Food Thoughts
28 August 2010 by
Jean Johnson
In Cooking Beyond Measure I purposely call the Italian salad, caprese, this: Sweet Basil with Tomato and Mozzarella. That's because I wanted to turn it from something exotic and perhaps strange to a salad everyone can enjoy. And right now with the tomato harvest starting to come in most places, ...
Posted in Bioethics & Sustainability, Food Thoughts, Recipes, Salads, Seasons, Summer, Vegetarian | 2 Comments »
10 August 2010 by
Jean Johnson
There's something elemental about a kettle of plums simmering on the stove. The pink foam percolates up around the burnished round fruits. Purple skins burst on ruby red flesh. Leaning in over the pot for a deep breath of harvest: sweet, sticky, dense, royal.
The neighbor around the corner ...
Posted in Food Thoughts, Kitchen Tips, Preserving, Putting Up Food, Seasons, Summer | 6 Comments »
29 July 2010 by
Jean Johnson
You know, for me the measure free hippie kitchen and garden thing is mostly about beauty. I love the poetry of it all, as I all but testify to in Beyond Measure and Hippie Kitchen--chuckle. The artistry of layering fat slices of tomatoes and fresh mozzarella together for a caprese. ...
Posted in Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Playing with Your Food | 5 Comments »
16 June 2010 by
Jean Johnson
Flash cooking continues to attract people to my work. I'm glad because it's the heart of what my measure free, seasonal, sustainable message is about.
So here you go.
In these vids I show how to
Turn the burner on high with a puddle of water.
Put your rustically chopped veggies in, ...
Posted in Beans, Bioethics & Sustainability, Dinner, Equipment, Flash Cooking, Flavor, Food Thoughts, Fresh, Health and Wellness, Measurefree Cooking, Playing with Your Food, Scratch Cooking, Seasonal, The Cook Counts To, Thrift, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Video | 6 Comments »
9 June 2010 by
Jean Johnson
Not much to say here other than enjoy this vid on mixing up a bean loaf. There's even an afterthought on one of my favorites, spaghetti squash.
Posted in Beans, Measurefree Cooking, Thrift, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole Grains | 1 Comment »
7 June 2010 by
Jean Johnson
If you have a copy of Hippie Kitchen you'll know that I one of the ways I like to eat fava beans is with Tripped Out Peanut Sauce (page 56).
But generating measure free recipe ideas to inspire creative cooking is only part of what my work is about. ...
Posted in Equipment, Food Thoughts, Kitchen Tips, The Cook Counts To | 2 Comments »
30 May 2010 by
Jean Johnson
If you have Hippie Kitchen you'll see this picture on page 52. I choose to show off the fava beans in their pods rather than the actual dish because they have been so maligned. Typical instructions in American cookbooks are to do not pass go and double peel the beans--first ...
Posted in Beans, Flash Cooking, Getting on a Roll, Lunches, Recipes, Salads, Scratch Cooking, Seasonal, Sides, Spring, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Add a Comment »
16 May 2010 by
Jean Johnson
Our Cooking with the Little Aunties Class turned out to have little uncles and big aunties as well as younger girls. That was fine by me because great people cluster around the Stevenson Community Library up the Columbia from Portland on the Washington side of the river.
Yes, indeed. A good ...
Posted in Family, Friends, & Love, Food Thoughts, Measure Free News, Pie, Playing with Your Food, Video | 9 Comments »
7 May 2010 by
Jean Johnson
I'm including these Astonishing Muffins in Grow Your Own, accompaniment as they are to Laurel & Carol's Astonishing Spinach Salad.
I don't have the recipe written up just yet, but I did dutifully put dried apricots in along with walnuts. Just the kind of muffin people would think is fun ...
Posted in Breads and Such, Breakfasts, Food Thoughts, Getting on a Roll, Lunches, Thrift, Winter | Add a Comment »
6 May 2010 by
Jean Johnson
Corn Crescents with Avocado for Justine
These little stovetop cornbreads are quick, warm, crowd pleasers. On tours I make them round, stuffed with cheese or refried beans drawing on gorditas and empanadas as my guide.
In April 2010, though, Justine, a Facebook pal from Southern California, shipped a box of avocadoes ...
Posted in Appetizers, Breads and Such, Dinner, Family, Friends, & Love, Lunches, Playing with Your Food, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian | Add a Comment »