cdkitchen > feeddaily blog
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Writing a column on meals that can be made in under 30 minutes always seems to come up dramatically short in one area of the meal: the end. Dessert, arguably the best and most memorable part of dinner, is certainly the most difficult to make from scratch in a limited time frame. Yes, there are many shortcuts one can take, from dressing up store-bought pound cake to outsourcing the entire dessert from those pastry chefs who really know what they are doing. But at the end of the day, there is nothing like serving the icing on the cake for a perfect meal, made all by yourself.
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I just love it when kids get good ideas in the kitchen. Recently we were putting some groceries away when a light bulb moment struck daughter. I had just been to our nearest discount grocery store - and it's always a fun surprise to see the sorts of interesting bents and dents that can be had for a quarter or two (Especially those organic and all-natural items, like 8-grain crackers, muesli, or even some Paul Newman salad dressing). Busily unpacking, there turned up a box of Triscuits - perfect for movie night munchies. Daughter ended up reading the box panels and...
by
What's for dinner? What does a body good? Got milk? Where's the beef? (Yeah, I know that's an old one!) Slogans, logos and catchy jingles come at us from every direction these days. And protein, carbohydrates, fats ... those terms that modern Americans are so often counting, lamenting and just tossing around can easily confuse kids. Take protein for example: do your kids - do you?! - have a good grasp, even a basic understanding, of what protein is and what it does for your body? Come to think of it, do your kids have a good base of understanding which foods are the...
by
There's barely a day when I would turn down a plate of noodles. That being said, the pastas of winter, like artery coating carbonara or dense meat-filled tortellini, are hardly the stuff of bikini-ready bodies and scorching summer heat. But hot as it may be, noodles still call my name far into the summer months. Luckily plates of long, skinny satisfying noodles do not need to wait for sweater weather. As anyone familiar with the foods of South East Asia can tell you, rice noodles can fill a craving but without the weight of their wheat noodle brethren...
by
If you take a look around at your kid's school classrooms and activities, you start to see that there are quite a few sets of twins. Given the increasing number of multiple births these days, you probably know a few of these sets through your children's friends and classmates. Maybe you are even a parent of multiples yourself. I can identify! I have a fraternal twin sister, who also happens to be one of my best friends and most faithful readers. She's my partner in eating: everything from finding the best pizza in the land, to bouncing recipe and menu ideas off each...
by
Fish and seafood are such an important part of our diet, contributing lean protein and Omega-3 fatty acids, which are so beneficial to vision and brain development. In fact, Omega 3's such as DHA are deemed so crucial that many prenatal vitamins and infant formulas now include them. The current dietary recommendation is to get at least two servings of seafood per week. With that in mind, there is a bit of concern over fish that contain mercury, such as swordfish, shark, tilefish, and king mackerel; these should be avoided by young children and pregnant women, along with limiting...
by
As this summer draws to a close, backyard vegetable gardening enthusiasts are celebrating the bounty of the season. If you had a good year in the garden, then right now your kitchen might be flush with ripening squash, pepper, cucumbers, melon, corn, and tomatoes. Those of us who do not have our own vegetable patch may be fortunate to have a friend or coworker who supplies us with freshly picked produce and herbs. A common gardener's conundrum is how to use up all the wonderful produce that seems to ripen all at the same instant.
by
Heirloom seeds. Hmmm, sounds like something that's been discovered in my grandmother's attic. I can just envision it: An avid gardener, she picked the seed heads off her favorites at the end of the season, letting them dry completely in the crisp autumn air under clear blue skies. She spreads them out on screens in her backyard, grouping the vegetables and fruits together, the low-growing flowers and tall perennials into their own specially designated areas. When sure they were completely dry - eliminating any chance that mold or mildew would spoil next year's bounty...
by
Inspiration for cooking comes from lots of places: new cookbooks, magazine articles, restaurant meals. This week's inspiration derived from a combination of factors: a recently published cookbook on a popular Asian condiment, the relatively small but excellent bounty of a community farmers market, and my mother's garden. Visiting my parents during Southern California's growing season never fails to inspire my kitchen creativity. While my mom gives the tour of the garden, excitedly telling me about her "beautiful" homemade compost, I stare at her spring pea shoots...
by
What does the smell of coconut remind you of? For many people it conjures a beachy scene, both for the scented suntan lotion smell and for remembrances of icy pina coladas. Another reason coconut has a strong association with vacation for me is that my family's favorite seashore restaurant would include coconut muffins in their breadbasket. So just imagining the coconut smell can instantly transport me to a vacation state of mind. But did you know that along with smelling great, coconut is reputed to have all kinds of health benefits? In addition to all of its use in...
by
Cooked beans and legumes offer a healthy option to add meatless protein to your meals. They have long been a staple of vegetarian diets but are suitable for carnivores as well. From white beans to kidney beans to lentils, a serving provides a relatively high amount of protein and a high fiber content with little fat and no saturated fat.
