As this terrific video by Consumer Reports shows, you don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy spices. However, the key element is when spices get old. Ground herbs and spices are more exposed to air, and thus they lose their potency more quickly. Spices vs. Herbs First, its … [Read more...] about Spices & Herbs: A Quick Lesson
Recipes
Recipe: Mom’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
When I was seven, I dressed up as a cowgirl and traveled the neighborhood to hand out cookies to strangers. We'd just moved to a small bit of cul de sac away from the farm we'd lived on for more than a decade. In retrospect, I don't know what possessed me to do such a thing. … [Read more...] about Recipe: Mom’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Recipe: French Onion Soup
Something mesmerizes about soupe a l’oignon gratinée. If properly done, there's the cheese - thick, oozing, bubbling and likely a bit browned and toughened around the edges. Next, the slices of baguette, perhaps acting as a raft for the cheese or a lazy guard of the hot, fragrant … [Read more...] about Recipe: French Onion Soup
Recipe: Kate McDermott’s Pumpkin Pie [video lesson]
Introduction by Kathleen Flinn, Recipe by Kate McDermott from The Art of Pie At its essence, pie dough is simple. It's flour, salt, fat and water. I chose pie maven's Kate McDermott's recipe for this site because not only because it works, yielding a soft, buttery crust, but I … [Read more...] about Recipe: Kate McDermott’s Pumpkin Pie [video lesson]
“Minestrone” Soup like My Mother’s
In my first book, The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry, this recipe was known as "Potage 'Minestrone' a la Ma Mere," since all the recipes had French names. This is neither French, nor strictly speaking, even minestrone. Instead, it served as a catch-all flexible soup recipe … [Read more...] about “Minestrone” Soup like My Mother’s
