Hot and Sour Shrimp and Noodle Soup

On October 11, 2024October 11, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, soups2 Comments

This week’s Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon takes the recipe from the prior week, Hot and Sour Broth Base, and walks you through one of my favorite ways to turn it into a full-fledged soup. Just looking at the photo makes me want to fix a bowl for lunch today.

That’s easily done: At lunchtime, I’ll rehydrate a couple of dried shitake mushrooms in hot water and thaw a few shrimp in cold running water while I gather the other ingredients. Cubes of broth base and Homemade Shrimp Stock pulled from my freezer go straight into the pot, as do the noodles. A handful of shrimp take seconds to peel, and I’ll add their shells to the bag in my freezer awaiting my next stock-making day. Shallots, garlic, and cilantro also take seconds to prep in such a small amount. By the time my prep is done, the mushrooms will be soft and I can fill the soup pot, with lunch ready in about 15 minutes.
Learn to make Hot and Sour Shrimp and Noodle Soup

Hot and Sour Broth Base

On October 3, 2024October 3, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, frozenLeave a comment

The recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon is all about the balance between effort and result. When you make real meals from scratch, the result can be phenomenal. But those meals usually take more effort than an off-the-shelf substitute.

I’ll always remember one of the comments I saw about my first recipe in the Flathead Beacon, 30-Minute Tomato Soup. Someone was appalled that it would take so long to make tomato soup when she could just pop open a can and heat it in the microwave. She completely missed the point of the recipe—and to this day is likely missing out on its rich flavor.

That reader will likely be just as snarky about this week’s recipe, even though its point is to achieve the equivalent of popping open a soup can by doing the bulk of the work ahead of time and keeping a hot and sour soup base in the freezer. But if you make that advanced effort, the result tastes amazing, even if all you do is heat up a couple of frozen cubes in a mug of stock.
Learn to make Hot and Sour Broth Base

Shrimp and Summer Squash Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce

On September 15, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Canning, Column, fresh eating1 Comment

The enchiladas I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon have become household favorites. And that all started with the sauce. Before I began making my own enchilada sauce, I occasionally attempted this rich, cheesy dish when we wanted comfort food, but I never quite nailed the technique of getting the tortillas in that just-right place, ending up with ones that were mushy or crunchy. Then I found a sauce recipe I love and started putting up jars of it, which led me to track down the technique that keeps the tortillas soft and intact, making them the perfect vehicle for the homemade sauce.

The recipe I share here lets you make this delicious sauce in a smaller batch without the effort of canning it. If you fall for this sauce like I did, you can make a larger amount to process in a boiling water bath using the instructions in Tips & Tricks. The enchiladas themselves can have all sorts of fillings: as we transition from summer to fall, my favorite pairs homegrown summer squash with sautéed shrimp.
Learn to make Shrimp and Summer Squash Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Quick Beer–Cheese Dip

On February 10, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dips1 Comment

With chilly temps and that big sporting event (you know I mean the Olympics, right?) happening this weekend, it seemed the perfect time to share my favorite beer–cheese dip in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. This dip is easy yet decadent; we usually think of special-occasion recipes as being difficult, but not so here. The recipe in my column gives you store-bought ingredient options, but you can also bump the decadence up several notches by using homemade versions.

Let me be clear: when I make dips like this one with homemade ingredients, I don’t start by saying, “OK, I’m going to smoke the cheese and chilies, make the chili paste and mustard, roast the garlic, and then I can make dip.” Nope. All those ingredients are staples in my fridge. When I want to use them in dip (and everything else), I just set them on the counter, mix them into dip, and dig in.
Learn to make Quick Beer–Cheese Dip

Tomatoes

On October 17, 2019December 14, 2020 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Canning, Freezing, Ingredient3 Comments

Grilling and preserving pair perfectly, and their advantages stretch far beyond flavor. Get grilled tomato recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
You’ve probably noticed that I love grilled vegetables. I also love home-canned goods, and the techniques of grilling and preserving pair together perfectly. The advantages of grilling for canning stretch far beyond flavor, particularly for tomatoes.

Grilling combined with freezing makes it easy to start processing vegetables as they ripen throughout the growing season, making preserving seem more like a habit than a chore. During tomato season, we pull the ripest fruit from the vine every few days. That evening, we fire up the grill and cook off a rack or two of tomatoes; the hot halves go straight into a colander set over a large bowl to drain off the juice—usually while we’re enjoying a grilled dinner. Once they’re cool, I pour the separated solids and juice into separate containers, weighing and labeling each before adding them to the freezer.

