Foodie Baker's avatarFood Is My Life

15-Minute Creamy Mushroom Sauce for Steaks

This very easy, very quick and very delicious mushroom sauce changed my life, completely.

Okay that’s a total exaggeration, but well, at least I no longer have to go and buy those pre-made sauces for steaks (God knows what’s in there). I can make this sauce myself, at the comfort of my own home, with pantry ingredients (okay you probably need to grab the mushrooms and milk/cream from the market, but yea you get the idea, right?) And the sauce tastes so good, so spoon-licking good that I can’t stop eating it right out from the pot (even before I started cooking my steaks).

So yea, in a way you can say that this sauce is revolutionary. 😉

15-Minute Creamy Mushroom Sauce for Steaks

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Chilli and Nutmeg Dark Chocolate Bark

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I have to try this–I’ve had dark chocolate with nutmeg and love it…and dark chocolate and chili and love that (but then I’m a serious chocoholic anyway).

frugalfeeding's avatarFrugalFeeding

chilli dark chocolate bark

When one really takes time to delve into all things festive it quickly becomes clear that it is unlikely that there will ever be an end to Christmastime culinary possibility. In fact, it turns out that it’s dreadfully difficult to keep one’s blog up-to-date with all that is being produced. The weather is the entity most at fault here, but what can one do? It’s difficult to castigate the weather – it makes a mockery of us all.

Following on from my recent monologue regarding presents and the meaning of Christmas, a little gifting advice may be necessary. For those of you that weren’t aware, chocolate is always a safe bet – is there anyone who doesn’t covet one form of chocolate or another? It is in this spirit that I bring you my recipe for chilli and nutmeg dark chocolate bark; it is both frugal and spectacularly delicious. Perhaps…

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Milk punch

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I’ve just discovered milk punch–made my first last night and really enjoyed it, so I thought I share some of the recipes that I’ve found.

Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide's avatarRufus' Food and Spirits Guide

We clipped this recipe from a magazine years ago, I wish I could remember which one. (Update: Thanks to Andrea for telling us it was Budget Living!) It’s called “Godfather Jimmy’s Milk Punch” in the green journal we reserve for our favorite recipes. It’s a wonderful alternative to eggnog and has become a staple on Thanksgiving. But first things first, you need to freeze this in a milk jug, so don’t just toss the next one you empty into the recycling bin. I’ve been known to cut the frozen milk jug in half and only defrost half of it at a time since we don’t often have guests on the holiday and the dogs aren’t partial to brandy. (Attention PETA that was a joke, our dogs love brandy).

Brandy milk punch

  • 2 1/2 quarts whole milk (you can use a mix of 2 percent and whole, don’t use skim)
  • 750…

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Christmas Spiced Biscuits

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Sounds like real holiday treat. Good discussion on biscuits (English and American), and scones, too.

frugalfeeding's avatarFrugalFeeding

Frugal Christmas Spiced Biscuits

If there’s one time of the year at which biscuits should be made and eaten in prodigious quantity, it is at Christmas. There’s something clean and joyful about a proper English biscuit that makes them a smidge more festive than, to give one example, a cookie. It’s far easier to pick out individual flavours in biscuits than in food that is excessively sugary – a cookie, for instance, is something of a devilish experience.

Not only are biscuits rather light on one’s stomach, they are also one of the more frugal bakes one can embark upon. Of course, this is largely due to the dearth of expensive superlatives, such as chocolate, that are often added to cookies or cake. Instead, biscuits are often left plain or flavoured with spices or citrus fruits – as is the case in this recipe. Indeed, if the spiciness of these biscuits doesn’t appeal…

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How to plan a week of meals

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A great article for some ideas on how to deal with “leftovers” and efficient cooking for one or two.

Cristina's avatarTiny Perfect Bites

One of the main obstacles that I’ve heard about for why people don’t cook very often is that it’s hard to buy groceries without wasting a lot of food. If you are only cooking for one or two people, I can understand how this is challenging. What works for me is to plan a few meals before I go shopping, and to try to overlap some of the main ingredients. I’ve outlined a few examples below.

When you are shopping for the week, be realistic about how often you cook. If you know that you will probably go out to eat one or two nights of the week, don’t buy enough groceries to make five dinners. If possible, shop somewhere where you can buy custom-sized portions (i.e., somewhere with a butcher’s counter and that allows you to buy produce by weight).

Sample week 1:
Grilled Chicken with Caprese Topping
Clams…

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