Balsamic-Roasted Radishes

On May 29, 2026May 29, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

This time of year, I balance daily green salads with hot dishes, both featuring spring vegetables but providing different flavors and textures. Arugula changes from crisp to silky in Cheesy Wilted Arugula Penne. Asparagus transforms from grassy and bright to smoky and charred when grilled. And as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, radishes shift from peppery to sweet when roasted.

I emphasize salad radishes in this week’s recipe—a group that includes classic red-skinned Cherry Belle, multicolor Easter Egg, oblong French Breakfast, and green-and-pink Watermelon varieties—since they’re in their spring flush and we typically think of eating them raw. A giant daikon radish, which is typically sown in late summer to fall for a fall or mild winter harvest, can also be roasted but needs slightly different treatment. Peel this long, dense radish and then cut it into half-moons or cubes before roasting. When cooked, daikon radish holds more of its spicy flavor than round salad radishes.
Learn to make Balsamic-Roasted Radishes

Tomato and Herb Salad Dressing

On May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, salads2 Comments

In winter months, when the ground is frozen and blanketed in snow, I rarely buy and eat fresh greens. But as the soil warms and spring greens sprout in my garden, I start eating salads—daily. The first ones feature mounds of greens and herbs sparsely dotted with other vegetables. When my lettuces bolt and turn bitter, tomatoes, cucumbers, and snap beans take over. Beets, carrots, and kale, plus a small flush of spinach, bump up against the first snowfall.

This type of seasonal salad building means you rarely find a mix of lettuce, tomato, and cucumber in my bowl. But as I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, you can still enjoy flavor pairings produced in different seasons. The secret is simple: make your own salad dressing. Homegrown frozen cherry tomatoes and dried basil have far more flavor than the fresh options you could buy at the store right now. In an easy dressing, they give summery flair to spring greens.
Learn to make Tomato and Herb Salad Dressing

Rhubarb-Ginger Seltzer

On May 7, 2026May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn beverages, ColumnLeave a comment

As temperatures warm, I’m drawn to refreshing chilled beverages, but most store-bought versions are too sweet, fizzy, or artificial-tasting on my tongue—and the best brands are expensive. So I make own my fizzy beverages instead, to drink as a substitute for soda and mix into cocktails. The one I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon uses spring’s first flush of rhubarb.

Rhubarb grows prolifically in my garden, so this all-natural seltzer concentrate costs me pennies to make. I have full control over the sweetness, as well as the fizziness of each drink, thanks to a countertop carbonation unit. Making my own flavored seltzers also reduces the number of cans and bottles I have to haul to a recycling center. The process takes minimal hands-on time and creates a long-lasting concentrate that flavors a large batch of drinks. I can’t think of any downside to creating this seltzer and similar versions with other fruit.
Learn to make Rhubarb-Ginger Seltzer

Paneer Tikka Masala

On May 2, 2026May 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

I developed the recipe for the classic Indian dish that I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon to showcase not just traditional spices but also homemade cheese and homegrown vegetables, even out of season. When I started delving into spices commonly used in Indian cuisine and teaching workshops on how to create spice blends and make fresh paneer at home, I couldn’t just sit down in a local restaurant and enjoy traditional Indian cuisine. Northwest Montana’s food offerings have become far more varied over the years, but I still enjoy simmering homemade cheese in spices in my own kitchen.

In spring, I’m just planting the onions, tomatoes, and peppers that will become this recipe’s savory sauce, and it will be months before I can make a fresh-from-the garden version. But I can make it tonight from vegetables I grew last summer: I simply pull them from my freezer.
Learn to make Paneer Tikka Masala

Veggie-Stuffed Three-Egg Omelet

On March 26, 2026March 26, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

I’ve been sharing gluten-free recipes all this month in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. The first three put a gluten-free spin on meals that many people make with wheat flour and other grains, swapping in cauliflower for Gluten-Free Cauliflower-Crust Pizza, certified gluten-free oats for Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Granola, and a naturally gluten-free grain for a steaming bowl of Buckwheat Porridge with Mushrooms and Eggs. But I make plenty of filling recipes that never raised the gluten flag, including the omelet recipe I share this week.

As I explain in my column, I see American-style omelets as essentially protein-packed vehicles for many ingredients: the first herbs and greens popping up in the garden, dibs and dabs from the fridge, and unusual combinations I might want to sample together before I make them the stars of a main dish. It doesn’t take much to fill a three-egg omelet; just 1/2 cup of bulky ingredients fits nicely into the elegant package without bursting its seams.
Learn to make Veggie-Stuffed Three-Egg Omelet

Buckwheat Porridge with Mushrooms and Eggs

On March 6, 2026March 6, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grainsLeave a comment

I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen the last few weeks. An assignment for The Kitchn had me testing and reviewing 10 nonstick skillets. Musicians in town for The Swing Resistance show tonight prompted me to try gluten- and dairy-free versions of some of my favorite baked goods for their enjoyment. I’m also gearing up for tomorrow’s workshop at Free the Seeds, compiling recipes that pair seasonal produce throughout the year.

