Family, Friends, & Love

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) ...

Laura Gets It

27 November 2009 by Jean Johnson
Healthy, thrifty, delicious, and green. That's the whole point behind measure free. The idea that if we quit being slaves to paint-by-numbers recipes we'll be likely to cook more, eat well, be healthy, and save a bundle on the food bill. So at the end of the day, it's not ...

Brown Butter Sauce, Beurre Blanc & the New Julia Child Movie

19 August 2009 by Jean Johnson
Julia. Even the sound of her name brings lavish thoughts--grounded in a no nonsense approach to life. Bon vivant she was with her "bon appetit!" That's why I've been smiling since watching Meryl Streep bring Julia Child alive once again on the big screen. Ah, yes. Wasn't our Julia a grand ...

Ruffled Roses, Brita’s Norwegian Salmon Cakes, Spinach Salad, and Pinot Usher in a Pacific Northwest New Year

1 January 2009 by Jean Johnson
When Susan Coleman asked about my New Year's food tradition I had no answer. No tamales like a proper Mexican madre. No black eyed peas like a good Southerner. Then I opened a Christmas card from my Norwegian relatives and spotted the word fiskekakker (fish cakes). "Why not start a tradition ...

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things…

22 December 2008 by Jean Johnson
Clearly a copy of Cooking Beyond Measure wrapped up in kitchen towel figures as one of my all time favorite things--proud mama that I am. It does with Susan and Paul Coleman, too, who came up with this festive offering. I hope whoever gets this copy of Beyond Measure from the ...

Thanksgiving Breakfast with KBJ’s Cranberries and Cottage Cream

22 November 2008 by Jean Johnson
Thanksgiving Breakfast complete with Cottage Cream and KBJ's Cranberries is such gorgeous food--as delicious as it is healthy and affordable. Indeed, that's what measure free cooking is all about. But a cookbook without measurements and prescriptive rote directions is so unprecedented that people tend can get wrapped up in the ...

Chiles and Spice, and Everything Nice

10 October 2008 by Jean Johnson
Here in Portland, Oregon, it's as if Mother Nature threw a switch and autumn commenced. I'm sure golden days are yet to come, but at the moment it's brisk and cloudy. Gone are the fresh tomatoes and the lean, clean flavors that taste so great when it's hot. Here are ...

Apples in the Roasting Pans

3 October 2008 by Jean Johnson
After my comments on pesticides and apples in The Measure Free Weekly last time, I was especially pleased to have a box of apples in the basement from friend and gardener, Laura Berg. Laura is also, if you'll remember from her comment on last week's blogpost, the care ...

From Garden to the Grill

15 August 2008 by Jean Johnson
Longtime family friend Matt Loggins was here over the weekend so we grilled. It was such a snap. I brined the shrimp for a half hour in salty water, made a salad out of leftover quinoa, garden lettuces, onion, and cashew cilantro pesto (Cooking Beyond Measure, page 75). Other than that it ...