Summer
28 August 2010 by
Jean Johnson
In Cooking Beyond Measure I purposely call the Italian salad, caprese, this: Sweet Basil with Tomato and Mozzarella. That's because I wanted to turn it from something exotic and perhaps strange to a salad everyone can enjoy. And right now with the tomato harvest starting to come in most places, ...
Posted in Bioethics & Sustainability, Food Thoughts, Recipes, Salads, Seasons, Summer, Vegetarian | 2 Comments »
10 August 2010 by
Jean Johnson
There's something elemental about a kettle of plums simmering on the stove. The pink foam percolates up around the burnished round fruits. Purple skins burst on ruby red flesh. Leaning in over the pot for a deep breath of harvest: sweet, sticky, dense, royal.
The neighbor around the corner ...
Posted in Food Thoughts, Kitchen Tips, Preserving, Putting Up Food, Seasons, Summer | 6 Comments »
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 ...
Posted in Food Politics, Fruit, Health and Wellness, Innocent Sweets, Spring, Summer | 2 Comments »
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 ...
Posted in Equipment, Fall, Family, Friends, & Love, Food Thoughts, Kitchen Tips, Roasting Fruits and Vegetables, Spring, Summer, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Winter | 2 Comments »
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, ...
Posted in Culti-Multi Food, Desserts, Equipment, Fruit, Health and Wellness, Holidays, Sides, Spices, Summer | 2 Comments »
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 ...
Posted in Books, Blogs & Links, Dinner, Family, Friends, & Love, Fish, Sauces, Toppings, & Pestos, Sides, Summer, The Cook Counts To, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 3 Comments »
9 August 2009 by
Jean Johnson
Well, it's true. During tomato season fresh slicers are the bees knees done up in all our specially favorite ways. Then there's putting those plump tubby babies up for later on, whether it be in home canned salsa, lovely dried halves, or simply frozen whole, plopped into big baggies for ...
Posted in Sides, Summer, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 8 Comments »
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 ...
Posted in Drinks, Equipment, Fresh Herbs, Fruit, Soups, Spring, Summer, Vegetables | 1 Comment »
7 June 2009 by
Jean Johnson
I've got Hippie Kitchen on the brain since we're winding up the last edits for the printer. So here's another sneak preview. I broke with my usual 100 percent whole wheat flour mode and made this pie with white flour. That's because we were celebrating Laura's 60th, and her health ...
Posted in Desserts, Pie, Spring, Summer, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 3 Comments »
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. ...
Posted in Fall, Salads, Spring, Sprouts, Summer, Thrift, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Whole Grains | 2 Comments »