by
With the heat of summer upon us, I thought I would write something about the benefits of drinking water. You know...how we all should drink at least 8 glasses a day... what its many benefits are to our bodies...and so on. The problem is-- I don't like to drink water. I would love to tell you that I happily down the stuff on a regular basis; but those of you who know me personally and read this column would know I was lying and call me on it. So, I confess, it takes a lot of motivation and some enhancements to get me to drink water. Several years ago I had a brush with...
by
There comes a time to be tired of the usual summer fare. For me that time is now. I am somewhat surprised with myself that, after so many months of waiting for sweet corn, ripe heirloom tomatoes, and deep purple eggplants, I could suddenly come to a point of tiring of the very thing for which I had longed. Then again, perhaps it is not the produce itself as much as the whole farm-to-table ethos of it all, preparing these foods as simply and unadulterated as possible. A tomato on a plate, a zucchini sliced, an ear of corn, does not a composed plate make.
by
It was quite easy to take birthdays for granted as a kid - the games, the fun with friends, the presents. And, of course, the good food. Birthdays were a time to celebrate - looking forward to another year under the belt, another candle on the cake. As a kid, it seemed like each year's birthday never came soon enough. Birthdays were good times in our family. And that was also helped along by the fact that my mom was the party organizer extraordinaire. Of course, I didn't fully realize (or appreciate) this until I was a mom and parent myself. As a kid, I got to enjoy...
by
As the summertime comes to an end, your grilling routine might need a little shaking up, and I have just the idea for you. I just recently attempted a grilling method that I had wanted to try for a long time, cedar plank cooking. It's a technique that originated in the Pacific Northwest, where cedar and alder woods are plentiful. There's a reason that native Americans in that coastal region have used this technique for ages. The smoking wood imparts a mouthwatering flavor while delicately cooking meat or fish to a succulent tenderness.
by
They say that the best way to learn about wine is to drink it. If that is the case I must be well on my way to Master Sommelier certification. Okay, so I am far from a real sommelier, but I do drink wine frequently, both in my home and at the source. I can attest that the only way to develop a palate is to get the vino on it. At my alma mater Cornell University, Wine 101 was one of the most popular, and most failed, classes. They lectured, we listened, they poured, we tasted, and then we were tested with a couple hundred multiple-choice questions--the complexity of...
From The Editors At CDKitchen: Feed Daily
by
Writing a column on meals that can be made in under 30 minutes always seems to come up dramatically short in one area of the meal: the end. Dessert, arguably the best and most memorable part of dinner, is certainly the most difficult to make from scratch in a limited time frame. Yes, there are many shortcuts one can take, from dressing up store-bought pound cake to outsourcing the entire dessert from those pastry chefs who really know what they are doing. But at the end of the day, there is nothing like serving the icing on the cake for a perfect meal, made all by yourself.
by
I just love it when kids get good ideas in the kitchen. Recently we were putting some groceries away when a light bulb moment struck daughter. I had just been to our nearest discount grocery store - and it's always a fun surprise to see the sorts of interesting bents and dents that can be had for a quarter or two (Especially those organic and all-natural items, like 8-grain crackers, muesli, or even some Paul Newman salad dressing). Busily unpacking, there turned up a box of Triscuits - perfect for movie night munchies. Daughter ended up reading the box panels and...
by
What's for dinner? What does a body good? Got milk? Where's the beef? (Yeah, I know that's an old one!) Slogans, logos and catchy jingles come at us from every direction these days. And protein, carbohydrates, fats ... those terms that modern Americans are so often counting, lamenting and just tossing around can easily confuse kids. Take protein for example: do your kids - do you?! - have a good grasp, even a basic understanding, of what protein is and what it does for your body? Come to think of it, do your kids have a good base of understanding which foods are the...
by
There's barely a day when I would turn down a plate of noodles. That being said, the pastas of winter, like artery coating carbonara or dense meat-filled tortellini, are hardly the stuff of bikini-ready bodies and scorching summer heat. But hot as it may be, noodles still call my name far into the summer months. Luckily plates of long, skinny satisfying noodles do not need to wait for sweater weather. As anyone familiar with the foods of South East Asia can tell you, rice noodles can fill a craving but without the weight of their wheat noodle brethren...
by
If you take a look around at your kid's school classrooms and activities, you start to see that there are quite a few sets of twins. Given the increasing number of multiple births these days, you probably know a few of these sets through your children's friends and classmates. Maybe you are even a parent of multiples yourself. I can identify! I have a fraternal twin sister, who also happens to be one of my best friends and most faithful readers. She's my partner in eating: everything from finding the best pizza in the land, to bouncing recipe and menu ideas off each...
