Author: Kate McLean

The MOA Annual Conference – Katie Attends

In December, I was fortunate to attend the Montana Organics Association’s annual conference in Billings. As a delegate of GoodFood World, I sat in on two days worth of lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and open table discussions on a variety of topics that concern Montana’s organic community. As a consumer, this was a rare opportunity for me to witness the larger world behind organic food production and distribution. Even more importantly, I was able to meet many of the individuals who are working hard to who promote real food in our state.

Katie’s in the Kitchen: Cover It In Chocolate!

When it comes to gift-giving, I try to do homemade as much as possible. Things like knit hats, Christmas cookies, photographs you’ve taken… it means more when you know the giver has put real time and thought into it.

Katie’s in the Kitchen: Lively Leftovers

In light of our recent Thanksgiving feasts and the abundance of leftovers that was sure to follow, here is some advice on how to make tasty use of the stuff from the day (or week) before. If you’re still faced with leftover turkey (I am!), your most likely option is to turn it into sandwiches. Traditional turkey sandwiches are one of my favorite things. But it is possible to get tired of your favorite things, so be creative and mix it up.

From Ready-Made to Homemade

Maybe you’ve been making your own granola for years but it never occurred to you that not all mac n’ cheese comes from a box. I remember when I first decided to make tomato sauce myself. I used canned tomatoes at first instead of fresh, sure, but there’s no problem with that. At least I was thinking outside the jar of ready-made marinara.

Katie’s in the Kitchen: Opting to Co-op

Despite minor setbacks, we’ve made a lot of strides in the last month. I joined Missoula’s community food co-op and have been shopping there pretty regularly. We haven’t bought bread in a grocery store for several months now, making it at home instead.

Quitting… But Not Cold Turkey

I’m starting off with the idea… no, the belief… that food can be all at once delicious, healthy, and affordable. I mean healthy in the minimally processed, as-natural-as-possible kind of way and I mean delicious in the easy-from-scratch cook-at-home meals kind of way. I’ve got a good start with many years experience cooking delicious meals on a budget. What I’m aiming to do is add organic and local to the equation, educating myself (and readers) along the way.