Strawberry Preserves & Hand Pies
I think it’s nearly impossible to walk past fresh strawberries at the farmer’s market without buying a pint. (Or four.) So between our Greenling Local Box and two trips to the farmer’s market last week, I had six pints of local strawberries in the fridge on Saturday morning. Two pints were from Gundermann Acres in Wharton, two were from Naegelin Farms in Lytle, and two pints were from Two Happy Children Farm in Taylor, Texas. So many strawberries won’t keep more than a few days, so I decided to make some jam to use up my haul of berries. I am an inexperienced canner,...
Read MoreSpicy Arugula Spread
This is a recipe that almost wasn’t. It came about last Sunday night while I was preparing beer bread and chai truffles for a food swap the next day. I was really nervous about going to the swap, in part because I wasn’t sure whether my dishes would be fancy enough for all the foodies in attendance. This is a common fear for me. I call it Potluck Anxiety, and it tends to sneak up any time I take a large batch of treats to a social gathering. Potluck Anxiety is usually really annoying but in this instance I’m glad I had it, because otherwise I might have never made this...
Read MoreMeal Plan 2/2-2/8
Last night I met a bunch of Austin food lovers at an ATX Food Swappers event co-hosted by Megan, Kate, and Sarah. This was my first-ever food swap and I am so glad I worked up the nerve to go! I took 5 packages each of whole wheat beer bread mix and chocolate chai truffles and swapped for a huge number of homemade goodies. Most of those goodies are perishable, so I have a wonderful assortment of ready-made breakfast and dessert items to include in my meal plan this week. The food swap items listed below link back to their original makers as much as I could manage; I am thrilled that my...
Read MoreTwo Healthy Salads by my Husband
Tonight, Rami and I enjoyed one of the best meals we’ve had at home in quite a while. We ate a gingery citrus cole slaw and a quinoa broccoli salad, plus whole wheat beer bread. And the best part, I didn’t cook a single thing! Earlier tonight I was busy making chocolate chai truffles for a food swap on Monday when Rami walked in the kitchen and said, “How can I help?” That’s a dangerous question in our house, because in a matter of minutes, he had been put in charge of making our entire dinner. He prepared two salads, Kathy Patalsky’s Napa Cabbage Cole...
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