by
Fish and seafood are such an important part of our diet, contributing lean protein and Omega-3 fatty acids, which are so beneficial to vision and brain development. In fact, Omega 3's such as DHA are deemed so crucial that many prenatal vitamins and infant formulas now include them. The current dietary recommendation is to get at least two servings of seafood per week. With that in mind, there is a bit of concern over fish that contain mercury, such as swordfish, shark, tilefish, and king mackerel; these should be avoided by young children and pregnant women, along with limiting...
by
As this summer draws to a close, backyard vegetable gardening enthusiasts are celebrating the bounty of the season. If you had a good year in the garden, then right now your kitchen might be flush with ripening squash, pepper, cucumbers, melon, corn, and tomatoes. Those of us who do not have our own vegetable patch may be fortunate to have a friend or coworker who supplies us with freshly picked produce and herbs. A common gardener's conundrum is how to use up all the wonderful produce that seems to ripen all at the same instant.
by
Heirloom seeds. Hmmm, sounds like something that's been discovered in my grandmother's attic. I can just envision it: An avid gardener, she picked the seed heads off her favorites at the end of the season, letting them dry completely in the crisp autumn air under clear blue skies. She spreads them out on screens in her backyard, grouping the vegetables and fruits together, the low-growing flowers and tall perennials into their own specially designated areas. When sure they were completely dry - eliminating any chance that mold or mildew would spoil next year's bounty...
by
Inspiration for cooking comes from lots of places: new cookbooks, magazine articles, restaurant meals. This week's inspiration derived from a combination of factors: a recently published cookbook on a popular Asian condiment, the relatively small but excellent bounty of a community farmers market, and my mother's garden. Visiting my parents during Southern California's growing season never fails to inspire my kitchen creativity. While my mom gives the tour of the garden, excitedly telling me about her "beautiful" homemade compost, I stare at her spring pea shoots...
by
What does the smell of coconut remind you of? For many people it conjures a beachy scene, both for the scented suntan lotion smell and for remembrances of icy pina coladas. Another reason coconut has a strong association with vacation for me is that my family's favorite seashore restaurant would include coconut muffins in their breadbasket. So just imagining the coconut smell can instantly transport me to a vacation state of mind. But did you know that along with smelling great, coconut is reputed to have all kinds of health benefits? In addition to all of its use in...
by
Cooked beans and legumes offer a healthy option to add meatless protein to your meals. They have long been a staple of vegetarian diets but are suitable for carnivores as well. From white beans to kidney beans to lentils, a serving provides a relatively high amount of protein and a high fiber content with little fat and no saturated fat.
by
With the heat of summer upon us, I thought I would write something about the benefits of drinking water. You know...how we all should drink at least 8 glasses a day... what its many benefits are to our bodies...and so on. The problem is-- I don't like to drink water. I would love to tell you that I happily down the stuff on a regular basis; but those of you who know me personally and read this column would know I was lying and call me on it. So, I confess, it takes a lot of motivation and some enhancements to get me to drink water. Several years ago I had a brush with...
by
There comes a time to be tired of the usual summer fare. For me that time is now. I am somewhat surprised with myself that, after so many months of waiting for sweet corn, ripe heirloom tomatoes, and deep purple eggplants, I could suddenly come to a point of tiring of the very thing for which I had longed. Then again, perhaps it is not the produce itself as much as the whole farm-to-table ethos of it all, preparing these foods as simply and unadulterated as possible. A tomato on a plate, a zucchini sliced, an ear of corn, does not a composed plate make.
by
It was quite easy to take birthdays for granted as a kid - the games, the fun with friends, the presents. And, of course, the good food. Birthdays were a time to celebrate - looking forward to another year under the belt, another candle on the cake. As a kid, it seemed like each year's birthday never came soon enough. Birthdays were good times in our family. And that was also helped along by the fact that my mom was the party organizer extraordinaire. Of course, I didn't fully realize (or appreciate) this until I was a mom and parent myself. As a kid, I got to enjoy...
by
As the summertime comes to an end, your grilling routine might need a little shaking up, and I have just the idea for you. I just recently attempted a grilling method that I had wanted to try for a long time, cedar plank cooking. It's a technique that originated in the Pacific Northwest, where cedar and alder woods are plentiful. There's a reason that native Americans in that coastal region have used this technique for ages. The smoking wood imparts a mouthwatering flavor while delicately cooking meat or fish to a succulent tenderness.
by
They say that the best way to learn about wine is to drink it. If that is the case I must be well on my way to Master Sommelier certification. Okay, so I am far from a real sommelier, but I do drink wine frequently, both in my home and at the source. I can attest that the only way to develop a palate is to get the vino on it. At my alma mater Cornell University, Wine 101 was one of the most popular, and most failed, classes. They lectured, we listened, they poured, we tasted, and then we were tested with a couple hundred multiple-choice questions--the complexity of...