Mason Jar Gifts: Mixed-Bean Soup

On December 8, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry stored2 Comments

Every December, I share ideas and recipes that make delicious food gifts. These ideas have ranged from tags and bags to suggestions for food gifts that include homemade treats, kitchen tools, and of course my books.

This year, I’ve added to the food gift ideas with a meal-in-a-jar recipe in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. It was surprisingly straightforward to adapt one of my favorite fresh soup recipes so that it could be gifted in a jar, ready to by pulled from the cupboard and made on a chilly night with minimal added ingredients. It still packs all of the flavor of the fresh recipe without relying on salt-heavy bouillon cubes or store-bought seasoning blends. It’s also easy to scale up or down for larger or smaller households and to make multiple jars to cover everyone on your gifting list.
Learn to make Mixed-Bean Soup as a mason jar gift

Vanilla Bean Cookies

On December 1, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, cookiesLeave a comment

To kick off the December holiday season, I shared a favorite family cookie recipe this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. Vanilla Bean Cookies are an appropriate way to start a month that emphasizes baking not only for their flavor but also because of how you create them: by making the cookies and letting them sit for several weeks. They’re the first cookies I make each holiday season, quickly followed by Chocolate Rum Balls, and they’re some of the first to be devoured when I crack open the cookie tins.

These cookies are special to me because of their history in my family and because friends continue to adopt them and include them in their own holiday traditions. My grandmother’s original recipe seemed untouchable, but I recently improved on it by switching to organic ingredients, especially a tapioca-based powdered sugar instead of one laced with cornstarch to prevent caking. After years of making this recipe, the flavor and texture were better than ever, making the extra cost well worth it.
Learn to make Vanilla Bean Cookies

Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Pie

On November 24, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, Ingredient, piesLeave a comment

This week, I share my favorite pumpkin pie recipe in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. It seems fitting not just for the season but also because the introduction to my first column a year ago began with Mike Kordenbrock’s story and Hunter D’Antuono’s photos of another family favorite: Crumble-Top Deep-Dish Apple Pie.

I almost always make one or both of these pies for Thanksgiving gatherings, and they’re delicious for other winter holiday feasts, birthday parties, family meals, and more. If you’re just now stumbling on this recipe, don’t worry: read it completely, decide how many of the components you want to make from scratch, and then remember it for a future holiday.
Learn to make Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Pie

Cinnamon-and-Sugar Pie Crust

On November 17, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, pies3 Comments

My family has a long history of homemade pie fillings and crusts, as I’ve shared in the past and this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I can’t remember when I ate or even exactly when I helped to make my first pie, but in my mother’s and grandmother’s kitchen, the crust was always mixed from scratch and the extra dough was always rerolled, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and baked as a treasured snack.

These homemade pie crusts tended to consist of the same simple ingredients—the ideal setup for mastering the technique of making them. Once you find a pie dough recipe you like, whether it’s the one I share in my column this week or from another source, I recommend sticking with it and using it for everything from fruit and cream pies to quiche. When it becomes your go-to recipe, you’ll never worry about making a mistake, and you’ll never need to buy a premade shell.
Learn to make Cinnamon-and-Sugar Pie Crust

Roasted Winter Squash Puree

On November 10, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, frozenLeave a comment

When I planned my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon this month, I knew I wanted to share my favorite recipe for pumpkin pie. But I quickly realized I didn’t have enough space to print the full scratch-made version. Instead, I’m breaking down the pie recipe by its homemade components: spice mix, pumpkin puree, pie crust, and the final filling and baking.

There are several advantages to this—beyond staying within my word-count limit. Each component is presented as a standalone recipe, showing you how it can be made in advance and put to other uses. You can also choose how homemade you really want your finished pie to be. You could make your own spice mix but buy canned puree. Or you could mix and roll your own crust but use a store-bought spice blend that’s already in your cupboard.