This week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, I share a recipe that fit well with all of these projects. I sautéed its onions and mushrooms in my favorite skillets. The recipe uses buckwheat, which despite its name is not wheat at all but naturally gluten-free seeds that can be substituted in many whole-grain dishes. The version in my column features vegetables I eat often during the garden’s dormant months, but I adapt it seasonally to use my fresh harvests.
Learn to make Buckwheat Porridge with Mushrooms and Eggs

Vegetarian Smoked-Beet Reuben

On February 12, 2026February 12, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

For most of my life, the Reuben was a sandwich I knew of but never ate, put off by the corned beef even when I was eating meat. That all changed when I was introduced to a vegetarian replacement for the core layer, as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

With smoked beets standing in for corned beef, this Reuben retains its classic layers of contrasting flavors: earthy rye bread, a creamy and zesty dressing, puckery sauerkraut, and nutty cheese. The beets impart their own rich smoky flavor when you make this sandwich with store-bought ingredients, but the layers taste even more delicious when you make some or all of them using recipes I’ve shared in my column and The Complete Guide to Pickling.

The Russian dressing is the easiest homemade upgrade. Despite its name, this sauce is an American invention that typically relies on ketchup and mayonnaise, spiked with horseradish. The recipe I developed—and share in this week’s column, along with other from-scratch fillings with long shelf lives—mixes the horseradish with yogurt or sour cream, vinegar, and Smoky Homemade Chili Paste for extra zing.
Learn to make Vegetarian Smoked-Beet Reuben

Tangy Pickle Dip

On February 6, 2026February 6, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dipsLeave a comment

With an array of pickles and fermented foods in my refrigerator, I often find myself mixing and matching flavors. Fermented dairy and pickled vegetables pair particularly well, so I don’t think twice about combining yogurt and pickles with canned tuna for tuna salad sandwiches on homemade sourdough bread or piling pickled onions, fermented jalapenos, and sour cream on nachos. As I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, pickles become even bolder when mixed with goat cheese as a dip or spread.

I prefer goat cheese to cream cheese or mayonnaise in Tangy Pickle Dip because I think it holds its own against sour fermented or vinegary fresh cucumber pickles, whereas cream cheese tends to hide in the background and mayonnaise tastes too much of egg. This is especially true when you use pickled garlic and chilies. And unlike mayonnaise, goat cheese has a density that helps it cling to my favorite pickle dip dippers: Parmesan Sourdough Bagel Chips.
Learn to make Tangy Pickle Dip

Cheese-Topped Baked Polenta

On December 18, 2025December 18, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grainsLeave a comment

My husband George will happily eat a bowl of noodles or a baked potato seasoned with just butter and cheese. Give me a simple, starchy base like pasta, rice, potatoes, or cornmeal, and I will bury it in a deeply flavored sauce every time. With the polenta recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, I can satisfy both of us.

Homemade stock and dried herbs give polenta just enough flavor to stand on its own, especially when baked or grilled and smothered in cheese. Yet it remains neutral enough to take any of my favorite sauces. I’ve served polenta as a bruschetta-like appetizer, a holiday side dish, and the base layer for a weeknight meal—and then snacked on the leftovers like cornbread. I often make a double batch of polenta and serve half straight off the stove in its soft, porridge-like form. I spread the rest in a baking pan and refrigerate it until the next day to bake and serve as an entirely different meal.
Learn to make Cheese-Topped Baked Polenta

Quick Tomato Juice Soup

On November 21, 2025November 21, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, soupsLeave a comment

Soup season has just begun, and my freezer is packed to the brim with ingredients I plan to turn into steaming bowls of homemade soups. Having vegetables on hand that have already been chopped, pureed, and sometimes even grilled or otherwise precooked speeds up weeknight soup prep. As I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, one of my quickest soups starts with tomato juice.

If you buy all of your tomatoes, choose both bottled tomato juice and cans of whole or diced tomatoes outside of the growing season; they’ll have better flavor than fresh tomatoes that were forced in a winter hothouse or traveled long distances. Fire-roasted tomatoes have become popular in recent years for their bonus smokiness. I grow enough tomatoes to grill in batches throughout the growing season, and I freeze or can the solids and juice to use throughout the winter.
Learn to make Quick Tomato Juice Soup