A food blog from Chicago about keeping it simple in the kitchen
Wheatberries (or wheat berries) are a nutritional powerhouse because of their balance of protein, fiber and carbohydrates. They also have a great chewy texture, a mild nuttiness and can take on flavors of their surroundings really well. The gotcha to all of this is that they will take more time to […]
Black Beans with Brown Rice and Achiote Beans and Rice is a classic Latin American comfort food dish to accompany nearly any meat or fish. It’s even a great snack on its own. Much like Chilaquiles, there are thousands of ways to make beans and rice whether you’re in the […]
In American cuisine, is there any better side dish than a crispy, crunchy potato? But what if the potatoes are purple? And they’re oven roasted purple potatoes? For many, the crispy potato, from french fries to hash browns, is a staple along side a meat and a vegetable. Since oil-laden […]
Fall and Winter typically call for large pots of chili and soups. Large pots of chili and soups call for a great cornbread. Chipotle Cheddar Cornbread The challenge with most of the cornbread mixes is that tend to produce a dry finished product. After you’ve spent all this hard work […]
Homemade Garlicky Pickles – In 1 week Quick Garlicky Pickles As a shareholder in Angelic Organics, a great Chicago-area CSA, there are weeks where I just have too much of a particular item that I just won’t get to. Since I love pickles, and loathe throwing anything out, finding a […]
Homemade Beef Jerky with bold garlic and spicy flavors Commercial beef jerky is pretty hit-and-miss. Most of the bags sold in stores have way too much sodium and goofy flavors. I like garlic, and lots of it, especially on meat. I’ve tried numerous recipes and landed on a simple […]
As I mentioned in my Cooking Tenets, I’ve bought a lot of cookbooks, but have a small number that are my Go-To references on a regular basis. Many of them have been dogeared, bookmarked and spilled upon many times. Nearly everything I include here on the blog used one of these […]
When we were in Mendoza in 2009, we had a pretty amazing lunch at Bodega Melipal that included a very tasty Malbec Carrot Soup. This is my attempt to recreate it, leveraging some of the techniques from Francis Mallman’s Butternut Squash Soup recipe in Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way. There are intentionally […]
As a kid, I probably ate miles of Fruit Rollups. I’m sure the ratio of fruit to High Fructose Corn Syrup was so out of whack, I wouldn’t even consider giving them to my own kids. Which is why I decided to come up with my own homemade fruit leather recipe. […]
Brussels sprouts, what a misunderstood vegetable that’s finally getting the recognition it deserves. I really didn’t give them much attention until they started showing up in our CSA, complete with their stalks. For freshness, it’s hard to beat any vegetable that comes to you nearly in its in-the-ground state. Because […]