Creamy Salad Dressing Base and Variations

On October 21, 2026October 21, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, saladsLeave a comment

I love homemade salad dressings. They’re easy, quick, and cheap. They don’t have the preservatives, extreme sugar or salt, and other add-ins so common in commercially bottled dressings. If I could convince you to ditch one collection of condiments in your fridge and make your own from scratch, it would be salad dressings.

The recipe I shared last week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon shows you just how easy and versatile salad dressings can be. It also makes it clear that creamy dressings can be dairy-free and vegan friendly. Choose just one variation and combine it with the lemony dressing base. Or mix a couple of variations to, say, sweeten the bitterness of tahini with honey or enhance yogurt with the bite of mustard.

These are just some of the combinations we play with in my salad dressing workshops. From there, we replace the lemon juice with various vinegars and add dozens of other ingredients to create a full collection of dressings.
Learn to make Creamy Salad Dressing Base and Variations

Vegetable and Shrimp Fried Rice

On October 14, 2026October 14, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn ColumnLeave a comment

Heat and moisture do interesting things to starchy rice. Freshly steamed rice has a fluffy, satisfying texture that only lasts until it cools. Reheat it, even in the microwave under a damp towel or on the stovetop with a splash of water, and it will likely turn out drier or gummier.

Where day-old rice excels is as fried rice. The chilling time in the fridge draws out moisture so that when the grains are separated and reheated in a little oil, they become nicely textured and toasty. Try frying freshly steamed rice, though, even if it’s cooled to room temperature, and you’ll end up with a mushy mess.

Once you understand how freshly steamed and leftover rice differ, they become equally delicious, especially in the recipes I’ve been sharing recently in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I often serve last week’s Curried Sweet Potato and Mango recipe over freshly steamed rice, whether for a weeknight meal at home or while camping or cruising. I usually make extra rice and then fry up the leftovers for a second meal in all of these situations.
Learn to make Vegetable and Shrimp Fried Rice

Curried Sweet Potato and Mango

On October 1, 2026October 1, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

I often make spice blends for gifting but only keep a few on hand in my own kitchen. One of these is homemade curry powder. By making it in small batches, I have full control over the ingredients and it stays fresh and vibrant better than store-bought versions. Curry powder and garam masala are great examples of easy-to-make spice blends, so we usually prepare both in my spice workshops.

These blends are so flavorful that adding either to a simple recipe changes the entire taste of the dish, like the sweet potato and mango recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I carry homemade curry powder with me whenever we’re sailing or camping to use in this and other recipes I’ll be sharing in one of my Flathead Valley Community College classes this month.
Learn to make Curried Sweet Potato and Mango

Fresh Pear and Plum Cake

On September 24, 2026September 24, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cakes, ColumnLeave a comment

Earlier this month, I set out to develop recipes that use fall fruit. I wanted to make the most of the produce ripening in my mudroom: pears and Italian plums. Pears ripen best off of the tree, so I’d picked them early and been checking them frequently for signs of softening. Then extensive rain split open nearly ripe plums and yellowjackets moved in with the returning sun and heat. I spent a dusky evening when they’d vacated the trees harvesting the remaining undamaged fruit. Suddenly, I had a tens of pounds of perfectly ripe plums and pears.

The new recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon piles in both fruits. In testing, this surprisingly light cake, considering the density of its fruity topping, was an instant hit. Some of the plums and pears landed in new recipes I’ll be sharing in the coming weeks in my column. Others I canned as preserves. Still more are stashed in my freezer for pie and cookie workshops I’m planning for November. And the boxes in my mudroom are empty, ready for the next fall fruit harvest: apples.
Learn to make Fresh Pear and Plum Cake

Marinated Dried Tomatoes

On September 17, 2026September 17, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dehydratedLeave a comment

My food dehydrator has been in near-constant use in recent weeks as the garden pumps out an array of herbs, vegetables, and fruit. I’ve been drying my year’s supply of homegrown thyme, rosemary, basil, and celery leaves. Dried tart cherries are now waiting to be used in place of cranberries in Smoky Oatmeal–Cranberry Cookies and Cranberry-Orange Quick Bread, and the dehydrator racks are currently full of homegrown grapes transforming into raisins.

I’ve also been dehydrating batches of the marinated tomatoes I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. These tomatoes feature not just in my dehydration workshops, like Preserving Your Garden and Dehydration for Everyone, but also in my upcoming Fine Dining: Front Country class through Flathead Valley Community College’s Continuing Education program. In this class, where I share my best tips for meal planning, pretrip prep, and packing tools that make front-country cooking easy, I explain just how versatile these tomatoes are for the meals I prepare while car camping or cruising aboard our sailboat. I’ve also been drying cherry tomatoes, which rehydrate beautifully in a brine for a bruschetta we’ll eat during the class.
Learn to make Marinated Dried Tomatoes

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

On September 10, 2026September 10, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cakes, ColumnLeave a comment

When it comes to a prolific crop like zucchini, you can’t have too many ways to use it. My first choices are always savory: gratings for Zucchini–Basil Pancakes, slices for a fresh Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry, or cubes to fold into Shrimp and Summer Squash Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce, toss with pasta, or skewer onto Veggie Shish Kebabs with Garlicy Marinade. I pickle plenty of zucchini too, especially as a grilled side dish of Zucchini Escabeche and jars of Double-Spiced Zucchini for my refrigerator, two of several zucchini recipes I included in my pickling cookbook.

