Category: Recipes

Cooking Peas and Lentils

Pass the peas (and lentils), please! These humble legumes deliver a world of flavor in dishes that are exotic, unexpected, and traditional. The good news: dry peas and lentils can be stored indefinitely when kept cool and dry. Bon appétit!

Glorious salad – and a bargain!

Today I’m here to glorify the food phenomenon we know as salad: that combination of greens and vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds that’s savory and sweet and bitter with all different textures thrown in, and topped with any type of sauce from thick and creamy to a simple oil and vinegar.

When Ratatouille speaks… I listen

There is wisdom in this traditional method. It isn’t rocket science to understand, but like all truths, it is profound once you “get it.” This slow method of making Ratatouille is intimate and deeply loving. Why? Because it requires time, presence, and patience.

Celebrate the Seasonal and Save Big

In the supermarket a variety of fruits and vegetables are available year-round, but this is more a reflection of our world economy than our ability to grow these foods locally. In Montana it’s the time for rhubarb, wild mushrooms, and salad greens, root vegetables, herbs, and a few tomatoes. Now is the best time to save by celebrating the seasonal.

Kate’s in the Kitchen: Bistro-Style Lunch On a Budget – Big Savings

This week, I’m finally getting serious about budget-tracking! Fed up with my attempts at calculating the cost of my meals, I invested in an electronic kitchen scale. Suddenly it’s simple to weigh in metric when a recipe calls for it, and I don’t have to guesstimate the amount of nuts or berries to add when they list the amount in pounds instead of cups.

Let’s go viral with Meatless Mondays

My first month of offering Meatless Mondays in my kitchen is over, and I’ve received all my survey forms back. I can officially proclaim it was received with great success. From my point of view, I admit there is a learning curve. Classes/dinners required substantial prep on my part – particularly in coordinating which components of dinner I wanted prepared ahead of time, and which I wanted to demonstrate live.

The Healthier “Happy Meal” (sans the GMOs!)

Three weeks ago I began a class out of my kitchen, called “Meatless Mondays in Ina’s Kitchen.” For the month of March, I’ve opened up my kitchen to 8 eager participants who come hungry and receptive to what I’ve prepared and set before them. Each week I have a theme or two, and a menu that exemplifies the themes. The foods chosen reflect the transition into spring and the produce being as seasonal and local as possible.