Can Thanksgiving Be Gluten-Free and Taste Delicious?A few weeks back I posted a preliminary version of my Thanksgiving Meal plan. Perhaps you caught the mention there of a gluten free dressing I was contemplating. My son-in-law has a few health issues and is staying away from gluten as much as possible.
My original thought was that I would make two dressings and one of them would be gluten-free. Then as I looked at our menu, I decided to make the entire meal gluten-free. After all, what would it take to make dressing, gravy, and two pie crusts that were gluten-free? That’s all I needed because the rest of my menu is naturally gluten-free. Continue reading Can Thanksgiving be Gluten-Free?→
One of the coolest things I learned in my CIA Boot Camp was how to dice an onion. Sure, there are lots of ways to dice an onion, but this method consistently gives even pieces. And once I learned it, it was the easiest way I have ever tried to dice an onion. Now, it’s the only technique I use!
What changes will you make to cook more meals at home?Growing up, we at most of our meals at home. This was in the days before McDonald’s – there were no fast food places. There were fried chicken places and pizza places. But there just weren’t the dining out choices of today. Dining out was really a treat back then. For me, dining out with a girlfriend’s family was a HUGE treat! My parents always dictated what I could order – fried chicken, but my friend’s parents had no such rules. Is it any wonder that I very rarely choose to eat fried chicken as an adult? I had so much of it as a child!
Vegetables should be thought of as stars, not side dishes.Too often, people plan their meals around a meat and serve vegetables as “side dishes.” I loathe that term – side dish – as it puts those vegetables in second place, suggesting that they are simply accompaniments to the main attraction. Ladies & Gentlemen, I suggest to you that those side dishes need to be elevated to their rightful place as the stars of your meal. And by doing so, you too will be a star recognized by your friends and family who are lucky enough to enjoy your meals.
Mariposa Naturals is changing – we’re all about cooking!
I’ve been writing this blog for 3 years now. In fact, I just looked back and see that I missed my anniversary – three years as of April 25th. I started with a blog post on the “Top 10 Ways to Reduce Your Stress.” During those 3 years I have written nearly 250 blog posts on a variety of topics.
The best foods are made from scratch!
Do you like to cook? I do. I’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember. I learned a lot from my mom and then from my sister, Conni. Everything was made from scratch, too.
When I was 9 or 10 years old, I would occasionally get up very early in the morning and make donuts for my dad to take to the office. I’m not sure what time I got up, but I know that Dad was usually at work by 7 or 7:30 so it was early. This was what I would do on Summer days – my vacation. They were always made from scratch, too. Don’t you know I was popular in his office?
Balsamic-Glazed Cippolini Onions with Fresh Tomatoes served on Basil leaves.This past weekend at the Pearl Farmers Market they had a Basil Fest. The event was spear-headed by the San Antonio Herb Society. So we bought basil plants while at the market. We decided to get several varieties, rather than just Sweet Basil. And they did have other plants so we bought tarragon as well.
This is my laboratory for experimenting with food.In high school, I read The Double Helix and wanted to do the same type of research as Watson & Crick – the team that determined the structure of DNA. Lately, my laboratory is my kitchen, I experiment with foods, and my husband and friends are my guinea pigs. That’s been true for a while, but 2012 was the year of the quantum leap in cooking for me. It started on January 1st, 2012, when I found mushrooms, onions, and eggs in the fridge and create a Mushroom & Onion Frittata.
We bought two bunches of beets – red and golden.On the Saturday before Christmas, we made our usual trip to the farmers market. We had several days of food to plan for and we bought a lot of veggies. We bought more based on what sounded good, rather than with a plan for what to cook. We wound up buying kale, spinach, cauliflower, red beets, golden beets, Brussels sprouts, and cherry tomatoes.
If you are sensitive to chemicals in your environment, it’s possible that the odor from cooking can be an issue for you. What odors can be a problem?