Mason Jar Gifts: Mixed-Bean Soup

On December 8, 2022May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn beans, Column, soups2 Comments

Every December, I share ideas and recipes that make delicious food gifts. These ideas have ranged from tags and bags to suggestions for food gifts that include homemade treats, kitchen tools, and of course my books.

This year, I’ve added to the food gift ideas with a meal-in-a-jar recipe in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. It was surprisingly straightforward to adapt one of my favorite fresh soup recipes so that it could be gifted in a jar, ready to by pulled from the cupboard and made on a chilly night with minimal added ingredients. It still packs all of the flavor of the fresh recipe without relying on salt-heavy bouillon cubes or store-bought seasoning blends. It’s also easy to scale up or down for larger or smaller households and to make multiple jars to cover everyone on your gifting list.
Learn to make Mixed-Bean Soup as a mason jar gift

Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

On March 24, 2022May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn beans, Column1 Comment

Red beans and rice can be a simple comfort food, relying on browned onions and meat for its main flavor, but I take it much further in the vegetarian version I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. My favorite version of this quintessential Southern dish has a long ingredient list packed with flavor.

If you tend to believe that a recipe with more than a handful of ingredients is too complicated to make, look at this one again: You’re essentially dumping everything into a pot, cooking it, and serving it over steamed rice. And if you’re missing something on the list, you can pretty much cook the beans with as many of the ingredients as you do have and end up with a delicious meal.

There is one shortcut I use to shorten the ingredient list: If I’m cooking dried beans, I preseason them with many of the flavorings and then just add the final ingredients when I make the dish as a quick midweek meal.
Learn to make Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

Hot Pearl Barley with Honeyed Nuts

On March 10, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry stored2 Comments

I didn’t learn to enjoy hot cereals until I spent a winter in St. Petersburg, Russia, with weeks of subzero mornings. A kasha blend of mixed grains is now one of my go-to breakfasts for chilly Montana mornings. Although delicious, it doesn’t taste or look as good when it sits, so it’s best made and eaten immediately. That’s why when I want to make a large batch of hot cereal to serve to a group or keep on hand to quickly reheat and eat over a few days, I choose pearl barley.

As I explain in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, I recently started making pearl barley in the pressure cooker, a technique I hadn’t thought workable because I feared it would foam and stop up the pressure valve. By using a water bath, that fear has vanished. The reward: it takes less than half the time as cooking pearl barley on the stovetop. So you can prepare it on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker, depending on the tools you have at hand.
Learn to make Hot Pearl Barley with Honeyed Nuts

Home-Spiced Nuts

On December 23, 2021February 26, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry storedLeave a comment

I love home-spiced nuts at the holidays. I reach for them long after I’ve tired of the endless sweetness of cookies, and they’re just as tasty on a cheese and pickle platter as a eaten straight from the jar with a cocktail.

The recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon not only explains how to make your own spiced nuts but also gives you plenty of options. From my favorite homemade sweet-and-spicy blend, to a premixed garam masala, to an infused salt variation, there are ideas for every occasion.
Learn to make Home-Spiced Nuts and my Sweet Spice Mix