If you do decide to go entirely homemade, spreading out these recipes over a few weeks will hopefully make the project seem less daunting. You’ll also get to enjoy bonus goodies, like roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin cookies, and pie crust snacks, along the way.
Learn to make Roasted Winter Squash Puree

Spiced and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

On November 3, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dehydrated1 Comment

Roasted pumpkin seeds feature among my favorite homegrown, homemade snacks, not just because they’re delicious but also because they’re easy. You can spice them with so many seasonings and can even roast the seeds of other winter squash in the same way, as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

The hardest part of roasting pumpkin and other winter squash seeds is getting the stringy mess out of the squash—which you need to do anyway when you want to use the flesh. As you scrape out the seeds and soft center of the squash, pull off any large pieces of membrane, dump everything else in a bowl of warm water, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. I’ve found it easiest to clean the seeds by plunging my hands into the bowl, rubbing the seeds free of the warmed stringy bits, and then plopping the seeds into a large-holed colander to drain.
Learn to make Spiced and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Shrimp and Green Vegetable Risotto

On October 27, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grainsLeave a comment

Cool weather always puts me in the mood for risotto. The dish can be as warming as soup but is also hearty and filling. It’s a fabulous way to use up the last vegetables pulled from the garden before frost hits, but risotto can be made year-round: in winter with frozen and dry-stored ingredients, in spring with the first vegetables and herbs of the season, and throughout summer with the freshest treats from the garden.

As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, risotto often appears daunting but is actually just a 30-minute, one-pot meal. Starting with the right rice and adjusting your cooking technique are key: Instead of covering a pot of short-grain rice and water with a lid, buy medium-grain Arborio rice and cook it in an open pot. Add a little hot liquid at a time, stirring often and letting the rice absorb it before pouring in more. I also create the best risotto when I use homemade stock.
Learn to make Shrimp and Green Vegetable Risotto

Fresh Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

On October 20, 2022July 11, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, soupsLeave a comment

Broccoli and cheese soup has long been a staple on my fall and winter menu, but my recipe has evolved over the years. The first version I learned from my mom; besides fresh broccoli and sharp Cheddar cheese, it was simply seasoned with a bit of oregano. Once I began making it in my own kitchen, I jazzed it up (as Mom would say) with extra-sharp Cheddar and a little mustard and lemon juice, and when I began to successfully grow broccoli in my own garden, I created a freezer-based version of the jazzed-up recipe. Once I fell for grilled broccoli, I began grilling instead of steam-blanching it for even more flavor in the soup pot.

My latest rendition of a broccoli and cheese soup, which I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, returns to fresh, lightly sautéed vegetables for just a touch of the roasted flavor. This is the way I make the soup with the last of the season’s broccoli, and it’s my preferred recipe for fresh store-bought broccoli. I’ve made one more ingredient addition, potato, for a thicker, chowder-like texture.
Learn to make Fresh Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

Homemade Vegetable Stock

On October 13, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, frozenLeave a comment

Any chef will point to stock as an easy way to add flavor. I use stocks the most from fall to spring, as the base for soups, to flavor rice or beans, and to round out sauces. Although you can simply use water in many of these dishes for the same effect, swapping in a stock gives a jump-start to a tasty meal.

Although many recipes include a stock in the ingredient list, they don’t mention how easy it is to make, either on the spot or in a large batch to freeze so that you always have a bit on hand. Store-bought stocks and broths may seem easier, but they add to your grocery bill, tend to be loaded with salt and preservatives, and can be thick enough that instead of giving light undertones of flavor they overpower a dish. When I make stock, it feels cost-free and effortless: I use whatever’s at hand, rather than buying ingredients specifically for it, and it happens in the background of my day, simmering on the stove while I prepare a meal or check other tasks off my to-do list.

This week, in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, I share a stock recipe that uses whole vegetables so that you can learn the technique for making stock. Once you get a sense of the balance, you can swap in other vegetables and scraps so that you don’t spend time or money buying ingredients.
Learn to make Homemade Vegetable Stock

Fried Green Tomatoes

On October 6, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eating2 Comments

If you grow a garden, especially in a climate with a short growing season, you know that one of your last harvest decisions is what to do with green tomatoes. If you harvest them before they are damaged by frost, many green tomatoes will ripened indoors. You can also preserve tomatoes while they are still green. Some can be eaten fresh too.

I share one of my favorite ways to eat fresh tomatoes this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon: dredged in cornmeal and fried in a pan. Successfully making fried green tomatoes, with a just-soft, sweet interior and crisp outer shell that stays attached to each tomato slice, depends on the tomatoes you choose and the way you prepare them before you add them to the pan.
Learn to make Fried Green Tomatoes