Gingerbread Pancakes

On May 1, 2025May 1, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grains1 Comment

Some foods stick with you not only because they’re delicious but because of the fond memories they evoke. Gingerbread pancakes fall in that category for me, as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I was thrilled when I checked up on Zazie, where I first tasted these pancakes, to find that not only was it still open but thriving. Brunch at this French-style bistro was always a calm, relaxed affair amid San Francisco’s bustle, and I recommend a visit if you’re in the city.

Now that I’m more than 1,100 miles away, I’ve replaced that experience with this week’s pancake recipe and a quiet morning on my cabin’s deck. The spices and molasses give these pancakes their distinctive flavor, and Cultured Buttermilk and egg whites make them ultra-fluffy. The buttermilk gives them just a hint of the tang that dominates Overnight Sourdough Pancakes and Sourdough–Yogurt Pancakes.
Learn to make Gingerbread Pancakes

Shaved and Roasted Carrots with Harissa

On February 21, 2025February 21, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

Most of the snack recipes I’ve been sharing recently in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon benefit hugely from seasonings, but only with a light hand. Sheets of roasted seaweed and kale baked until crisp easily turn soggy, enough to make them chewy or fall apart, if you introduce too much oil or liquid.

This week’s recipe turns carrots shaved thin with a peeler or mandoline into slightly crisp strips that handle moist seasonings better than fragile leaves. The sturdy root vegetable won’t fall apart even when you toss it with olive oil, maple syrup, and harissa, a North African chile paste.

I included a recipe for my version of this traditional chile paste in my cookbook, The Complete Guide to Pickling. It takes just 10 minutes of hands-on time to make and lasts several months in the refrigerator. It’s worth keeping on hand because its so versatile, giving a little heat to everything from brined olives to grilled shrimp. It’s also a classic flavor in Harira (Moroccan Tomato Lentil Soup).
Learn to make Shaved and Roasted Carrots with Harissa

Oven-Roasted Kale Chips

On February 13, 2025February 13, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

It took me some time to become a fan of kale. When I was a kid, it hadn’t yet been popularized by the clean-eating crowd, so my dad never grew it. As an adult, every time I bought a bundle at the grocery store, it seemed overly chewy and fibrous—one of those vegetables you’re supposed to eat because they’re good for you but you don’t really enjoy. It wasn’t until I started growing kale in my own garden and harvesting young, tender leaves that I became hooked on its many varieties.

As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, an easy way to make kale crisp and chewable—whether the leaves are young and soft, larger and fibrous, or starting to wilt in the fridge—is to roast it. Even the toughest leaves take on a delicate, crispy texture once you remove them from their ribs and bake them as chips. They’re so fragile that when the chip container is empty, tiny flakes remain behind, along with some of the sesame seeds I used as seasoning. I sprinkle these on popcorn to savor every last bite.
Learn to make Oven-Roasted Kale Chips

Broccoli, Tomato, and Pasta Soup

On December 26, 2024December 26, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, soupsLeave a comment

I’m all about easy meals as the year winds down. It’s one of many reasons to freeze, can, dehydrate, and dry-store homegrown or locally sourced vegetables when the garden produces more than you can eat fresh. Instead of needing to go to the store, you can “shop” in your freezer and cupboards, as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

The soup recipe I share uses frozen vegetables that you can put directly in the pot, without thawing them first. I do thaw the Homemade Vegetable Stock that provides a flavor base, because then the soup is ready faster and has a more consistent texture. Some of my favorite flavor upgrades include dehydrated Home-Smoked Chili Peppers in place of the paprika and Cold-Smoked Cheese for the finishing touch. If you’re just learning how to store in-season produce, make this soup with fresh ingredients now and you’ll have plenty of inspiration to preserve in-season produce when the garden and farmers’ markets are in full swing.
Learn to make Broccoli, Tomato, and Pasta Soup

Spinach Salad with Cranberry Sauce Dressing

On November 28, 2024November 28, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, saladsLeave a comment

Cranberry sauce goes on so many dishes on the holiday table that it’s always worth making extra. If you have more left over than you anticipated, the recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon converts the sauce into a salad dressing.

