Fruit

Strawberries Fields Forever?

3 April 2010 by Jean Johnson
Some things just don't change.  I wrote an article in 2005 on the nasties surrounding conventional strawberry production. Here are two excerpts. The papery star of leaves capping the red fruit might be green, but the California strawberry industry has a way to go. At issue is the ozone-depleting ...

Latina Peaches

6 September 2009 by Jean Johnson
These peaches are inspired by how they treat jicama in Mexico. I also do them with pineapple and melons of all stripes. Expect the fans to roll their eyes in bliss on this one because sets the sweet fruit off to a very fine angle indeed. Latina Peaches For these peaches, ...

Summer Soups, Smoothies & Strawberry Mint Ice

19 June 2009 by Jean Johnson
It started with Cucumber Melon Soup in Cooking Beyond Measure (page 105)--this business of whizzing up delicious concoctions in the blender. Historically, of course, my affair with blended things began with smoothies in the Sixties--the old faithful banana-yogurt-honey-wheat germ routine. Given such a sagacious history, it hasn't been ...

Creamy Caramelized Goat Cheese Steals the Show in Stuffed Dates

5 December 2008 by Jean Johnson
I've been out and about at natural food markets doing book signings--and offering samples from Beyond Measure. The last few days I've been on a roll with my stuffed dates recipe. You can't get a more innocent and easier holiday treat than stuffed dates. Stuffed Dates Recipe Note Pit the dates and ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Celeste Basks in the Aroma of Roasted Food

26 September 2008 by Jean Johnson
Celeste has turned into a camera hound since she heard HH, a male frog in our town, spotted her on the back cover of Beyond Measure. She sniffs that she's not too interested, but the truth is, she invited him over once harvest is on the wane. So you can see, ...

Cucumber Melon Soup Gets Ink in The Washington Post

31 August 2008 by Jean Johnson
It's been a year to date that cucumber melon soup first got mention here on the blog. No wonder, cucumbers are hanging heavy on the vines and spilling out of produce bins everywhere when harvest rolls around. So too, the melons--sweet, ripe, and fragrant at summer's end. Not really a surprise then, that ...

Fancy Berries

1 August 2008 by Jean Johnson
Actually, the real story today is about black cap raspberries--the berries my new neighbor Nick brought from his grandparents farmstead out in Sandy, Oregon. Black raspberries to match the black, gothic attire he sports. The berries were an unusual, delicious treat on cereal this morning, but wouldn't you know, the photos ...