cdkitchen > feeddaily blog
by
When we were kids, one of the best parts about getting out of school in the afternoon was the afternoon snack. Before you would even think about turning on the TV for cartoons, the kitchen was a necessary stop to load up on cheese and crackers, chocolate milk, Top Ramen, yogurt, peanut butter and jelly, or just about anything else you could get your hands on. Now that we are grown ups, we miss out on that whole ritual of the after school snack. Our "after school" is either in the evening right before dinner is served or on the weekends.
by
This past week I was walking along with my dog in the park, when all of the sudden a little bee got tangled up in my clothing. Next thing I knew, I felt a painful stinging sensation through my shorts, one I haven't felt since I was little kid. In fact, it was every bit as bad as I remembered! As the bee blithely flew away, I hobbled off grasping my leg, and wondering how such a tiny creature could inflict so much pain. For the next couple of days the pain subsided but I was left with a red swelling the size of a baseball.
by
It was one of those spontaneous happenings ... and that, as you probably have noticed by now, is one of the beauties of life with kids. Especially when it involves food, cooking or any type of taste test. We recently fired up an end-of-the-summer campfire in our backyard. It was a time to enjoy the outdoors before the leaves are down and the cooler winds of autumn whistle in. It was then that we got to talking about how good hot dogs are when they are campfire-roasted. And then we ended up reminiscing about the year that we did the hot dog taste test.
by
My summer garden is winding down for the year. Each morning I go out and, if I'm lucky, I might occasionally find one small squash, a tiny eggplant, a dozen or so cherry or grape tomatoes, a bell pepper or two and maybe a bit of basil, mint, or parsley. There's never enough at one time to make a side dish of any significant quantity, but I can't waste the last of those beautiful vegetables. With a bit of creativity, I can find lots of ways to use up those veggies.
by
They're here! And they brought friends. Lots of them. This time of year I could be talking about the bushels of zucchini or baskets of tomatoes. But I'm referring to a vegetable far more daunting: the eggplant. If you planted eggplant this year in your home garden, your kids are probably sick of Eggplant Parmesan. Your husband likely rolls his eyes when you tell him for the third time this week that you will be having spicy pork and eggplant stir fry for dinner. And frankly, you are probably getting tired of the purple beast.
by
September is the limbo month. Monday can mean a scarf and gloves and by Friday the heat might have you back at the beach for some end of summer sun bathing. The morning's crisp air brings the excitement of fall flavors, but the hot days keep you away from the oven. Straddling the waning days of summer and the coming cool of fall, September sits poised to take the best of both worlds: the best of summer's late harvest and an early taste of autumn's bounty.
by
With the impending change in weather to chilly and rainy days, one can almost feel autumn just around the corner. Although I am never happy to see the summer go, I do welcome the time when I can once again cook in my kitchen for hours without worrying about heating up the whole place. The availability of fresh produce at the farmer's market is also at its peak around this time of year, and that provides additional inspiration for seasonal cooking.
by
Technically the situation in the above title involved three chefs, a food writer, and a box of crackers. But like any good narrator I am merely part of this story as an observer... with maybe the smallest of contributions to the outcome. Back in New York for a wedding, this narrator was under obligation to make the foodie rounds. Because in New York, if you really play it the way it is meant to be experienced, everyday can devolve into a series of brunches and dinners, themselves punctuated by the occasional coffee and cocktail. This particular three-day whirlwind tour...
by
Typically, admitting one is a bachelor to someone usually says to them that you ain't got a stocked kitchen; you're probably still using the cheap pots from the dollar store that your Aunt Edna gave you seven birthdays ago. So if you're the primary target of this column, then you probably need more pots and pans. First, when you have some spare cash check out the housewares section of one of those discount retailers and buy a quality pot or pan every now and again. Dude: two of my fancy, All-clad pots came from TJ Maxx, and I'm not ashamed to admit it because you can...
by
One of my favorite activities at home is baking. It's twice as much fun when you get your kids involved, and a good learning experience for them. However, I have a small issue right now that might get in the way of baking some yummy fall goodies -- no oven! As our kitchen renovation continues, I find I need to come up with even more innovative ways to cook without a kitchen. As a follow up to last week's column, where I talked about some simple ideas for cooking without a kitchen, this week I'd like to turn to the subject of baking without an oven.
by
The slow cooker is a great way to save some time and effort when cooking a great meal. In honor of our national day of rest, Labor Day, I have pulled together some crockpot tips, suggestions, and shortcuts from various sources to help you get more mileage out of your crockpot.
