Recipes

Slow cookers make everyday and special event cooking so much easier that they justify their place among your kitchen gadgets.  Plus, slow cookers come in a variety of sizes, from one quart to six quarts. Get the size that suits most of your needs or go ahead and get both.  Two slow cookers can produce a memorable meal for a party. For example, a smaller one is perfect for seafood dip or fondue while a larger one supplies barbeque beef for sandwiches or coq au vin.  Whichever model(s) you choose, it’s good to have the slow-cooker option for less stress and more flavorful food.

I liked this book so much I put it on my Amazon.com wish list. (Use Amazon's "Look Inside" feature for a peek at the book.)

It's always a challenge to come up with new and interesting recipes that are quick, easy, and healthy. So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger is a great resource for fast, nutritious meals, and I can see myself going back again and again to try new recipes or make a favorite. In this clip, featuring some of the recipes from her book, Ellie explains how a pantry stocked with some of her favorite basic ingredients can make a healthy, delicious, quick meal "so easy."

I'm familiar with Ellie Krieger through her "The Good Life" column which appears in each issue of Fine Cooking. I've never seen her Food Network show called "Healthy Appetite," but I'm sure it's good. I love that Ellie embraces the "lusciousness" of food and the enjoyment of eating foremost while gracefully incorporating a nutritonal approach to cooking. 

The farmer's market beckons us with spring's arugula, peas, and asparagus and continues its siren call until the fall's first frost. We return with bags overflowing with berries, new potatoes, sugar snap peas, and herbs to plant in the garden. Of course there are tried-and-true recipes that we fall back on each year to use up the produce, but new inspiration is always welcome. Southern Living's new Farmer's Market Cookbook is a great resource for "celebrat[ing] the seasons with fresh-from-the-farm recipes."

The cookbook is divided by season and then further subdivided by appetizers, beverages, main dishes, soups, side dishes, jams/jellies, salads, and desserts. The format is lovely, with beautiful pictures enticing you to recreate the recipe. There are plenty of recipes that employ such typical Virginia bounty as tomatoes and zucchini, but there are also more exotic subjects like mangoes and avocadoes.

Since we are at the beginning of summer at the time of this review, here are the recipes I plan to try in the next two months: Blackberry Iced Tea, Pan-Seared Trout with Italian Style Salsa, Gazpacho, Skillet Creamed Corn, and Summer Squash Casserole. We have peach trees in the backyard, so I think I'll try the Grilled Peach-and-Mozzarella Salad as well. The Tomato-Cucumber Salad should nicely take care of extra cukes and tomatoes from the garden. Then I can look forward to fall's scrumptious apple recipes. (See a selection of recipes online).

Three authors wrote notable books on eating in lean times: MFK Fisher, Elizabeth David, and Patience Gray. Fisher and David wrote during and just after the war, respectively. Gray wrote about places where food was scarce at certain times of the year. They all offer sage advice and write well.