Fall

Flash Cooking’s Where It’s At

14 April 2010 by Jean Johnson
Flash cooking is the heart of my kitchen scene. It nets me plenty of fresh seasonal vegetables in short order--warm salad style. I've talked about it many times here on the blog, but people resonate with the idea so, that we did a video. It's a 6 minute clip from ...

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 ...

The Economy, Feeling Fit, and Slicing & Dicing

13 February 2009 by Jean Johnson
The economy's lurking outside our doors like the big bad wolf. We want fresh ideas on thrift, yet we hope to maintain an enjoyable quality of life. It can happen. We can eat exceedingly well and tighten our belts. All it takes is lightening up and having some fun ...

Fresh Sprouts Help the Cause

31 January 2009 by Jean Johnson
Our street is fortunate to have some old-school, retired neighbors that are always there for you. During our big snow when my car was blocked by a hip-deep drift, I was headed out to catch a bus to the post office when Glenn Bell said, "Heck, I've got chains on. ...

Inauguration Slaw 44

18 January 2009 by Jean Johnson
With Barack Obama--our 44th history-making president-- poised to take the helm, we're all thinking about the inauguration. What better way to celebrate than making Inauguration Slaw 44. Indeed, this slaw represents what Mr. Obama is about and what he's asking from us as Americans. It's about change--change in our consumption habits, ...

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 ...

Toasted Sesame Oil & Balsamic with Beets & Gorgonzola

26 October 2008 by Jean Johnson
As usual, it's what you put on your foundation that makes or breaks a meal. Buried under all the Gorgonzola and toasted walnuts are nothing more than beets, garbs, and beet greens plus Swiss chard. Here's how it all worked. My first catering job appeared last week, so I turned to ...

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, ...

Fall’s Here–Ladies & Gentlemen, Start Your Ovens!

20 September 2008 by Jean Johnson
We had a fleeting few scorchers last week in Portland, Oregon, but even fluke weather must give way to the changing of the seasons. Now with the equinox just days away on the 22nd, the days have grown brisk and flipping the over on to do a little roasting seems ...