by
Labor Day is coming up and the slow paced days of summer are drawing to an end. With the onset of early autumn comes a much faster paced life of back-to-school, the end of summer vacations (and possibly summer hours if you are lucky enough to have them), and the march forward to the busy year-end holiday season. With that in mind I have come up with a few ideas that can save you precious time, yet still put an economical and delicious meal on the table.
by
Long weekends are made for cooking something new. On weeknights it can seem risky to venture outside the cooking comfort zone. Well-known and loved pastas and chicken dishes are safer fare for a hungry family when trying to get dinner on the table after work and before bedtime. But weekends, particularly three-day weekends, there are no excuses. If there is anytime to try out that technique you've been reading about or venture into the world of curries for the first time, this is it. All you have is time and a relaxed happy family to worship your efforts.
by
Although summer is not officially over until late September, Labor Day weekend seems to mark the end (or the beginning of the end) for many of us. It is the close of vacation season, time for back-to-school and the end-of-summer Fridays at work for those that are lucky enough to get them. You can keep the ease of summer going with a Labor Day meal cooked in the slow cooker. To me, there is nothing that says summertime more than a casual seafood dinner, preferably eaten outside.
by
When it comes to recipes, my friend Jane is a "little bit country" and I'm a little bit . . . well, you know the rest. Jane has a treasure trove of vintage, handwritten family recipes stuffed into her wooden recipe box. I have a collection of sleek black notebooks filled with recipes from cooking magazines which are tucked into plastic page protectors. Jane makes coffee cakes, berry pies, hearty soups, yeast rolls and fried chicken. I make stuffed grape leaves, summer rolls, miniature crustless quiches, and pansy sorbet.
by
I've had two jars of grape leaves sitting on the pantry shelf for months now. They were one of those bargain deals I picked up at a local discount store: two jars for a dollar. What a find! For a Greek food lover, that was one special that I just couldn't walk by. Dolmas, here I come! However, reality is another story. Two months later, grape leaf jars are still on the shelf, dolmas recipes perused many times with no corresponding edible end-result. So many of the recipes seemed to be time and labor intensive (just getting those little bundles wrapped is a big part
From The Editors At CDKitchen: Feed Daily
by
When we were kids, one of the best parts about getting out of school in the afternoon was the afternoon snack. Before you would even think about turning on the TV for cartoons, the kitchen was a necessary stop to load up on cheese and crackers, chocolate milk, Top Ramen, yogurt, peanut butter and jelly, or just about anything else you could get your hands on. Now that we are grown ups, we miss out on that whole ritual of the after school snack. Our "after school" is either in the evening right before dinner is served or on the weekends.
by
This past week I was walking along with my dog in the park, when all of the sudden a little bee got tangled up in my clothing. Next thing I knew, I felt a painful stinging sensation through my shorts, one I haven't felt since I was little kid. In fact, it was every bit as bad as I remembered! As the bee blithely flew away, I hobbled off grasping my leg, and wondering how such a tiny creature could inflict so much pain. For the next couple of days the pain subsided but I was left with a red swelling the size of a baseball.
by
It was one of those spontaneous happenings ... and that, as you probably have noticed by now, is one of the beauties of life with kids. Especially when it involves food, cooking or any type of taste test. We recently fired up an end-of-the-summer campfire in our backyard. It was a time to enjoy the outdoors before the leaves are down and the cooler winds of autumn whistle in. It was then that we got to talking about how good hot dogs are when they are campfire-roasted. And then we ended up reminiscing about the year that we did the hot dog taste test.
by
My summer garden is winding down for the year. Each morning I go out and, if I'm lucky, I might occasionally find one small squash, a tiny eggplant, a dozen or so cherry or grape tomatoes, a bell pepper or two and maybe a bit of basil, mint, or parsley. There's never enough at one time to make a side dish of any significant quantity, but I can't waste the last of those beautiful vegetables. With a bit of creativity, I can find lots of ways to use up those veggies.
by
They're here! And they brought friends. Lots of them. This time of year I could be talking about the bushels of zucchini or baskets of tomatoes. But I'm referring to a vegetable far more daunting: the eggplant. If you planted eggplant this year in your home garden, your kids are probably sick of Eggplant Parmesan. Your husband likely rolls his eyes when you tell him for the third time this week that you will be having spicy pork and eggplant stir fry for dinner. And frankly, you are probably getting tired of the purple beast.
