Get Cooking

Category: Technique

  • Can[‘t] fight this feeling anymore

    Can[‘t] fight this feeling anymore

    I can’t hide it any longer. I’ve broken through a culinary barrier that I thought would wait at least until I had a gigantic non-city kitchen. I’ve started canning. You know, putting things into jars (not cans, which we’ve had a lot of confusion over in my house), putting the jars in boiling water for […]

  • Shiitake Mushroom “Bacon” Crumbles

    Shiitake Mushroom “Bacon” Crumbles

    Last year, Jen and I decided to increase the vegetarianism in our diets. We didn’t cut out animal products entirely, but we stopped buying meat and most of our meals were vegetarian or vegan. Among many other reasons for making this change, we really want to shake our cooking up. While we have gone back […]

  • Thanksgiving

    Thanksgiving

    Last year our Thanksgiving dinner went off without a hitch. I’d like to say it was five years of practice that made it so, but I can’t take all the credit for how things came together. My whole family all worked together to make our Thanksgiving a feast that we could enjoy, but not keel […]

  • Pantry tips for greater freedom in the kitchen, part 1

    Pantry tips for greater freedom in the kitchen, part 1

    I’ve written before about how having a well stocked pantry makes it easy for me to choose to cook every night instead of eating out. A well stocked pantry means different things to different people. For me, it means having versatile ingredients around that are as ready as possible to use at a moment’s notice. […]

  • A Simple Turkey, a retrospective

    A Simple Turkey, a retrospective

    If you’ve never bought a turkey before, it can be overwhelming to try to understand all the differences between them. There are plenty of guides, but there are so many of those too, it’s hard to know what will be best. In my family we have always chosen frozen kosher turkeys, but even if you […]

  • Getting into the Thanksgiving mood

    Getting into the Thanksgiving mood

    Last year I thought of all kinds of things to say to all of you about my favorite holiday, but I thought of it all too late. I mean, really, who needs Thanksgiving tips a week after you’ve passed out from feasting? This year, I’m going to get my Thanksgiving started early. I have so […]

  • Making the most out of what you’ve got

    Making the most out of what you’ve got

    Because it’s been so beautiful out, we’ve changed some of our usual eating and cooking habits for the summer. We’ve been eating out a bit more and have been sharing more meals with friends. To counteract the cost of eating out more often, we’ve slowed down our grocery shopping routine (Incidentally that is not very […]

  • Soul Food Success: Fried Chicken, Sweet Potato Wedges, Corn Pudding

    Soul Food Success: Fried Chicken, Sweet Potato Wedges, Corn Pudding

    As promised, following up from last weekend, here are the results of the Mother’s Day soul food feast. I think the pictures practically speak for themselves. The food was a triumph! The only problem now is that since I know how very easy it is to make perfect fried chicken at home, I’ll want it […]

  • Roasted Red Pepper Risotto, or The Importance of Being Creative in the Kitchen

    Roasted Red Pepper Risotto, or The Importance of Being Creative in the Kitchen

    I know you probably think I’ve posted the same dish twice in a row. And honestly, considering the month I’ve had, I wouldn’t be surprised if I had done that. But no, I’m not that absent-minded (yet). This risotto has an even more winding origin than the last one I posted. If you are actually […]

  • Freezable bean burritos with a zing!

    Freezable bean burritos with a zing!

    What do you do when you become to busy to cook consistently? Hopefully, you have the foresight to stock your freezer with reheatable home cooked items. Happily I did manage to have a sense that things were going to get hectic around here and I was able to pack the freezer with these tasty little […]