Ingredients:
3 T butter
3 T flour
1/8 t ground white pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of salt
2 C milk, preferrably whole or 2%
Béchamel is a rich and creamy sauce that is used in many recipes. Click here to find out how to make this beautiful sauce.
Bulb Onions
Sweet bulb onions look a little bit like green onions and scallions except for one thing – instead of a straight line from green to white or only a very small bulb, bulb onions have an obvious ping pong ball sized bulb at the end.
Scallions, also called green onions, are harvested before the bulb starts to form. Bulb onions are picked after the bulbs are the size seen in the pic on the left.
When selecting bulb onions at the grocers look for onions that do not have soft squishy parts, split bulbs, or discoloration that can come either from age or poor handling during shipping. The greenery above should look freshly picked and be a beautiful deep green nearest the top, fading to light green as it reaches the bulb. Do not buy bulb onions if the greenery is browned or wilting. Read More
Bok choy is a type of Chinese cabbage with dark leaves attached to a base that looks rather like celery.
It comes in a number of varieties. Baby bok choy is a variety that I particularly love, one that is available at many grocery stores. To see all the wonderful varieties of bok choy, take a tour of an Asian grocery store. Ask questions if you are unsure of flavors and use.
Bok choy is delicious, easy to cook, wonderful in stir fries or sautés, low in calories, and very good for you.
To prepare bok choy, first slice off the tough end at the base of the plant. Read More
You can flower under the harshest of conditions.
Has the state of the world today filled you with stress that threatens to harm both your mental and physical health?
The horrors that men inflict upon one another are not a problem of modernity. The only new thing under the sun is the sheer volume and immediacy of information.
There was a sense of security in the not knowing, a feeling that formed a sort of protection from having to acknowledge painful reality.
The world is not really different, it is the informational bubble wrap that live streaming, news videos, and social media conversations have removed.
Though it is terribly difficult to watch and read, modern media may also be what we need to change things for the better. Read More
These are my two favorite ways to roast garlic.
The first creates beautifully aromatic individual cloves of garlic that are intended to be consumed whole.
The second melts the clove into a fragrant spreadable garlic that is perfect for slices of chewy Italian bread or for swirling in to your favorite recipe. Read More
image by David Vignoni and Wikimedia Commons
I have changed a feature of the website that I think will appeal to everyone!
Previously, when you wanted to print a recipe, the entire webpage printed. This is most annoying when all you want is a recipe and maybe a pic of the dish.
You will love the new Print and PDF button that will take care of the problem of wasting printer ink and paper on elements you do not want. Read More
Before you bake that loaf of bread, let’s stop a moment and discuss the temperature.
I don’t mean how hot it is outside, I mean the right temperature of the liquids used to activate yeast so that your bread and rolls rise high and light.
You can be precise and use a thermometer, but as my Aunt-in-law Mama D always said – “Don’t make a federal case out of using yeast.”
I always listen to her.
The following three words are a great way to remember the non-federal case way to activate yeast. Read More
When a recipe calls for roasted red peppers, you may choose to buy them in a jar from your favorite store – or save some money and gain a little culinary confidence by roasting them yourself.
This process works for all peppers. Try roasting poblanos, hatch, and even jalapenos this way, just watch the smaller peppers a little more closely. Do not roast habaneros inside the house. Leave that to the hazmat suited professionals. Read More
Winter squash is a vegetable that some people avoid because they are not sure how to cook it. Others give it a pass because the squashes are so very hard, and they are afraid that it would be too difficult to cut. Let’s gain a little cookery confidence by improving our squash skills using the family meal friendly spaghetti squash.
After cooking, have some fun dragging the tines of a fork lengthwise through the squash to remove those long lovely and nutritious strands. Look at that beautiful mountain of squash!
Since you cooked it, you may as well serve it. The easiest way is to drizzle a bit of garlic and olive oil on top – or add a ladle of spaghetti sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
Below are eight different ways to cook spaghetti squash. Which one will be right for you? I usually use the whole squash in the oven method because my hands are arthritic and do not work well when I try to cut a hard squash in half. My slow cooker is not big enough for any but a smallish squash, but if it fits yours, it is such an easy method… or I could use the microwave method… Read More
The Spoon Mage™ loves her pineapple almost every day. Fresh pineapple is tasty, nutritious and does wonderful things for her arthritis. This magical property comes from an anti-inflammatory enzyme called bromelain that lives within fresh pineapple. Neither dried nor canned pineapple works as well on my pain, and forget about pineapple in a pill. Go fresh for less pain and great flavor!
A pre-cut pineapple is just fine, but it is twice the price of a whole pineapple. If you have a ripe pineapple and a pineapple corer slicer, and know how to use it – go for it!
If you don’t have fancy equipment, no worries. It is easy to slice up a pineapple with a large sharp knife. With practice, you will be a pro – a pro that saves money!
How to Select a Perfect Pineapple: Read More
Mindful Palate 