Category Archives: Recipes

Potato Dumplings Italian Style

Making Fabulous Gnocchi I was recently longing for gnocchi but feeling too lazy to make my own. Our local grocery stores offer a pretty surprising assortment of gnocchi, from dried to frozen or “fresh”. My first sample was pretty awful, … Continue reading

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The Ancient Art Of Braising

First Sizzle, Then Slow And Low For those of us who try to eat something fresh at every meal, the cole family is definitely our best friend in winter. When the markets are full of imported produce, it’s especially pleasant … Continue reading

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Healthy For The Holidays

When dark chocolate coats the throat, the thick, sticky theobromines soothe the vagus nerve and the crazy-making coughing stops. (Milk chocolate or hot chocolate don’t work, only dark chocolate has the power.) This research is fairly recent, but already, chocolate-based cough drops can sometimes be found locally (I found them at Rite-Aid) and more theobromine-rich medications are under development. In the meantime, try letting some dark chocolate melt very slowly in your mouth, one small piece at a time. You may need to be persistent, and you may need to try several kinds of dark chocolate to find the one that works best for you, but know that your experiment is founded on solid and replicated research. Onward!
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Savory Salty Seasonings

Each kind of salt has its own particular qualities, which is why lots of cooks keep around a dozen kinds on hand. For everyday cooking use, medium coarse sea salt and kosher salt are excellent, inexpensive and widely available. Flaked sea salts melt fast, providing more salty zing with less sodium. Natural “finishing” salts offer a specific, unique flavor, from black or red Hawaiian lava salt and Indian black sanchal salt to slightly sweet French grey sea salt. Continue reading

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