Magic Meringues

Every once in a while, you play around with some new culinary ingredient that leaves you amazed. These meringues made from canned bean liquid do just that. “Aquafaba.” This relatively new, made-up word is the liquid in a can of beans, usually chickpeas, and normally gets drained and dumped down the drain. That’s a perfect…

Favorite Pantry Pasta

Coronavirus aside, it’s always a good idea to have a few easy, delicious recipes that use all or mostly pantry ingredients. This is one of my favorite pasta recipes. It is easy, fast, did I say easy? And it’s absolutely satisfying. Vermont is closed. The schools are closed. The restaurants and bars, library, town offices,…

You won’t miss the dairy in this almost traditional Irish Soda Bread!

This classic quick bread is a must for St. Patrick’s Day, or any day when you need a little comfort  baking that is also quick. With dairy-challenged folks in my family, a quick bread that has been adapted to use plant-based products is a welcome site, especially if it is pretty to look at! I’ve…

Three Mushroom Cassoulet

A traditional cassoulet is an experience in beans and meats, and more meats, and can be quite heavy. This lightened up version uses no meat at all, just meaty mushrooms and lots of other flavor. The traditional slow-cooked cassoulet was created in France, the original Languedoc region towns of Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Castelnaudary. It was…

Let’s use every inch of the carrot – roast them and create a luscious Carrot Top Pesto

Save these gems from the compost bin, add some maple syrup and ginger, and you have a delicious pesto! I have to admit, most of the time I have used carrot greens, or tops, as an addition to the stock pot so as not to waste them, or occasionally added a few leaves to salads….

A Lighter, Colorful Irish Colcannon

Traditionally, colcannon is an Irish dish composed of mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale. But with a few twists, this dish is lightened up for the 21st Century, and stars in three delicious left-over creations. St. Patrick’s Day is almost here, a time to visit some of the traditional dishes that traveled from Ireland to…