Family, Friends, & Love

Little Aunties Pie Class, A Photo and Video Essay

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 ...

Corn Crescents with Avocado for Justine

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 ...

Laurel & Carol’s Astonishing Salad

by Jean Johnson
This is verbatim from Grow Your Own, the third in my measurefree kitchen companion trilogy that comes out this November. Laurel Robertson, who wrote Laurel’s Kitchen with Carol Flinders, is some kind of woman. This salad is adapted from their pages where they titled it “Astonishing.” I’ve made it many ...

Froggie Wedding of the Year

28 March 2010 by Jean Johnson
Celeste, the measure free cover girl, has finally tied the knot with Mr. HH! It was a lovely Friday evening froggie wedding. We're expecting it to get scooped by all the society pages--and for book sales to be brisk. Just remember, you saw it here first!

Cast Iron Skillets and Great Scratch Cooks

19 March 2010 by Jean Johnson
Facebook friends, Laura and Emily, commented on my cast iron skillet, so thought it time to share this entry from the pages of Cooking Beyond Measure. Cooking Beyond Measure, p. 72. On Roasting Vegetables— Vegetables roast marvelously well from low to high temperatures. On highs around 450 F, colors are preserved but ...

Garlic Memories from Hippie Kitchen

18 March 2010 by Jean Johnson
It's an exciting time to be on the American culinary journey. We've certainly had twists and turns and all manner of steep grades, with the path getting downright mired in some pretty strange places over the years. Think: SAD (Standard American Diet) Here's a bit of my own story that I ...

Make Homemade Bread and Skip the Therapist Couch

16 March 2010 by Jean Johnson
You wouldn't think a post on homemade bread would include former husbands and cat, but what can I say. It all comes down in three-part harmony. So here you be--a three-part vid on me making it, a focaccia recipe and photos straight from the pages of Hippie Kitchen. Don't know ...

Cross My Heart and Hope to Love Polenta Waffles for Celeste and HH’s Engagement Pah-tay!

3 March 2010 by Jean Johnson
For those that haven't been following the romance, after Celeste appeared on the back cover of cooking Beyond Measure, friend Laura said in a rather fetching way, "I have a frog." A moment of silence. My brows arched. "Is he a boy?" That's where it started and since then it's been a few ...

Froggie Valentine’s Engagement Pah-tay

13 February 2010 by Jean Johnson
What can we say?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The recent Cross My Heart & Hope to Love Waffles and Chocolate Goodies videos were merely a prelude to the big Valentine's Day engagement party. It's been two years now since Mr. HH spotted Celeste on the back cover of Cooking Beyond Measure. Although Celeste turned her ...

Hippie Kitchen Appeals to the Upcoming Gen

17 December 2009 by Jean Johnson
Lenore's not two yet, and she's already in the groove. Angela, her mom and next door neighbor, sent these images and says they weren't posed. Rather Lenore loves to page through Hippie Kitchen, pausing particularly at page 159 where Iris (same-same from the Cat in the Cheese blog post here) ...