Watermelon-Basil Syrup or Shrub

On August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, refrigeratedLeave a comment

In summer, my refrigerator is divided fairly equally into four quadrants: freshly harvested homegrown vegetables and fruit; jars of pickled foods; syrups, shrubs, and kombucha; and everything else. When I first started making drinking shrubs—concentrates made from fruit, sugar, and vinegar that are then diluted with seltzer—I usually had one or two flavors on hand at a time. Now the varieties grow with the season, and since I’ve added kombucha to the options, a dozen bottles typically line my fridge shelves after I’ve just decanted a fresh batch.

Of the collection, the watermelon shrub and syrup recipe that I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon has some of the freshest flavor because the juice is never heated. The herbs I add to shrubs and syrups enhance their complexity. Like watermelon, basil stays fresh and bright with the no-heat method. Other herbs also pair well with watermelon, including cilantro, lemon thyme, and the mint featured in Watermelon-Mint Sorbet and Watermelon and Feta Salad.
Learn to make Watermelon-Basil Syrup or Shrub

Watermelon-Mint Sorbet

On August 6, 2026August 6, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, frozenLeave a comment

Sorbet is so easy to make and doesn’t require special equipment, like an ice cream maker, so I freeze small batches throughout the summer as different fruit hits its peak in my garden, from rhubarb to berries. I occasionally grow enough watermelon to make the sorbet I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, but usually I have to buy the melon.

When I have plenty of options, I look for a whole small watermelon that isn’t seedless, because large, fully formed black seeds are easier to remove than the edible ivory seed coats that run down a seedless melon. But I primarily look for the ripest melon. In a recent article for Simply Recipes, I interviewed a watermelon expert about the biggest myths around watermelon ripeness and how to pick the best melon. You can get his tips here.
Learn to make Watermelon-Mint Sorbet

Two-Meal Garden Risotto

On July 30, 2026July 30, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grainsLeave a comment

I love risotto not just for its texture but also for the variety of garden goodies that taste so delicious in it. Every time I teach a risotto workshop, the vegetables I bring vary: peas, asparagus, and rhubarb in a spring workshop; peppers, beans, and zucchini in a summer one; and winter squash, mushrooms, or frozen vegetables at the changing of the year. Summer provides so many homegrown options that it’s hard to choose. But as temperatures climb, it’s also hard to stand by the hot stovetop as the rice slowly absorbs stock.

I was thrilled to learn that restaurant chefs who need to get orders to tables faster than Arborio rice cooks have a technique that, when applied at home, reduces the heat in my kitchen: parcook the rice. One night of food prep that produces two dinners and minimizes my cooking time on night 2 is one of my favorite ways to beat summer’s heat. I explain how it works in this week’s Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.
Learn to make Two-Meal Garden Risotto

Grilled or Baked Fish Cakes

On July 23, 2026July 23, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grilledLeave a comment

I have mixed feelings about fish cakes and burgers. The first versions I remember tasting were British patties heavy on potato with little fish flavor. Then I discovered small Thai-style cakes that tasted of the sea but whose spiciness sometimes overpowered the mild fish. My favorite fish cakes fall somewhere between: just enough filler to keep the fish-loaded patties from falling apart, and plenty of flavor without overpowering the fish.

The fish cake recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon hits both marks. I originally created it as an oven recipe, because baking on trays let me leave some larger chunks of fish in the patties. It works well—if you don’t mind the heat and lingering aroma in the house. When I want to avoid those, I fire up the grill, both for the initial roasting of the vegetables, which adds flavor and removes moisture so that the cakes hold together without breadcrumbs or potatoes, and for the final cooking, which happens quickly on a hot grill mat.
Learn to make Grilled or Baked Fish Cakes

Smoked Cherry Clafouti (Pudding Cake)

On July 17, 2026July 17, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cakes, ColumnLeave a comment

I harvested another 7 pounds of sour cherries from my lone tree yesterday. I’ve plucked 18 pounds so far, and it looks like I’ve barely started. This seems likely to be another bumper crop year for cherries.

