Playing with Your Food

Grow Your Own Beauty with Table Grapes

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. ...

Hippie Primavera, Video on Flash Cooking

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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Playing with Your (Real) Food is Good Medicine

5 November 2009 by Jean Johnson
Researchers at the University College London think they're onto this depression thing. The conclusion of their latest research? Off the land of crinkly packages and eat real food. Sounds good to me. Besides you can even play with it. Along with the idea that junk food causes depression is a new Scripts ...

Riches in our Cupboards

8 November 2008 by Jean Johnson
Americans! We Can Eat Well & Tighten Our Belts! There was a time when only the rich could afford expensive spices. Ah, yes. We all remember the famed Spice Route to Asia. Just Google it, and you'll find maps, mystery, and intrigue. You'll find references to cardamom, turmeric, ginger, and ...

Celeste Becomes One with Fresh Salsa

6 September 2008 by Jean Johnson
Those who have a copy of Beyond Measure will recognize Celeste from the back cover. Indeed, she's become a bit of a mascot and will most likely ensconce her lovely self on Hippie Kitchen's (forthcoming 2009) back cover as well. While we're not sure if this shot will make the ...

Homemade Starters for Dinner: Stoned Salad Rolls

18 July 2008 by Jean Johnson
When it's too hot to even think about boiling the pasta water, try a variation on homemade hummus with a little blue cheese crumbled over the top and a drizz of good oil. Here I smashed up some limas and favas I'd cooked earlier. Seasoned nicely with what have ...

Homegrown Sprouts and Cereal

4 July 2008 by Jean Johnson
My friend Laura generally checks a cookbook out from the library first to see if she wants to purchase it. That makes sense, as does Amazon's habit of putting sample chapters up for viewers. In the spirit of all that and because Cooking Beyond Measure is just weeks away from hitting ...