Get Your Vitamin D from Stuffed Mushrooms!

 

My friend Ilene was recently researching how to get more Vitamin D from food, and she discovered that mushrooms have quite a bit of it. And if they are left out in a place where they are bathed in sunlight for a day or two, the mushrooms make more vitamin D!

Too Many Baked Potatoes?

During this virus pandemic, I forgot about a 10-pound bag of red potatoes I bought and stored under the sink.  By the time I remembered them, mold had struck, and there was a puddle of ick at the bottom of the storage basket.

New Look at Traditional Coleslaw

My sister-in-law Sue is a very creative cook and enjoys experimenting.  This is her version of that old standby Coleslaw.

Sick of Your Vegetable Side Dishes?

Long ago I became dis-enamoured of that old standard veggie—frozen peas.  I can’t remember when I stopped eating them, but I do keep a bag in the freezer.  I use it for sports injuries, to reduce the swelling.

Turn Green Beans into an Athenian Delicacy

Years ago I spent a summer in Greece as a high school exchange student and learned a lot about Greek cooking.  I didn’t put it into practice, though, until I finished college and moved into my own apartment.

My first attempt was making Spanakopita, which are small pastries stuffed with spinach and cheese. I liked eating them, but making them was a disaster because I had no clue how to handle phyllo dough.  I still can’t do it well, so I order them at a restaurant.

Enjoy Summer’s Last Tomatoes

I think I remember what a real tomato tastes like.  However, it’s been so long since I had one that maybe it’s a dream.  My father occasionally came home from work with a bag of freshly picked tomatoes he’d bought at a roadside stand.  We would eat them like apples.  But those days are long gone.

Too Hot to Cook? Try Ratatouille!

Ratatouille with Brown Rice and Corn

Sometimes I forget that that I know how to make colorful vegetables dishes. It’s been awhile since I last prepared Ratatouille, an easy-to-eat French mixture of cooked eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers and tomatoes.

My friend Ilene found the recipe in our second book, “Help! My Apartment Has a Dining Room!” and cooked it for dinner the other night.  She wanted a vegetarian alternative to the hamburgers and fries she and her husband planned to eat the following night.

“Smashing” Is Not a Usual Recipe Direction

Seldom does a recipe instruct me to smash something.  But then my friend Dorothy invited us for dinner with the promise of serving Smashed Potatoes.

I was intrigued.  Was she planning to use a baseball bat?  How edible would a smashed potato be?  Is this a dish you make only when you’re angry?

The Brussels Sprouts Revolution

Since my childhood Brussels sprouts always seemed to be the most hated vegetable on dinner plates.  I got used to choking them down and actually became semi-fond of them. To me they tasted better than mushy peas.  However, I quickly learned not to serve them for company unless I wanted leftovers for myself..

Now, though, roasted brussels sprouts have become a restaurant favorite in Southern California.  They taste nothing like the overcooked vegetable you have bad memories about.  These are cut in half, oven-roasted in olive oil and then sautéd in butter. Seasonings include garlic, lemon juice and a few other salty ingredients.

The dish is so popular at Tin Roof Bistro in Manhattan Beach that the chef has posted his recipe

Can Food Look Too Pretty to Eat?

I’m not a person who spends a lot of time in the kitchen trying to make what I cook look pretty.  For me, cooking serves a purpose—feeding my family and my friends.  That means getting a meal on the table almost every night.  How the dishes look is much less important to me than how they taste.

An Explosive Side Dish

Corn on the cob always heralds summer for me, but after eating it five nights in a row the thrill wears off. That’s when my mind turns to Fresh Corn Fritters.  Nothing could be easier to make, especially if you have a few ears of already cooked corn sitting in the fridge.

Chewing Through Memory Lane

Chopped  Vegetable and Barley Salad

For most of my adult life, I have maintained a notebook of recipes I like.  Every once in a while, when temporary amnesia sets in, I flip through it for ideas.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Cauliflower

Sometimes when I see some nice-looking heads of cauliflower, I’ll put one in my shopping cart and start thinking about one of my early favorite dishes, Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce.

Once I get home I put the cauliflower in the vegetable bin.  At least half the time I forget it’s there, and three weeks later I discover it, along with all the mold that has appeared on the florets.

Cheese Fries Finally Come to My Table

Where have I been for the last 20 years?  I had never eaten a Cheese Fry.  In fact, I hate to admit it but I’d never heard of Cheese Fries.

Orange May Be the Best Color at the Table

I’m not just saying that because Halloween is coming up.  I do like pumpkins just fine—as long as I’m looking at them and not eating them. 

I’d rather fill my plate with carrots, orange bell peppers, cantaloupe slices, oranges, tangerines, apricots, mangoes or my latest discovery--honeyed sweet potatoes. 

Surprising Ingredient in These Mashed Potatoes

Lobster and Mashed Potatoes are two items I never expected to see served in the same bowl.  But there I was, standing in a buffet line, and in front of me was a big dish of mashed potatoes and a sign: Lobster Mashed Potatoes.  I couldn’t see any lobster in the potatoes, but it was 10 pm and the lighting was poor. 

Too Much Sliced French Bread?

I like my carbohydrates, so whenever I see French bread on sale I buy a loaf.  I tend to ignore the probability that I have three uneaten loaves in the freezer.

Peas in a Summer Salad?

Salads often feature the color green, be it lettuce, cucumber, arugula, kale, fresh spinach or bell pepper.  Here’s another green vegetable to add: peas. 

I toss frozen peas into numerous rice dishes, mostly for a bit of color.  But I never considered them to be the basis for a salad until my neighbor Mary brought her Summer Pea Salad over for a recent barbecue.

Whenever Possible Make Baked Stuffed Potatoes

Like eating Chicken Soup when you’re feeling under the weather, Baked Stuffed Potatoes are a cure-all.  A little butter, some cheese, a large dollop of sour cream, garlic and spices—what more can a potato ask for to become the center of attention?

I recently realized that making these potatoes needn’t be a huge drain on my energy just before dinner.  Why not prepare them early in the day and keep refrigerated until the final baking? 

Here’s the plan:

Who Says Rice Is Boring?

Dinner Party Rice

Actually, me.  And it is boring the way I tend to make it.  Water – rice – boil - eat – reheat or make Fried Rice with the leftovers.  It’s simple.  It’s easy.  It’s bland.  It goes with just about anything except pizza or pasta.

I changed my mind about rice after my friend Grace, who’s from South America, served me her Dinner Party Rice.  Not only is her rice pretty to look at but also it tastes better than the average bowl of rice.