I’m down to my last small jar of Bourbon-Infused Smoked Cherries from last year, so I smoked my first cherry harvest and now have a new half-gallon jar infusing in my unheated mudroom. When I plan to use freshly smoked cherries without infusing them in alcohol, I let them chill in the refrigerator for a couple of days first so that their flavor becomes more even. I also have a few bags of unsmoked sour cherries left from 2025 in the freezer. All of these cherries, whether raw and fresh or frozen, recently smoked, or in bourbon, taste delicious in clafouti, the easy French pudding cake I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.
Learn to make Smoked Cherry Clafouti

Smoked Cherries

On July 2, 2026July 2, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grilledLeave a comment

The summer grilling season typically conjures up images of burgers and brats, but I get fewer raised eyebrows these days when I suggest in my Grilled and Smoked workshop, and share recipes for, grilling asparagus, corn, and pineapple. Smoking vegetables and fruit is just as effective at adding flavor, as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

With smoking, you have the option of adding heat or not, which creates a different effect from a searing-hot grill. Cold-smoked vegetables retain more of their raw crispness, and cold-smoked fruits, like cherries, stay plumper and juicier. Hot smoking or preroasting works better for dense root vegetables that you want to make soft and tender, like beets.

Because produce absorbs smoke far more quickly than, say, brisket, you don’t need an expensive smoker—and some might actually get too hot for cold smoking. I smoke all of my vegetables, fruits, cheese, and fish in an old Weber kettle grill. I started with woodchips and a few briquettes and now use a smoke tube loaded with pellets to ensure the lowest smoking temperature.
Learn to make Smoked Cherries

Basil Buttercream Frosting

On June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, refrigeratedLeave a comment

My favorite childhood birthday cake was angel food, partly because it was always so light and airy and partly because it didn’t call for frosting. I was never a fan of the frostings that topped typical children’s cakes, which tasted supersweet and set up almost as stiff as pavlova. It wasn’t until I learned to make buttercream that I truly embraced frosted desserts.

As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, a good buttercream frosting is both rich and airy. It practically melts on your tongue, without leaving it feeling coated in sugar crystals. It accepts almost any flavor, from classic chocolate or vanilla bean to the unexpected in both color and taste, like the leafy green hue and hints of spiciness and anise imparted by basil.
Learn to make Basil Buttercream Frosting

Herb-Infused Sugar

On June 20, 2026June 20, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry storedLeave a comment

I preserve more herbs and other foods in salt than in sugar, but if you have a sweet tooth, you might do the reverse. As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, sugar, like salt, absorbs moisture and oils and inhibits spoilage. In high concentrations, such as in jams made without pectin, sugar traps enough water that microorganisms can’t grow. Once unsealed and refrigerated, such jams last longer than low-sugar jams, and mold usually forms only on the surface and only after weeks of air exposure.

As sugar absorbs natural oils from herbs and spices, it also picks up their flavor. Vanilla sugar is a simple example—and a fantastic way to repurpose a vanilla bean pod once you’ve scraped out the seeds for jam, buttercream, or a sweet sauce. You get the same effect when you infuse sugar with herbs, edible flowers, and other botanicals. You can use these in any recipe that calls for sugar, but they have the most impact when used to sweeten whipped cream or frosting, sprinkled on baked goods, baked into simple ones like shortbread, or stirred into a beverage.
Learn to make Herb-Infused Sugar

Buttery Jam-Filled Cupcakes

On June 16, 2026June 16, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cakes, ColumnLeave a comment

I generally prefer pies, galettes, and other fruity desserts to cake, partly because of the fruit but mostly because I attended too many childhood parties with dry cake and overly sweet frosting. The handful of cake and cupcake recipes that I do bake, including the one in my most recent Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, emphasize custardy or buttery batter that bakes up moist and light.

With a full-size, single-layer cake, you don’t have to worry about evenly dividing the batter: simply pour the entire bowlful into a loaf, sheet, or bundt pan and bake. For layered cakes, I find it’s worth weighing the batter to ensure an even portion in each pan. You can be less particular about cupcakes and just eyeball their equal fullness. Their second advantage, for the baker, lies in your ability to vary the flavors as you fill and decorate a single batch of batter.
Learn to make Buttery Jam-Filled Cupcakes

A Decade of Eating Well Year-Round

On June 4, 2026June 4, 2026 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eating, WorkshopsLeave a comment

The Twice as Tasty blog turns 10 years old this month, and it seems both that the decade has just flown by and that I’ve been sharing my love of eating well year-round for far, far longer. I collected my favorite recipes from the decade for you this month in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. In this blog post, I’ve also gathered blog readers’ favorite recipes into an easily bookmarked collection. Finally, I share some exciting news about upcoming private and public local workshops and my food writing for other publications.

This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without you! Thanks for reading, following, encouraging me, and making your own world twice as tasty.
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