by
September is the limbo month. Monday can mean a scarf and gloves and by Friday the heat might have you back at the beach for some end of summer sun bathing. The morning's crisp air brings the excitement of fall flavors, but the hot days keep you away from the oven. Straddling the waning days of summer and the coming cool of fall, September sits poised to take the best of both worlds: the best of summer's late harvest and an early taste of autumn's bounty.
by
With the impending change in weather to chilly and rainy days, one can almost feel autumn just around the corner. Although I am never happy to see the summer go, I do welcome the time when I can once again cook in my kitchen for hours without worrying about heating up the whole place. The availability of fresh produce at the farmer's market is also at its peak around this time of year, and that provides additional inspiration for seasonal cooking.
by
Technically the situation in the above title involved three chefs, a food writer, and a box of crackers. But like any good narrator I am merely part of this story as an observer... with maybe the smallest of contributions to the outcome. Back in New York for a wedding, this narrator was under obligation to make the foodie rounds. Because in New York, if you really play it the way it is meant to be experienced, everyday can devolve into a series of brunches and dinners, themselves punctuated by the occasional coffee and cocktail. This particular three-day whirlwind tour...
by
Typically, admitting one is a bachelor to someone usually says to them that you ain't got a stocked kitchen; you're probably still using the cheap pots from the dollar store that your Aunt Edna gave you seven birthdays ago. So if you're the primary target of this column, then you probably need more pots and pans. First, when you have some spare cash check out the housewares section of one of those discount retailers and buy a quality pot or pan every now and again. Dude: two of my fancy, All-clad pots came from TJ Maxx, and I'm not ashamed to admit it because you can...
by
One of my favorite activities at home is baking. It's twice as much fun when you get your kids involved, and a good learning experience for them. However, I have a small issue right now that might get in the way of baking some yummy fall goodies -- no oven! As our kitchen renovation continues, I find I need to come up with even more innovative ways to cook without a kitchen. As a follow up to last week's column, where I talked about some simple ideas for cooking without a kitchen, this week I'd like to turn to the subject of baking without an oven.
by
The slow cooker is a great way to save some time and effort when cooking a great meal. In honor of our national day of rest, Labor Day, I have pulled together some crockpot tips, suggestions, and shortcuts from various sources to help you get more mileage out of your crockpot.
by
Labor Day is coming up and the slow paced days of summer are drawing to an end. With the onset of early autumn comes a much faster paced life of back-to-school, the end of summer vacations (and possibly summer hours if you are lucky enough to have them), and the march forward to the busy year-end holiday season. With that in mind I have come up with a few ideas that can save you precious time, yet still put an economical and delicious meal on the table.
by
Long weekends are made for cooking something new. On weeknights it can seem risky to venture outside the cooking comfort zone. Well-known and loved pastas and chicken dishes are safer fare for a hungry family when trying to get dinner on the table after work and before bedtime. But weekends, particularly three-day weekends, there are no excuses. If there is anytime to try out that technique you've been reading about or venture into the world of curries for the first time, this is it. All you have is time and a relaxed happy family to worship your efforts.
by
Although summer is not officially over until late September, Labor Day weekend seems to mark the end (or the beginning of the end) for many of us. It is the close of vacation season, time for back-to-school and the end-of-summer Fridays at work for those that are lucky enough to get them. You can keep the ease of summer going with a Labor Day meal cooked in the slow cooker. To me, there is nothing that says summertime more than a casual seafood dinner, preferably eaten outside.
by
When it comes to recipes, my friend Jane is a "little bit country" and I'm a little bit . . . well, you know the rest. Jane has a treasure trove of vintage, handwritten family recipes stuffed into her wooden recipe box. I have a collection of sleek black notebooks filled with recipes from cooking magazines which are tucked into plastic page protectors. Jane makes coffee cakes, berry pies, hearty soups, yeast rolls and fried chicken. I make stuffed grape leaves, summer rolls, miniature crustless quiches, and pansy sorbet.
by
I've had two jars of grape leaves sitting on the pantry shelf for months now. They were one of those bargain deals I picked up at a local discount store: two jars for a dollar. What a find! For a Greek food lover, that was one special that I just couldn't walk by. Dolmas, here I come! However, reality is another story. Two months later, grape leaf jars are still on the shelf, dolmas recipes perused many times with no corresponding edible end-result. So many of the recipes seemed to be time and labor intensive (just getting those little bundles wrapped is a big part