Author: Jen

  • Red Beans and Rice, a new staple ’round here

    Red Beans and Rice, a new staple ’round here

      Adapted from Alton Brown’s fabulous recipe, this hearty donburi-type dish recently became an instant favorite in our regular dinner rotation. Not willing to pickle our own pork (for the time being), we found that using thickly-sliced slab bacon makes the whole texture of the dish turn to silk. You could leave the bacon out […]

  • Lemon Berry Sorbet

    Lemon Berry Sorbet

    Earlier this year, I got an ice cream maker attachment for our stand mixer and I’ve been having fun making different frozen desserts with it. I find that it is more fun to experiment with sorbet rather than ice cream as the results are more reliably edible, due to the simplicity of sorbet chemistry: adding […]

  • Veggie Bonanza: Oven-Roasted Ratatouille

    Veggie Bonanza: Oven-Roasted Ratatouille

    While on a recent grocery trip, I noticed that the outdoor produce section of our favorite market was currently undergoing some major reorganization. Every stand was being cleared off, and at first I was sad that we wouldn’t have an opportunity to peruse what is usually a very diverse selection — that is, until I […]

  • Split-Pea Soup

    Split-Pea Soup

    Unfortunately for me, growing up I never knew a good pea soup, let alone one outside of the school cafeteria. My mom didn’t make pureed soups from scratch often, so for me the words “Split-Pea Soup” conjured up images of gelatinous vats of over-salted green-gray mush, not unlike in the Exorcist, that would send me […]

  • Chain-Letter Cinnamon Bread

    Chain-Letter Cinnamon Bread

    About six weeks ago, we were gifted a so-called “Amish Cinnamon Bread” yeast starter in a zip-top bag that came along with a somewhat cryptic-sounding recipe. Due to my affinity for baking, I decided to take charge of the project. After waiting ten days and “mushing” the bag everyday, it eventually yielded what it promised […]

  • Tex-Mex Casserole Pie

    Tex-Mex Casserole Pie

    We came up with this one a while back, and since our first try this has always come out a flavorful yet simple dish, capable of satisfying a large or small appetite. We always end up making it as a way to clean out our fridge and pantry, as the ingredients can be thrown together […]

  • Savory Rosemary Waffles

    Savory Rosemary Waffles

    When you’re tired of the same old same old for dinner, shake it up. Try some savory waffles topped with all manner of goodness. These waffles can be as decadent or as light as you like. Ours were somewhere in the middle. The following recipe is just a simple Belgian waffle recipe with some added […]