Author Archives: Jo

Sticky Buns

Today’s recipe is a guest post from Nathan.  He dug up this recipe after a long weekend of home improvement, when we really needed a treat – and these were just right. The only problem is, they’re all gone now! I have lots of enjoyable memories from my childhood, and plenty of them have to [...]

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Time to make cheese

I’m graduating. Until now, I’ve only made soft cheeses. I’m about to graduate to making hard cheese. It’s a big step. Like venturing into any unfamiliar new cooking method, it’s  intimidating. Granted, most people have never made any kind of cheese from scratch, not even dead-easy ones like panir.  (Though, perhaps everyone should!) That puts [...]

Posted in cheese | Tagged | 1 Comment

Saturday fun

Happy weekend! To celebrate, enjoy this comic from The Oatmeal. Is this why you don’t cook at home? The blogger in me wants to wax eloquent on the lessons of this comic, but really, that would be missing the point.  Key takeaway is: if that’s the cookbook you’re working with, and it’s keeping you from [...]

Posted in food in culture | 2 Comments

Homemade peanut butter cups

The great thing about making peanut butter cups from scratch is that you can use any kind of chocolate you like, and any kind of nut butter, too.  It’s fairly easy to make lots of really delicious peanut butter cups.  We’re talking light-years better than Reese’s. The bad thing is, they’re really, really good. Think [...]

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Unprocessed for October

October is unprocessed month.  A group of bloggers, headed up by Andrew Wilder at Eating Rules, are eating only unprocessed foods for the month of October.  I’m late to the party… well, really, I’m not attending this party, but I wanted to share it because I think it’s a very cool idea.  I particularly like [...]

Posted in food politics, homemade | 1 Comment

On Food Processors and Convenience

Mark Bittman has been romanticizing his food processor – he says it’s one of the most versatile tools in his kitchen, and from the list of things he’s made with it… well, I’m impressed. However, his food processor is not mine, and mine couldn’t do half of these things. (I’m not sure it could do [...]

Posted in tips | 2 Comments

Lazy camping meals, and tasty Seattle

I’m back from the mountain.  (I’ve been back over a week, actually, but it’s taken me this long to sort through the pictures.) We spent four stunning days at Mount Rainier, camping and hiking, followed by two much wetter, but still fun, days in Seattle.  At Rainier, we saw the mountain up close and personal.  [...]

Posted in easy meals, local | 2 Comments

Easy vegetarian bolognese-style sauce

Everyone is writing about homemade tomato sauce this time of year.  I wrote about it this time last year, too.  I won’t bore you with the same story again, though.  I made tomato sauce on a whim the other day, mostly to try out two new ideas that were kicking around in my brain, things [...]

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Favorite camping foods?

In less than a week, Nathan and I are off on vacation.  We’re spending half the time camping at the beautiful Mount Rainier National Park, and since we’re flying, we’re traveling light and buying virtually all our food when we get there. We’re planning menus and making a shopping list now, so we don’t forget [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Introducing the Recipe Builder

I’ve got something I’m excited to share with you. I’ve been working on it for a while, and finally figured out how to fit it in here. If you’ve been reading this blog for long, or if you’ve ever cooked with me, you know I believe fiercely in messing with recipes.  I’m more likely to [...]

Posted in announcement, experiment | 3 Comments