Red Skin Potato Packets with Garlic Butter

It is just too hot to cook! Add this recipe to your summer menu for a great grilled side dish that offers full flavor with minimum preparation or clean up! Do you remember those red skin potatoes that we got in our last CSA box? Well, originally I had planned on turning some of them into potato salad and some into oven roasted potatoes. With the heat, though, I opted instead to do these little red skin potato packets. Okay, laziness had something to do with it, too! My husband was grilling chicken anyway… This recipe generously feeds six with … Continue reading →

Side Dishes For Those Barbecues

Summer often means barbecue time. Although we are in winter in Australia and looking for warming curries, stews and casseroles, I know in the Northern hemisphere you are in summer. If you’re like me you’re often casting around for different salads or side dishes to go with the barbecued meats. Here are two great side dishes using potatoes. Minted potatoes Ingredients 2 pounds boiled new potatoes 1 Spanish onion 2 ounces margarine or butter 1 tablespoon gluten free plain flour 1 and a quarter cups gluten free vegetable stock 1 and a quarter cups evaporated milk Half cup parsley chopped … Continue reading →

Turnip the Volume

What do you do when you only have a handful of small white turnips? Try this simple solution! We’ve recently joined a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) group. Well, actually, the shares were already taken for the year, but friends of ours were willing to split their share for our benefit. For a couple of weeks straight, we have gotten just a few small white turnips, and I had been saving them thinking that some inspiration would come to me. After all, what can you do with one or two tiny turnips, right? Still, I didn’t want to put them to … Continue reading →

Favorite Potatoes

One thing writing for the food blog has done, it has got me looking back at recipes I haven’t used for a long while. That’s the thing when you cook every day you can become lazy and forget about trying new things or even resorting to old recipes but tend to stick with the same old thing. One such recipe I rediscovered when writing this blog was Pimento Chicken. When I typed it out for the blog I immediately thought, it used to be such a favorite with my husband and with guests. So guess what we had for dinner … Continue reading →

Getting Your Greens—Simple Recipes for Meatless Meals

You can always tell when Lent is near because fast food companies start inundating the airwaves with ads for their fish sandwiches. Last night I saw a commercial for Wendy’s fish sandwich six times in less than two hours. Personally, I can’t stand those deep-fried filets and question whether they contain actual fish. But I digress. With Ash Wednesday just a week away, Catholics will undoubtedly be looking for meatless dishes to serve up on Friday night. The following recipes are great additions to meatless meals. What’s more, they’re almost as easy to make as pulling into a drive-thru. SPINACH … Continue reading →

Holly Jolly Holiday Side Dishes

Turkey, ham, prime rib, they’re the staples of many holiday meals. But, think of the looks you would get from your guests if that were all you served them. The following recipes for simple yet delicious side dishes can all be made in less than 45 minutes from start to finish, including cook time. Each complements the traditional holiday fare. What’s more, the Rice Pilaf and Shrimp Dip will be welcome sights to your vegetarian guests. WILD RICE AND PINE NUT PILAF Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup diced celery 1/2 cup diced onion 1 box long-grain white and wild … Continue reading →

Autumn Recipes: O is for Orange

Decorating with fresh pumpkins isn’t the only way you can infuse your home with the color of the season. Plump fresh oranges piled high in a vase with vibrant yellow lemons can sweeten up any dining room or kitchen table. Incidentally, oranges can also brighten up several dishes that begin with the letter “O” including oatmeal, orzo and okra (sautéed with a squeeze of fresh orange juice). If your family loves oranges consider making the following recipes that spotlight the healthy and versatile fruit: ORANGE AND LEMON INFUSED MASHED POTATOES Ingredients: 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh … Continue reading →

Cooking with Kids—The Letter S

You don’t have to write for a living to know that inspiration can come from random events. Such is the case with this next blog. Yesterday I was cleaning out one of the drawers in the kitchen when I ran across the following recipes. Each features my mother’s perfect penmanship and all three ratty looking recipe cards quickly caught the eye of my preschooler who can spot grandma’s handwriting a mile away. She picked them up and stared at them for a while then very matter-of-factly asked if we were having an “S dinner.” When I asked her what she … Continue reading →

Healthy Summer Dips

My 4-year-old loves hummus! I feel like screaming it from the rooftops. (But, I’ll settle for announcing it in cyberspace.) Like most kids she doesn’t exactly embrace new foods, but the “smooshy” substance that sat on my plate during a rare lunch out last month intrigued her and she asked to try it. I obliged and to my surprise (make that utter shock) she announced that it was “YUMMY!” After that meal I went out and bought several containers of hummus (infused with different flavors including artichoke, lemon and smoked peppers). However, at $3 for just a few ounces I … Continue reading →

Potatoes for Your Father’s Day Steak

Last year, I struggled with what to feed my spouse for Father’s Day. I wanted it to be unique, different, and delicious. I wanted it to be a four star meal. . .but I wanted the kids to help. (And yes, four star meal and kids helping generally don’t go in the same sentence.) After all my contemplating, I finally decided on making enchiladas–my husband’s favorite dish. Now this year, there is no such dilemma. We are going to my in-laws and so no doubt, we will be inundated with good food. (My mother-in-law could seriously give Martha Stewart a … Continue reading →