Category: Topic

Best Pressure Canners

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Canning, Topic8 Comments

I’ve been testing the best pressure canners for The Spruce Eats. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Gardening season is here, and I have exciting news to share, so I’m interrupting this month of cheese posts to put canning on your radar. One of my goals for this year has been to start writing about food for places other than this blog, and I’ve become a regular contributor to The Spruce Eats. If you’re not familiar with the website, I suggest checking it out: It’s loaded with everything from recipes to videos to cooking tips to buying guides. I’m working with a great editor there and having a lot of fun writing for the site.

My first project was a roundup of the year’s best pressure canners, and I spent last month testing some of my favorites. The first reviews went live this week. My writing for The Spruce Eats focuses on products, so I’ll be sharing a little about what I canned and cooked here.
Read more about what I’ve been pressure canning

Ricotta: Fresh and Aged

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Topic8 Comments

Enjoy ricotta fresh, or salt and age it to take the flavor to a new level. Get ricotta recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Ricotta didn’t interest me as a homemade cheese until I spotted an aged, salted version in Karen Solomon’s Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It. She described its texture and saltiness as resembling Romano but less complex. That, I thought, is a cheese I could love. Homemade Romano is a cultured cheese that is repeatedly molded, pressed, brined, and salted before it is aged 8–12 months. So a substitute that takes less than an hour of hands-on time and is ready in a week or so seemed perfect.

This aged cheese starts with ricotta made entirely from fresh milk. If you already make Lemon Cheese, the ricotta recipe will look familiar: it’s essentially the same cheese, although I tend to drain it for less time so that it’s soft and moist. Like the lemon version, it can be eaten fresh. I often make a double batch of ricotta, setting aside half to enjoy straightaway and aging the other half into the Romano replacement.

The only ingredient difference between Whole-Milk Ricotta and Lemon Cheese is the acid used to separate the curds from the whey. The ricotta recipe uses citric acid, a powder with a sour, neutral flavor rather than a lemony one. It’s usually easier to find than the cheese cultures in last week’s post; if you can’t buy it from a local natural-foods store, you can order it online from the sources I provided for cheese cultures.
Learn to make Whole-Milk Ricotta and Ricotta Salata

Soft Cheeses

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Topic1 Comment

Learn to make soft cheeses, and you have so many choices. Get soft cheese recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I’ve always loved the tang of goat cheese, or chèvre. Unfortunately, goat milk is hard to find in my area. Local stores tend to carry one ultrapasteurized brand or a powdered version—neither of which works for cheese. Regulations for selling milk directly to individuals are so strict, convoluted, and enforced that it feels like a black market. I occasionally trade with friends who are milking goats (and have momma and babies willing to share), but mostly I gave up on making soft cheese.

That changed when I took a chance on fromage blanc. I’d written off this cow’s milk cheese as too mild for my tastes. But it has a surprising amount of tang and flavor. Best of all, the technique for soft cheeses really does work across milk types—cow or goat, reduced fat or whole milk or cream. It can be soft and spreadable or drained until it crumbles. It can be shaped or molded, and it absorbs flavors like herbs, zests, and spices. Learn to make soft cheeses, and you have so many choices. You can do it!
Learn to make Homemade Fromage Blanc and other soft cheeses

Cheese: You Can Do It!

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Topic5 Comments

The first thing to know about cheese making is that you can do it! Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Spring is working its way into Montana. This means 4 weather cycles in a day, plenty of mud, the first harvest of walking onions, and baby animals in the barn. At the farm where I garden, two baby cows have arrived, with a third on the way. Although the mommas will keep their milk for their newborns, it always seems like the perfect time to explore home-fermented dairy and cheese.

I’ve spent little time making cheese over the past year. A year ago, I skipped my planned cheese posts to extend the sourdough giveaway and share ways to eat well when stuck at home. Then I co-opted my “cheese cave” (aka mini dorm fridge) for pickles while I was launching my new book.

But last month, while filling pierogi with potatoes and Lemon Cheese, I was reminded just how easy it is to make cheese and other dairy products. Here’s your reminder too.
Read more about making cheese

Steamed Buns

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, Using4 Comments

Homemade steamed buns make you wait, but your first bite is worth it. Get dumpling recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
In the realm of stuffed foods, Chinese steamed buns seem like the crown jewels. They’re made with a yeast dough, rather than the comparatively simpler flour-and-water wraps for Scratch-Made Pot Stickers, which means more waiting time. The steaming may require tools you don’t yet have in your kitchen—or some improvisation. And you’ll have the nicest buns if you master yet another rolling and pleating technique.