When the freezer’s full, I have two products ready for processing: solids and juice. Because the juice was drained off, any sauce or salsa doesn’t have to cook for hours to thicken. Because the solids have already been pulled out of the juice, I can quickly apply it to any recipe, from beverage to soup. In just a couple of hours, I can have several canner batches processed for long-term storage. The freezer is ready for the next round of preserving, and the canning shelves are full of delicious fire-roasted flavors.
Learn to make Grilled Tomato Pasta Sauce and Tomato Juice Soup

Cakes and Curd

On March 12, 2019December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Refrigerating, TopicLeave a comment

If you’ve only ever poured maple syrup on buttermilk pancakes, this week’s recipe pairing will blow your mind. Fruit curds are the tarter yet richer siblings of fruit syrups, jams, butters, and even sauces. Unlike these high-heat, bubbly creations, fruit curds cook low and slow, until their blend of juice, sugar, eggs, and butter becomes silky smooth. One bite of a fruit curd and you’ll want to use it as a spread on baked goods, a filling for shortcakes or layered cakes, a dipper for fresh fruit, a swirl of flavor in Fresh Yogurt, or even a sneaky spoonful eaten straight from the jar.

Just to up the ante, I like to pair luscious, jewel-toned berry curd with pancakes darkened by molasses and spices. Most gingerbreads are made as desserts and rich in butter, refined sugar, and egg, but the fruit curd topping covers all of those bases. For breakfast, all of those elements can be cut or scaled back to focus on warming spices and bittersweet molasses.
Learn to make Berry Curd and Gingerbread Pancakes

Caring for Cravings

On March 5, 2019December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, UsingLeave a comment

By finding the root of your craving, you can prepare a solution high in satisfaction and low on guilt. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
When I wrote about redefining comfort foods and shared some of my favorite “new comfort food” recipes this time last year, I quickly discovered I couldn’t have picked a better topic for March. Spring officially arrives late in the month, but for a few more weeks many of us are still bogged down by winter weather and yearning for warmer, brighter days. Seed catalogs and fairs arrive to tempt us with garden dreams, but at my house, feet of snow still blanket the beds and the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts a “cooler than normal” spring for these mountains.

No wonder food cravings have set in. Solutions for dealing with the intense desire to eat high-fat, energy-dense, sweet, and/or salty foods—in other words, typical comfort foods—range from mind tricks to improving overall health. But what if you simply give in to your craving by making a recipe from scratch that uses real ingredients and includes the component you crave?
Read more about caring for your cravings

Sour Cream

On April 17, 2018March 31, 2022 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, IngredientLeave a comment

You easily get the best flavor from the fewest ingredients by making sour cream at home. Get homemade sour cream and cookie recipes at TwiceasTasty.com. Sour cream is one of my guilty food pleasures. I eat it regularly, sometimes daily. I eat it at breakfast with crepes and baked into Sour Cream Scones with Tart Cherries. It goes in creamy dressings for potato and other salads. It’s the base for dips and midday snacks. I put sour cream on baked potatoes, tacos, and empanadas. And I use it in desserts, including cookies.

I call sour cream a “guilty pleasure” because it can be high in calories and fat. Most commercial reduced-fat and nonfat versions are primarily whey, modified food/corn starch, salts, stabilizers, and artificial gums—not a good alternative. So if I’m buying sour cream, I read the labels closely and buy full-fat versions that only list “cultured cream” or something similar as the ingredient. But you can easily get the best flavor from the fewest ingredients by making sour cream at home.
Learn to make Fresh Sour Cream and Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cheesy Baked Pasta

On March 27, 2018December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Although my comfort food list includes a lot of nontraditional dishes, like crepes and Hot and Sour Soup, I’m a sucker for homemade mac and cheese. It was a household standard when I was growing up. As little girls, my sister and I sometimes begged for forbidden junk foods, but we were always willing to go homemade when it came to Mom’s baked macaroni. I’d take leftovers to school to eat cold for lunch, not caring what my friends thought. It was that good.

Over the years, I’ve come to love other flavors in my baked noodles: the bite of garlic and dry mustard, a burst of flavor from cherry tomatoes and basil, and always extra-sharp Cheddar. Since I started making cheese, it’s been my preferred way to use whey. But my mom’s original version is perfect for introducing kids—and adults—who’ve only had boxed macaroni & cheese to the real deal.
Learn to make Childhood and Tomato–Basil Mac and Cheese

Feel-Good Soup

On March 20, 2018December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Freezing, Topic, Using2 Comments

Soup is the ultimate comfort food. It warms you from head to toe, even reaching fingertips wrapped around a warm bowl or mug. It can be pleasantly light or satisfyingly filling. You can load it with your favorite ingredients and flavors, and it makes brilliant leftovers. What’s not to love about homemade soup?

Some days, the answer is, “That I have to make it.” When you’re sick, soup can make you feel better, but not if you have to get out of bed, gather and chop the ingredients, and monitor the pot. When I’ve got a bug, I crave hot and sour soup. But one of my favorite recipes, Padma Lakshmi’s Hot and Sour Tomato Broth with Shrimp from Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet, requires specialty ingredients and effort. So I’ve developed a version can be frozen as a broth base. The essential work can happen long before you want the soup. When you’re under the weather, you can simply defrost and mix it into homemade stock. On healthy days, you can fill it out to create a full meal for everyone at the table.
Learn to make Hot and Sour Broth Base and Soup