Some time ago, I posted a recipe for a carrot salad that is a refreshingly different side, perfect for summer potlucks and picnics. You can find it here:  https://frugalfastfun.blogspot.com/2012/03/piquant-carrot-salad.html One thing I didn’t note in that earlier post is an extra benefit of the salad. When I have served it for the last time, there…

After the past several years, more and more grocery stores and bakeries have been selling “artisan bread.” Do a search for “artisan bread cookbook” and you will get over 300,000 Google entries. Do the same at Amazon, and you’ll get more than 3,000 books available with artisan bread in the title. So what exactly is…

Is there anything better for dessert than a tray of fresh fruits of the season? Especially now, when we have berries and melons of many colors to spread out on the table. Still,  there are times when just a little something is nice to serve with the fruit tray, and the cookies I made today…

This is an old, old recipe from my kids’ Great Grandma, passed down and modified to slightly more modern measurements and instructions. “Put in a buttered coffee cake pan?” What size is that? And was a “cup” really a measuring cup, or just the closest coffee cup you could find? I’ve tested this a few…

When I found chicken thighs on sale for less than 60 cents a pound, it was an easy decision to buy a “family pack” of 12 thighs. Braising them all meant that there would be lots of meat in the refrigerator to try out some new chicken options. Along with plenty of prepared chicken, the…

Many years ago, I spent a summer working in the kitchen of a local country club. My job was preparing the cold foods. In that time of no pre-prepared ingredients, every day started with peeling and cutting into meticulously sized sticks 5 pounds of carrots, cutting pounds of cream cheese into cubes for garnishing some…

Not long ago, I saw a reference to a “Spanish tortilla,” something very different from the tortillas we associate with Mexican dishes. While in Barcelona Spain recently,  I had an opportunity to try some “authentic” tapas, including the “Spanish tortillas” I had heard about. As with almost all the tapas we tried, these were delicious,…

(From the archives–originally posted May 17, 2015) Last week there were still some great specials on really beautiful bunches of cilantro, so I picked up some extra. Now, how to use all of it? Of course there is Amy’s great Tortilla Soup (found here:  http://frugalfastfun.blogspot.com/2012/02/give-thanks-for-thanksgiving-soups.html), and refried beans are always improved by cilantro. For now,…

Yes, it’s time for another recipe using mayonnaise in place of oil and eggs. Now that picnic season is upon us, the stores are featuring specials on mayonnaise, so it’s a good time to pick up a jar just for baking, even if you never use it for anything else. This recipe is adapted from…

I am still working through a pretty large stash of cabbage from the St Patrick’s Day specials (17 cents a pound!) a few weeks ago. Cabbage is one of those wonderful vegetables that can be stored in the refrigerator for weeks–not to mention my “root cellar” garage where I felt like a pioneer when cabbages…