But the first time you bite into a homemade steamed bun, you’ll know it was worth it. The magic that happens with some basic ingredients, time, and care will keep you practicing until you’ve perfected your technique. As with all homemade dumplings, there are some shortcuts. But most of these stretch out the work rather than shortening the timeframe. It’s best to approach steamed yeast buns with a relaxed schedule and mindset.
Learn to make Scratch-Made Steamed Buns with homemade fillings

Pierogi

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, Using2 Comments

You say pot sticker, I say pierogi: It can be all one dough. Get dumpling recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
When I traveled in Eastern Europe and lived in Russia, I ate a lot of pierogi but never learned to make them. Some were homemade—my favorites came from Russian women who carried pots of them from their kitchen to meet the train as we rode the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok. Plus, commercially packaged frozen pierogi were as widespread in Eastern Europe as frozen pizza is in the United States, and they could be dropped in boiling water for a quick meal.

Once I returned to the States, I tried many variations on pierogi dough, attempting to recreate those mild yet somehow tasty dumplings. Available dough recipes varied widely on both ingredients (egg, milk, butter, sour cream, even cream cheese) and ratios. But once I mastered homemade pot stickers, I realized I’d strayed too far from the frugal kitchens that prepared my favorite pierogi. So now I use the same dough for both types of dumplings; how I prep that dough, fill it, and cook the dumplings determines whether they’re labeled pot stickers or pierogi.
Learn to make Scratch-Made Pierogi with homemade fillings

Pot Stickers

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, Using5 Comments

Tasty pot stickers can be hard to find but make a fun project at home. Get dumpling recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I fell for pot stickers as a kid. For special occasions, we’d meet my Uncle Sunny and Aunt Ginny in Portland, Oregon, at their favorite Chinese restaurant. My uncle was one of those people who made friends at his frequented haunts; he and the restaurant’s owners probably swapped their favorite spicy mustard recipes. As a kid, it amazed me that the staff knew to bring my sister a Shirley Temple, my mom fiery eggplant, and me vegetable pot stickers.

Vegetarian pot stickers can be hard to come by even in cities; the standard fillings lean toward pork. In northwest Montana, they’re nonexistent. Luckily, a local friend with Chinese roots loves to cook and share her creations, and I treasure invites to her kitchen. For a pot sticker gathering, we mix up batch after batch of dough and filling, just eyeballing the ratios, and many hands form it all into neat—or not so neat—edible packets. It’s a bit like making pie crust with Grandma Tiny: this recipe, which I make at home, is my best version of those recipe-free evenings with a practiced guide.
Learn to make Scratch-Made Pot Stickers with homemade fillings

Getting Stuffed

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Freezing, Refrigerating, Topic, Using1 Comment

Food that comes in its own edible wrapper can be fun to make and eat. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
There’s something special about food that comes in its own edible wrapper. It can be filling, comforting, flavorful, unique—but mostly it’s fun to eat. It can also be fun to make if you approach it with the right mindset.

Self-contained perfect bites have plenty of advantages. Some, like Sourdough Empanadas, travel well and make ideal meals at school or work. Others, like Pumpkin–Goat Cheese Ravioli with Butter–Nut Sauce, can be frozen for later quick-and-easy meals. With Mushroom-Stuffed Blini, it’s hard to decide whether the freshly made packets or the leftovers, sautéed until crispy, taste best.

These scratch-made recipes also have a downside: They take time and effort. The key is to keep the entire process relaxed and fun. I have several tricks that will help you enjoy the time, break the project into stages, and sample some of your creation along the way. Hopefully these tips will ease you into some of the food projects already on the blog—and the new ones I’ll be sharing this month.
Read more about getting stuffed

Fermenting Grains and Beans

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Dry storage, Fermenting, Topic6 Comments

Lessons learned in my dosa-making adventures led to a recipe for beginners living in cold climates. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
When it’s midwinter and the fermentation bug hits you, where do you turn? The logical choice to expand beyond sourdough and cheese, and the perfect pairing with this month’s Indian-Inspired Sweet-and-Sour Potatoes and Indian-Inspired Shrimp in Yogurt, seemed to be dosas. But these thin, crisp rice-and-bean pancakes offered as many challenges as advantages in my Northern Rocky Mountain kitchen.

So what I offer this week are the lessons I learned as I began my dosa-making adventures, with big nods to fermentation expert Sandor Katz and writer and cook Chandra Padmanabhan. These lessons led to an Indian-inspired dosa recipe ideal for beginners living in cold climates, with plenty of ways to creep closer to the traditional texture and flavor as you become more confident in your dosa-making skills.
Learn to ferment grains and beans and make Red Lentil and Basmati Dosas

Pantry Power

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, Using9 Comments

Savor flavors from around the world right from your cupboards. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
February is always the test of my pantry’s power. How well did I plan for winter? Did I can enough jams, salsas, and sauces? Did I properly cure my potatoes, onions, and garlic so that they’re still edible? Did I freeze enough pesto, berries, and corn? Did I dry enough basil, oregano, and rosemary?

With some effort and some luck, all of the answers are yes and we’re eating well all month long and far into spring. When the stored and preserved harvest doesn’t taste quite as good as fresh off the vine, I make up the difference and then some from other shelves in my pantry: the ones with spices and condiments. With a bit of this and a dab of that, it’s possible to savor flavors from around the world right from your cupboards.
Read more about finding your pantry’s power