I love the tartness of cranberries so much that as a teenager, I would thin cranberry sauce with oil and vinegar to make a personalized salad dressing right at the Thanksgiving table. The dressing and salad recipe in my column simply formalizes the process. So you don’t have to wait for leftovers to enjoy it. If you made Orange-Infused Cranberry Sauce to serve with your feast and have a palate-cleansing salad to accompany the meal, whip up this dressing straightaway.
Learn to make Spinach Salad with Cranberry Sauce Dressing

Orange-Infused Cranberry Sauce

On November 21, 2024November 20, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, saucesLeave a comment

As you shop for your Thanksgiving feast, pick up a bag of fresh cranberries and an orange to make the sauce that I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. It’s about one of the easiest upgrades you can put on the Thanksgiving table, and you can prepare it far enough in advance that it doesn’t take up stovetop space on the big day.

Homemade cranberry sauce goes with all of your holiday leftovers, but I also use it as the base for a salad dressing that can be served with the holiday meal or for weeks afterward for a fresh-greens fix. I’ll share that dressing recipe and a salad to put it on in next week’s column, so if you want to serve these on Thanksgiving Day, add a second orange, shallot, red onion, spinach, almonds, and blue cheese or feta to your shopping list.
Learn to make Orange-Infused Cranberry Sauce

Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry

On November 7, 2024November 15, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

Stir-fry, the technique and the dish, seems so straightforward and adaptable to so many ingredients that you don’t need a recipe. But a quick Web search pulls up endless recipes and varied methods for making them. Some geek out with tools like a wok burner, blow torch, or outdoor grill to mimic the ultrafast, high-heat smokiness achieved by a commercial range. Others vie for the title of easiest stir-fry by tossing sautéed vegetables with store-bought teriyaki sauce.
Whether you trend toward geeky or easy on the stir-fry scale, the recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon fits into your regular meal rotation. It runs through the essential dos and don’ts and includes a quick, flavor-packed homemade sauce. The fresh vegetables you use make each one-dish meal unique.
Learn to make Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry

Crispy Pan-Fried Tofu

On October 31, 2024October 31, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

When I see recipes that aim to make tofu crispy, I’m often surprised by the various ingredients and effort applied—and even more surprised when I find they don’t achieve the desired effect. As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, the process of making tofu crispy is simple. It requires just two ingredients, tofu and oil. It can be broken into just four key steps: remove excess moisture, use a hot pan and splatter shield, leave space around each piece, and wait to flip the tofu until it releases easily.

When I make tofu in this way, it comes out perfectly crisp every time, whether I’ve cut the tofu into cubes for a stir-fry, thick rectangles for a satay, or flat slabs for a sandwich. I typically reach for my largest cast-iron skillet, but any well-seasoned or nonstick pan that can be safely set over medium-high heat does the job. I prefer a mesh splatter shield to a silicone one; the latter tends to collect condensation that then drips back into the hot oil.
Learn to make Crispy Pan-Fried Tofu

Smashed Bean Pasta

On October 24, 2024October 24, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grainsLeave a comment

We often put a meaty protein on pasta—fish and shellfish, chicken breast, all sorts of meat ground and shaped into meatballs. Yet we tend to overlook the pairing of pasta and beans, a prime vegetable source of protein. Whereas Mexican restaurants have made rice and refried beans an American staple and the Southern population has long served up red beans and rice, the Italian tradition of pairing pasta with beans hasn’t caught on.

That will hopefully change in your household with this week’s recipe in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. It’s an easy, filling meal that can be made at the last minute from ingredients in the pantry. Leave off the cheese for a vegan version, and pile in olives for a little zing. By smashing some of the beans, they find their way, along with the tomato juices, into the pasta’s holes and pockets.
Learn to make Smashed Bean Pasta

Tomato–Basil Mac and Cheese

On October 18, 2024October 18, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grainsLeave a comment

Mac and cheese lands firmly in my comfort food category, and I do my best not to feel guilty about biting into that cheesy, gooey pasta—especially when I make a pan that feeds eight people for our household of two. As I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, one way I decrease the guilt factor while boosting the flavor is to load vegetables into the dish. This works in summer and fall with the garden harvest and in winter and spring with homegrown produce that I preserved for just such uses.

In fact, I originally wrote this recipe for frozen cherry tomatoes, frozen cubes of basil pesto, and grilled and frozen onion. Sometimes I use home-canned tomatoes instead or, when I deplete my stash, store-bought cans of diced tomatoes. Dried basil works well too. Still, when you have fresh in-season options, they give the best flavor and the prettiest meal.
Learn to make Tomato–Basil Mac and Cheese