Category Archives: Eating better

Berry simple, summery dessert (and gluten-free)

Sugar-and-liqueur-soaked fruit is an easy topper to cake or companion to ice cream. Photo by Laura Groch

Sugar-and-liqueur-soaked fruit is an easy topper to cake or companion to ice cream. Photo by Laura Groch

I recently brought this cool and easy fruit dessert to a warm-weather dinner party, where, I was happy to see, it was polished off, except for the “polite” spoonful left in the serving dish.

With berries and stone fruits in season now, this is a versatile option, especially if some of the guests, as in our group, must avoid gluten.

The dish started as a trifle — layers of liqueur-soaked pound cake, pudding, fruit — but I Continue reading →

Save your green with easy-to-mix salad dressing

Inexpensive ingredients for a delicious salad dressing are already in your pantry. Photo by Laura Groch

Inexpensive ingredients for a delicious salad dressing are already in your pantry. All you need is a simple recipe like this one. Photo by Laura Groch

If you’ve been checking out my posts, you know I keep returning to certain themes: Thrift in the kitchen. Eating real food. Preparing food yourself so you know what’s in it.

So in this season of salads and cold dishes — and especially for the picnic-happy holiday that is July 4 — I wanted to bring you a recipe that hits all those notes.

It’s a simple recipe for an oil- and vinegar-based salad dressing (not the kind of white Continue reading →

Thrifty/Nifty: Five easy tips for food shopping

Marking dates on cans and bottles as they come into the pantry helps you keep rotating the older items to the front. Photo by Laura Groch

Marking dates on cans and bottles as they come into the pantry helps you keep rotating the older items to the front. Photo by Laura Groch

We’re well past the holiday hangover, but perhaps still paying the bills for it. I’m thinking we’re overdue for some Thrifty/Nifty tips to help make shopping and managing a kitchen a little easier:

— Look high when you choose  produce, especially when it’s piled high and deep. The stuff at the front, which is within everyone’s reach, is what’s been handled most. Reach farther back, or higher, in the pile to choose a pear or tomato or head of lettuce that hasn’t been bruised and battered by everyone else.

— Remember to look low on store shelves. We naturally scan shelves at eye level, Continue reading →

Easy, hearty shepherd’s pie takes the edge off winter

shepherd's pie

A scoop of piping-hot shepherd’s pie will warm you on a cold evening. Photo by Laura Groch

Wet, wintry weather makes me want hearty, hot meals. Soups and stews come to mind, warming the kitchen as they cook and warming the body as we eat.

The humble but sturdy shepherd’s pie also fills the bill. This is an easy-to-make, forgiving dish that can be as economical or as extravagant as your budget allows.

It’s also extremely flexible: You can use whatever’s at hand without having to rigidly adhere to a list of ingredients, which freaks out some cooks.

(And p.s., looking ahead to Super Bowl feeds, this would be just as bowl-worthy as chili for your crew.)

My pie — baked in a casserole dish, not necessarily a pie plate (see? flexible) — Continue reading →

When life gives you portobellos and peppers, sauté them

portobello mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes

Portobello mushrooms are great in a stir-fry fajita-style with peppers, onions and tomatoes. Photo by Laura Groch

Necessity is the mother of invention, and sometimes bargains can be the parents of creativity. Especially in the kitchen.

I snagged a package of three portobello mushroom caps for 99 cents in the marked-down produce section of my supermarket recently. I knew portobellos were expensive, so this was truly a deal. But if you can’t figure out what to do with your deal, it’s money down the drain.

I also picked up a bag of three bell peppers for 99 cents. Hmmm. I had Continue reading →

Let’s get mushy, pumpkin lovers

pumpkin mush

Pumpkin Mush is homey and hearty, and you won’t bump into it coming and going. I added some dried cranberries to this version. (Photo by Laura Groch)

We’re not even into November, and already people are professing to be sick of pumpkin. The ever-lovin’ merchandisers of the world are putting it into everything but deodorant and detergent (and can those be far behind?). Pumpkin breads, cakes, cookies, pies, risottos, soups, coffees, pancakes — no wonder we’re sated with this squash.

At the risk of adding to the pumpkin parade, I’ve got a recipe that you probably Continue reading →

Here’s a scoop — make your own chocolate syrup

So. Hot. Need. Ice. Cream.

You can easily make your own chocolate syrup with just five ingredients. Photo by Laura Groch

You can easily make your own chocolate syrup with just five ingredients. Photo by Laura Groch

With chocolate syrup, of course.
Here’s how to make chocolate syrup on the cheap, and without any artificial ingredients.
One of the things I like to do in this blog is to offer easier, cheaper ways to make food. We used to call them helpful hints; today they’re called “kitchen hacks.” (Whatevs.) It’s all still about saving money and time, and sometimes making things a bit more healthful.
I know: What’s so healthy about chocolate syrup? It’s full of sugar. Well, OK — too much sugar is bad for you, so please don’t eat the entire potful of chocolate syrup I’m going to show you how to make. (One pot is not 1 serving.)

Continue reading →

Five more ideas on how to eat in the heat

Bleah! It’s still searingly hot outside. (Too hot for grilling, imho.) Who wants to cook anything, even if your kitchen is in air-conditioned comfort? OK, A/C does help. But still. Who wants to eat a heavy cooked meal when it’s 100 degrees out? (Have some more water.)

sandwich

Sandwiches can save the day when it’s fiendishly hot, but try ’em with some different sturdy bread or rolls. (Photo by Laura Groch)

So what can we do to feed ourselves and beat the heat, short of eating ice cream three times a day? (wait, not such a bad strategy …) Here are some reminders of cool basics for summertime meals that might spark your imagination. (Find more ideas here.)

• Remember the “beeg salad”? Invite it to dinner. On a bed of lettuces and/or greens (raw kale, cabbage shreds), add something starchy and/or grainy (cooked quinoa, pasta, bulgur, beans, potatoes), some cooked meat, chicken, tuna or hard-boiled eggs, veggies galore (tomato, chopped celery, onion, shredded carrot, cucumber, zucchini, olives, cooked Continue reading →

What’s red, and red, and red … 3 ideas to use tomatoes

Fans of farmers markets are enjoying the bounty of fresh, flavorful tomatoes, but if you’ve run out of ideas, I have a few standbys from the kitchen files.

tomatoes

Nothing is so tasty as a glorious ripe tomato. Or two, or three … dozen … try these ideas to use some of the crop.  (Photo copyright Laura Groch 2015)

First up is my favorite, panzanella, the Italian bread salad. The juices from chopped tomatoes moisten day-old Italian bread (or other sturdy bread, like country white or wheat bread).

I keep it simple, using day-old Italian bread and toasting about half a loaf’s slices to dry them further. I let them cool before tearing them into bite-sized pieces, then add two good-sized juicy tomatoes, cut into chunks, unpeeled.

Next into the bowl goes half a peeled cucumber, chunked; two thinly sliced green Continue reading →

Three ideas to “uncook” during summer heat

sandwich

The old sandwich will keep things cool when temperatures become intemperate, but what about dinners? (c) 2015 Laura Groch

We’ll be hitting the 100s this weekend and probably beyond, so I’m ready for some cool cooking.

The kitchen can stay pretty temperate for breakfasts (cereal, toast, yogurt) and lunches (sandwiches, wraps). But sometimes dinner is another story. (No, ice cream is not sufficient. Keep thinking.) Grilling keeps the heat outside, but if you can’t stand to be outdoors that long, here are Continue reading →