Different types of food can give you different types of energy. Sweet foods such as cookies and candy give you a lot of energy, and fast—but that energy lasts for only a little bit of time, since sugar moves quickly through your body. But foods such as these energy bites that combine complex carbohydrates (oats!),…
Make a Bean Stew That Has an All-Day Taste in a Fraction of the Time
With the leaves changing color and the weather getting colder, it’s the perfect time to make a hearty stew. This one uses a handful of warm earthy spices, a variety of legumes to fill you up, and an electric pressure cooker to speed up the process. I love using my Instant Pot for bean soups;…
Treat Your Family to a Batch of Cozy Apple Muffins
These warm apple muffins, kissed with cinnamon-sugar, are the coziest breakfast to wake up to in the morning. Unlike dense, super-sweet muffins that taste more like dessert, these muffins are fluffy and just lightly sweetened, with chunks of tart apples that help balance everything out. Sit down to one with your morning coffee, or pack…
Pasties, Porketta, and Potica: Culinary Gems of the Iron Range
In northeastern Minnesota, dotting a landscape called the Iron Range, there are cities with names such as Hibbing, Virginia, Chisholm, Nashwauk, and Eveleth, and in these cities are bakeries, delis, bars, restaurants, and church fundraisers that sell delicious things beginning with the letter “p.” Delicious things that have been part of the region’s identity since…
Iron Range Porketta
You can buy prepared porketta in most supermarkets in northern Minnesota and in other parts of the country these days, but it is well worth making your own. I use the porketta recipe from B.J. Carpenter’s “Come, You Taste: Family Recipes From the Iron Range.” It can be served as a traditional roast, but I…
Episode 9: Belgium – Hex Castle
Count and Countess d’Ursel have invited noble friends to a festive dinner to mark the international plant and flower show taking place on their estate. Ingredients from their historic garden will be the focus of the evening, in particular rose petals from the famous rose garden. Count Ghislain D’Ursel has hired Belgian top chef Claude…
A Lighter Pumpkin Dessert for Thanksgiving
You’ve enjoyed your Thanksgiving feast and still have room for something sweet. That’s where this dessert comes in. No heavy pie crusts here, just a pumpkin custard. An American favorite, pumpkin pie filling, pairs up with a Mexican-style flan to solve the dessert dilemma on holiday tables and throughout the cooler months. This flan has…
Squash Your Breakfast
I would have been OK with it if they were stealing our squash to feed their families, but that wasn’t the case. One of the thieves had a Buttercup squash and the other what looked like a Sunshine squash, both of the $4 size. With no time to hide the squash as we drove up,…
Humble Pie, Grand Appeal
Early fall—before the onset of the holiday crazies—is a great time to relax and get cozy. Apples are at their peak, and rustic, uncomplicated desserts that naturally showcase their flavor and sweetness are par for the course. It’s time for a crostata. A crostata is essentially a free-form tart. It’s easy to make, with no…
Episode 8: Spain – El Rincón
The “Semana Santa” belongs to Marqués de Griñón and his family. During the Holy Week, simple meals are traditionally served but the Count has invited the cultural and social elite of Madrid for a Gala Dinner to El Rincon. Star chef Adolfo Muñoz from Toledo captivates the guests with his culinary creations that also showcase…
-
Recent Posts
-
Archives
- May 2025
- April 2025
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- September 2013
- July 2013
- March 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- December 1
-
Meta