What’s Cooking in January

After some Google search on broth vs. stock, validating the conflicting thoughts on the subject, then consulting some real culinary experts such as Escoffier, who makes no distinction between the two and Larousse Gastronomique, which does not mention broth except to say that stock is used in the making of broth. The 7th edition of [...]

My daughter liked to eat soup when she was a little girl. We often made soups together. These simple recipes are good for teaching basic preparation skills. Tomato and Rice Soup and Potato Soup were the two she learned to make early on that are still favorites. She often doubled the recipe and took a [...]

Now with trappings of the Holiday Season put away, I hope you wish to embrace a more disciplined way of feeding your family. This new-year issue places emphasis on the basics and some comfort foods from the kitchen. The number one goal for In The Kitchen in 2012 is to help more people learn to [...]

“Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? that they are not to be violated but with his wrath?”- Thomas Jefferson Most citizens today assume that their rights are [...]

Oven roasting vegetables is a favorite technique in healthy recipes. Roasting vegetables allows for starches to turn to sugars and caramelize, thus deepening the flavor of the vegetables with little or no added fat. Try broccoli and cauliflower drizzled with a bit of olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and roasted at 425⁰ for [...]

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Kathryn Russell called it “progressive cooking”. While I am planning a meal, I always strive to prepare something for the meals to follow. This makes the best use of my time and my provisions. The monthly Meal Planner was initially designed as the taproot of In The Kitchen [...]

“Sometimes you have to go up against the odds to do the right thing” ~ Frank Serpico, NYC Detective, Retired Maine Congresswoman Pingree stands up for small farmers. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree also supports YOUR Food Rights. Sign the petition to get MONSANTO’S Michael Taylor OUT Maine considers raw milk sales at farmer’s markets News Flash! [...]

The January Meal Planner places great emphasis on Progressive Cooking where you prepare items to be used for more than one menu. Some extra detail has been prepared for you to better understand the process, designed to save you time and money. See Gadgets, Methods and Techniques. As usual, there is a menu for each [...]

I just finished reading a newspaper article about the recent UVA Food Security Summit and it left me shaking my head. It quoted one of the participants as stating “I advocate not eating pineapples in December in Massachusetts.” I don’t get it. If I were to buy them in late November and save them to [...]

When the Virginia Food System Council decided to host the second Virginia Food Security Summit in December, it seemed only fitting that they would return to Charlottesville for the event and hold it again at UVa’s Alumni Hall, at the site of the first Virginia Food Summit in May 2007. Virginia’s Food System Council was [...]

An old adage, I first heard in my grandmother’s kitchen, “You can’t make chicken soup out of chicken feathers” is certainly true. Nevertheless, you can make soup out of almost anything eatable: grass, bread, and oatmeal, just to name a few. The better the ingredients, fresh and wholesome, the better the soup will be. Soups [...]

For years, I refused to drink white wine, because I didn’t care for it very much. As I started learning about wine, I realized that I just didn’t like Chardonnay, which seemed to be the default white wine served at most bars, restaurants and social events. It seems I was not alone in this as [...]

“Never trust a skinny cook.” I’ve never learned who first offered that bit of wisdom, but I have long considered it great advice. Like much of what has been said or written about food through the ages, it gives me something to chew on as I consider great meals I have eaten, those I hope [...]

all done – with butter and honey Parsnips Are to be cooked just in the same manner as carrots; they require more or less time, according to their size, therefore match them in size, and you must try them by thrusting a fork into them as they are in the water; when this goes easily [...]

Bebè, Sparkling Rosè NV, $10.99 (80% Raboso, 20% Prosecco; Veneto, Italy) Made from a blend of Prosecco and Raboso grapes, this is a cheerful, lovely sparkling rosè from a small family-owned estate in northeast Italy that will brighten the dark days of winter. Its a bit drier than most other Proseccos, which suits my taste. [...]

As you know from reading my column and from seeing me around local food markets, I like to buy our foods from local producers. When I choose other products, I try to find items that are place-based, those products that come from a specific or designated area. Vidalia onion is a perfect example because it [...]