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

Seared Shrimp in Garlic Oil

On November 9, 2023November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

We grill outdoors year-round, but not every evening is ideal for stepping out and firing up a chimney of charcoal. On icy nights when I don’t want to be more than a few steps from the woodstove, I pull out the recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I think of seared shrimp bubbling in hot oil as a Spanish dish because it reminds me of meals I enjoyed in Spain’s tapas bars. This dish is incredibly simple to make, and if you always keep a bag of raw shrimp in the freezer and a head of garlic on the counter, you can make it on a whim.

I like to serve these shrimp over Cinnamon Couscous, a recipe I picked up on my travels in Morocco, as a quick fusion meal. You can also simply cut some hunks of Sourdough Cabin Bread or the crusty white baguette in my new sourdough guide for the The Old Farmer’s Almanac website and dip them into the oil to munch alongside the shrimp, tapas style.
Learn to make Seared Shrimp in Garlic Oil

Adapting Dinners

On April 16, 2020December 27, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, Using1 Comment

What happens when you combine an unfamiliar ingredient, Web access, and creativity? Gluten-Free Cauliflower-Crust Pizza and other adapted dinners. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
I have a confession: I often cook without recipes. Even when I use them, I alter this and change that to fit what’s in my cupboard and what I think I want to eat. And I rarely make a dish the same way twice. I mainly develop and write out recipes so that I can share my favorite foods more easily with you!

So almost every recipe on Twice as Tasty can be adapted and even free-formed. There are some exceptions: You’ll have greater success with sourdough baking and cheesemaking if you follow the recipe as closely as possible, particularly as you’re learning. For canning and fermenting for long-term storage, using the given ingredients and instructions ensures food safety. But when it comes to adapting dinners and other meals, you can typically use your judgment and experience in deciding how closely you’ll follow a recipe—like I did for my latest adaptation, Gluten-Free Cauliflower-Crust Pizza.
Learn to adapt dinners and make Gluten-Free Cauliflower-Crust Pizza

Staying Home

On April 2, 2020December 27, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Giveaway, Topic, Using1 Comment

Be happily occupied in the kitchen and well fed at every meal. Read more about eating well while staying home. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
So much has changed in the last few weeks. As our personal worlds narrow to our homes and backyards, many of us are changing what and how we eat. Most of us are spending more time in our kitchens, cooking more often and trying new recipes. I had no trouble scratching my original plans for this month’s blog posts to focus on eating well while staying home. But with such wide variation in what’s available in stores, in backyard gardens and from local farmers, and in pantries, it’s hard to know what I should emphasize. So I’m spreading my net wide, hoping that you’ll each find something on Twice as Tasty that makes your life a little easier and more enjoyable.

Like you, I have been focusing on staying home and have been spending plenty of time in the kitchen. On the downside, we canceled our sailing adventure planned for this month. On the upside, I’m busy writing my first cookbook! Focused on pickles, it’s scheduled for release before the end of the year. Read on to discover how you might win a copy, as well as to learn more about eating well while staying home.
Read more about eating well while staying home

Pantry Dinners

On November 20, 2018December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, UsingLeave a comment

As much as I love to play in the kitchen, even I have days when I want an easy meal. But most people who eat my easy meals can’t believe food this good can be so easy. The secret is in what I’m emphasizing all month: a well-stocked basic pantry.

Some of my favorite easy meals developed from flavors I fell in love with while exploring other countries and cultures. My freezer always holds a bag of frozen shrimp, often destined for the grill. But on rainy, freezing, or just plain lazy nights, a cast-iron skillet and oven broiler fill in beautifully. Add some oil, a couple of spices, and a lot of garlic, and the meal brings back memories of Spanish tapas bars and gambas al ajillo. If I cooked up a pot of beans earlier in the week, or have a can stashed on the shelf, I can sip wine, think fondly of Italy, and have a surprisingly filling vegetarian or vegan pasta on the table in less than 30 minutes.
Learn to make Spanish Shrimp in Garlic Oil and Smashed Bean Pasta

Stir-Fry

On August 15, 2018December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Stir-fries are quick, go-to meals that show off well-cooked tofu. Get stir-fry and tofu recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
When the garden is in full swing and sailing season is on, one of my go-to meals is a stir-fry. In the time it takes to cook a pot of rice, the rest of the meal can be chopped, cooked, and ready to serve from one pan as a single-dish meal. In spring, asparagus, early onions, young garlic, snap peas, spinach, and herbs dominate the stir-fry; at the height of summer, freshly harvested onions, peppers, carrots, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes take over. By late summer, corn, eggplant, and fall broccoli and peas are ready to mix in.

When you’re rich in a particular vegetable, you can let it solo in a stir-fry, backed by aromatics such as garlic, ginger, and chilies. But my favorite stir-fries are created with dibs and dabs of many vegetables and a protein such as tofu. To guarantee success, fry quickly, at high heat, in an order that lets the ingredients brown evenly, with plenty of movement. It’s in the name: stir and fry.
Learn to make Fresh Improv Stir-Fry and Pan-Fried Tofu