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Showing posts from March, 2004

Very Very Green Green-Pea Soup

By my count, there are two basic and entirely different soups made from peas, a long-simmering split pea soup made from dried peas and this quick 'n' easy bright-green soup made with fresh green peas, especially inexpensive frozen peas that are such a convenience. For anyone who wonders if there's an actual meal in that bag of frozen peas buried in your freezer, I'm here to say, yes, yes and YES! Grab a big soup pot or a Dutch oven, just cook a few pantry ingredients and you won't believe the great soup whose origin and inspiration is really and truly, a simple bag of frozen peas. Real Food, Fresh & Fast. Made from Scratch. Hearty & Filling. Budget Friendly. Easy Weeknight Supper. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Vegetarian & Easily Made Vegan. Naturally Gluten Free. Rave Reviews. What're you waiting for?!

Baked Chicken with Herb-Roasted Potatoes

Back in the day, this was my mom's favorite quick chicken recipe. It was comfort food for cool Minnesota nights, warming her kitchen, filling the whole house with the enticing aroma of roasted chicken and potatoes – and in just a couple of hours, filling our bellies too. The recipe couldn't be simpler. Just brush chicken with sour cream and toss potatoes with mustard, herbs and a little olive oil. Then bake them side by side. Tonights's Supper? Really, it's that easy. Recipe updated & republished 2015 to remember my mom on what would have been her 85th birthday ... COMPLIMENTS! "... it was delicious." ~ Jessie Your best recipes – where do you find them? My own bookshelves hold dozens of cookbooks. The basement houses who-knows-how-many back issues of cooking magazines. An invaluable food website is Epicurious , where every-day home cooks critique recipes from Gourmet, Bon Appetit and other food magazines. The Food Network is enterta

Split-Pea Soup with Sausage & Kale

When I first wrote this column way back in 2004, something called "kale" was the new green on the block, not the trendy find-it-everywhere green it is today. For this hearty homemade soup, I modified a classic split pea soup, adding kale for healthiness and a touch of sweetness and a bit of sausage for richness and texture. Delicious, this stuff! It's easily converted to a vegetarian or vegan soup and either way, it's perfect for the fickleness of late-winter and early-spring days. Homemade Split-Pea Soup, Made from Scratch. Real Food, Fresh & Comforting. Budget Friendly. One-Pot Meal. Great for Meal Prep. Low Fat. Easy to Convert to Plant-Based Vegan Soup. Naturally Gluten Free.

Simple French Eggs

The Recipe: When we think "French eggs", we immediately think omelettes, yes? (Oui?) Well, think again. I call this recipe "Simple French Eggs" because the eggs are so much simpler to make than an omelet. Once upon a time, it was my nephew's favorite way to make eggs, he was only eight years old! ~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~ Eggs: Tis the Season Pastel egg shapes are everywhere this week. They are so pretty! One neighbor has tucked a dozen large eggs (big bunnies, those) into a bed of spring flowers, late-blooming daffodils in the sunny spots, Scotch bluebells in the shady spaces. Down the street, a family with young children has hung small eggs (in lavenders and soft yellows, pearly blues and the palest of pinks) from low boughs of what I can only think to call a weeping cherry. We each mark this Easter week in our own fashion, some secular, many religious. Yet something so simple as an egg can connect us whether we celebrate the rebirth of