Zucchini also bakes beautifully into sweets, such as Zucchini Bread with Sesame Seeds and the cake recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I usually fold other homegrown and homemade ingredients into these bakes for truly Twice as Tasty treats.
Learn to make Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Grilled Pepper Pancakes with Goat Cheese

On September 8, 2026September 7, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grainsLeave a comment

Last week was a busy one, so I’m a bit behind in sharing the latest recipe in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. It’s another easy meal made with grilled sweet peppers and grilled vegetables, which I featured heavily last month. These Grilled Pepper Pancakes, and other savory pancake recipes, pair well with a topic that had much of my attention last week: pickles.

Pickling cucumber season is winding down, so I was excited to bring several pounds of a locally grown variety to my workshop at Columbia Falls Library and let people fill jars with sliced cucumbers and their choice of brine and seasonings for refrigerator pickles. I’ll be busy teaching many more workshops through the end of the year—not just privately hosted workshops but also several at Flathead Valley Community College through its Continuing Education program. Many of the FVCC cooking workshops for the fall semester have already sold out, so sign up soon if you want to get in on the fun.
Learn to make Grilled Pepper Pancakes with Goat Cheese

Creamy Grilled Pepper, Onion, and Garlic Pasta

On August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grilledLeave a comment

Every summer, I can jars of tomato-based pasta sauces, freeze pestos, and preserve other vegetables so that they can quickly be tossed with pasta for a weeknight meal. But when the garden is producing heavily, I prefer to make easy pasta sauces from the fresh harvest, including the sauce I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

Grilling the vegetables makes this particular sauce so speedy yet taste like it spent hours developing its deep flavor. Sweet peppers, along with alliums like onions and garlic, caramelize and pick up smoky notes from the open flame.

The grilling process itself might seem like extra work, particularly if you need to set up and clean a gas grill or wait for charcoal to fully light before you start. I typically make this meal when I already have a mound of its vegetables to grill for freezing or canning or when we’re out on our sailboat and it’s as easy to pop a full gas canister onto a portable grill as the portable burner. When I’m grilling bowlfuls of vegetables but already have a dinner plan, I set aside ones for this pasta, or for the savory pancakes I’ll share next week, to make an ultrafast dinner a night or two later.
Learn to make Creamy Grilled Pepper, Onion, and Garlic Pasta

Grilling Alliums

On August 20, 2026August 20, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grilledLeave a comment

When I’m not eating garden-fresh vegetables raw, my first choice is to cook them on a grill. Sautéing and roasting are fine, enhancing their flavor in ways steaming and boiling never do, but the grill adds that extra touch of charred smokiness—and lets me leave the stovetop and oven turned off.

The techniques I offer this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon focus on grilling different types of alliums: onions, garlic heads and scapes, and more. I eat a few on their own, munching grilled garlic scapes and spring onion tops straight from the grill, but most I incorporate into recipes. Grilled alliums are delicious featured in Onion Lover’s Dip and Grilled Onion Guacamole. The ones I freeze enhance recipes like Beer-Infused Potato Chowder, the pizza sauce I smear on sourdough pizza, and the pasta and savory pancake recipes I’ll share in the next couple of weeks.
Learn more about grilling alliums

Watermelon-Basil Syrup or Shrub

On August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, refrigeratedLeave a comment

In summer, my refrigerator is divided fairly equally into four quadrants: freshly harvested homegrown vegetables and fruit; jars of pickled foods; syrups, shrubs, and kombucha; and everything else. When I first started making drinking shrubs—concentrates made from fruit, sugar, and vinegar that are then diluted with seltzer—I usually had one or two flavors on hand at a time. Now the varieties grow with the season, and since I’ve added kombucha to the options, a dozen bottles typically line my fridge shelves after I’ve just decanted a fresh batch.

Of the collection, the watermelon shrub and syrup recipe that I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon has some of the freshest flavor because the juice is never heated. The herbs I add to shrubs and syrups enhance their complexity. Like watermelon, basil stays fresh and bright with the no-heat method. Other herbs also pair well with watermelon, including cilantro, lemon thyme, and the mint featured in Watermelon-Mint Sorbet and Watermelon and Feta Salad.
Learn to make Watermelon-Basil Syrup or Shrub