Kitchen Tips |

Sweet & Savory Brown Rice Porridge

May 26, 2016 by Allison Hudson

While briefly living in California, I was lucky enough to be invited out to the Clif Family Winery for a bikeride through Napa valley with a few of their team members, including Clif Family’s fantastic Executive Chef John McConnell. Before the ride, John prepared a wonderful breakfast for our small group including this eye opening brown rice porridge. I was out of my seat after one bite to ask him exactly how it’s made, and he generously shared the many […]

Categories: Breakfasts, Kitchen Tips, Oatmeals & Mueslis • Tags: Brown Rice Porriage, Brown Rice Pudding, Cream of Wheat, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free Breakfast, Maple Syrup, No Refined Sugar, Oatmeal, Olive Oil, Refined Sugar Free, Rice Pudding, Sunflower Seeds, Sweet & Savory Cream of Wheat

Aromatics-Stuffed Artichokes

March 17, 2016 by Allison Hudson

With artichoke season here and the delicious if at times intimidating vegetable widely available, I wanted to share a highly adaptable (e.g. use what’s on hand) recipe for stuffed artichokes. The first thing to know is how to trim the leaves. When you first pick up a ‘choke, you’ll notice that each of the leaves comes to a sharp point (a thorn really) and because of their thick and layered nature seem tough to trim. But it’s actually really easy […]

Categories: Apps, Kitchen Tips, Recipes, Sides, Snacks • Tags: Artichoke Recipe, Artichokes, BreadCrumbs, Cooking with Artichokes, Garlic, How-To Artichokes, Meyer Lemon, Preparing Artichokes, Prepping Artichokes, Steamed Artichokes, Stuffed Artichokes, Trimming Artichokes

Paul’s Perfect Poached Eggs

April 23, 2015 by Allison Hudson

Aren’t poached eggs just the best at times? It’s amazing that what’s one of the simplest of dishes – an egg boiled in water – can be so comforting, satisfying, delicious and nutritious all at once. We buy them by the dozen for a few dollars, but are also willing to shell out multiples of that sum if the mood for eggs strikes us while out for brunch. It does seem like the ones we order in restaurants can be […]

Categories: Kitchen Tips • Tags: breakfast, Classic Breakfast, Cooking, Cooking Techniques, Easy Recipe, Food Photography, Healthy Breakfast, Kitchen Tips, Photography, Poached Eggs

Flax Eggs (or, Vegan Eggs) for Baking

January 20, 2015 by Allison Hudson

This flax and water combo was for me a try-it-to-believe-it egg substitute. Having used it dozens of time now, I report with complete conviction that it works truly just as well as eggs. If you want to vegan-ize a recipe or would otherwise like to change the nutritional profile of your baked good, or frankly if you are just out of eggs, these come in extremely handy. They have a slightly nuttier flavor than eggs but beyond that you won’t […]

Categories: Kitchen Tips • Tags: Baking Tips, ground flax seeds, Vegan Eggs, Vegan Techniques

Rehydrating Beans

January 19, 2015 by Allison Hudson

Rehydrating beans at home vs buying the canned version is very much worth the (minimal) effort – like homemade chicken stock, they will elevate any recipe that calls for beans. For some, this practice is age-old… for me, well I am proud to say that I finally tried this on my own and please, it couldn’t be easier. And again I must reiterate, so much better. You know that gag-inducing soupy-starchy mixture that accompanies canned beans? It’s a non-issue here. […]

Categories: Kitchen Tips • Tags: Dinner, How-To, Ingredient, Make Ahead, Recipe, Training Food

Fine Dicing: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

January 14, 2015 by Allison Hudson

Since I love them so, and since it’s the season for them, I’ve long and lately often pondered, what makes certain hearty sauces so good? One thing I’ve always admired is when the sauce has a velvety feel to it, even though the ingredients started out as anything but. The taste is consistent bite after bite as the sauce coats the food uniformly. Also, the best sauces have loads of flavor and an element of freshness. So it’s not […]

Categories: Kitchen Tips • Tags: Cooking, Food, Food Photography, Make-Head, Photography, Prep, Vegetables

Extra Thick, Fat-Free Plain Greek Yogurt…

January 13, 2015 by Allison Hudson

… is so versatile and useful in a whole host of recipes, from tomato toasts to chili. Here’s a quick break-out on how to make it in your own kitchen. It can act as a a spread to replace Buratta cheese (really), anchor a seemingly decadent dessert, serve as a substitute for sour cream or the base of an extra-creamy dip. By removing some extra liquid (it’s in fact the whey in the yogurt, which is where the sugar comes from) […]

Categories: Kitchen Tips • Tags: Food, How-To, Kitchen, Recipes, Versatile, Yogurt

Homemade Chicken Stock will Elevate Recipes

January 8, 2015 by Allison Hudson

Take Stock! With more and more recipes on the site calling for homemade chicken stock, I thought it would be helpful to breakout just the stock recipe. This recipe assumes you’ve prepared a whole roasted chicken, carved off the meat, and will be using the carcass in the stock ingredients. If scheduling allows, the most efficient way to make homemade chicken stock seems to be to do so immediately after, or at least the same day, you’ve roasted and carved […]

Categories: Kitchen Tips • Tags: Chicken Stock, Cold Weather, Healthy Cooking, Recipe

Pomegranate How-To

November 17, 2014 by Allison Hudson

Morning Everyone – for breakfast this week I got pomegranates, which I consider the berry of the fall – tasty and juicy, sweet but not too sweet, great with yogurt & granola, in salads or on their own, and super, super beneficial. They are in season now, and unlike other berries they have been known to make people fly. Okay obviously not, but after looking into specifics on benefits, I found a remarkable list. Pomegranates help with everything from your […]

Categories: Kitchen Tips • Tags: Food, How-To, Pomegranate