Grilled Asparagus

On May 12, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grilledLeave a comment

Finally, the asparagus has decided to wake up and poke its tips through the soil in the garden. We’re expecting one more frost tomorrow night, but the subsequent forecast makes it clear I will soon be harvesting an asparagus crop.

You may think I’d wait for even warmer weather to make the grilled asparagus recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. But we have no fear of firing up our battered, hand-me-down Weber before the heart of the summer grilling season. Grilling is my favorite way to cook asparagus, and a hot grill is far more comfortable to stand over while the evenings are still cool. It won’t be long before the spears will be sharing grill space with a range of homegrown produce, including corn, eggplant, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and tomatillos.
Learn to make Grilled Asparagus

Cooking Wild Mushrooms

On May 6, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eating1 Comment

Northwest Montana has a reputation as morel country—one that’s unfortunately being increased by extended wildfire “seasons.” But as I learned by talking with local forager Dale Johnson for my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, morel mushrooms also tend to crop up in areas thick with cottonwoods. So we’ve been looking closer to home for these flavorful fungi over the last couple of weeks. No luck yet—I’m suspicious that they’ll be in hiding from the near-freezing nights as long as my asparagus—but we’re keeping our eyes peeled.

Dale shared more than just tips on foraging for morels. He also offered up some of his favorite cooking techniques, many of which apply to all sorts of wild mushrooms. He emphasized how there’s so much water in mushrooms like morels that they will have the best flavor and texture if they’re cooked first and then hit with butter, soy sauce, cream, or other favored ingredients. I’ll be following Dale’s advice and grilling or dry sautéing our morel harvest.
Learn to cook with wild mushrooms

Spring Vegetable Quiche

On April 28, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, pies5 Comments

If you’ve been reading my latest Twice as Tasty columns for the Flathead Beacon and some of my other recent work, you know that spring has been oh-so-slowly arriving in Montana, with days of sun, snow, rain, frost—and sometimes all four in a single morning. The garden is beginning to wake up, with the greens we let go to seed last fall sprouting in freshly weeded beds and my first round of cold frame seeds showing signs of life. Walking onions and chives have been available for harvesting in small quantities, and rhubarb and mint will soon be big enough for the first crisp and mojitos.

However, the asparagus is still stubbornly in hiding from freezing overnight temperatures. As soon as we consistently get nights just a couple of degrees warmer, I expect to gather enough of it and baby spinach for my first spring quiche.
Learn to make Spring Vegetable Quiche

Indian-Inspired Shrimp in Yogurt

On April 21, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eating1 Comment

I snuck lots of fun kitchen ideas in last week’s blog post, including my streamlined recipe for Homemade Yogurt, all of the homemade ingredients I use when making the bean dip featured in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, and my favorite homemade dippers. If you found the lineup intimidating rather than inspiring, you’ll like the shrimp dish that’s in my column this week. If you’re a gardener, you’ll likely reach for homegrown onion and garlic; if you’re near coastal waters, you may be hauling up shrimp pots or buying directly from local fisherfolk. Otherwise, I use it to feature a single homemade ingredient: fresh yogurt.

As I mention in the column, plain yogurt is the most versatile, whether you’re making your own or buying it at the store. From one batch of plain yogurt, I can blend a serving into a smoothie, mix another with jam and top it with granola, and stir some into a savory bean dip or the sauce I use on shrimp, fish, or potatoes.
Learn to make Indian-Inspired Shrimp in Yogurt

Creamy White Bean and Yogurt Dip

On April 14, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dipsLeave a comment

Although I’m in the mood for spring, Montana’s weather hasn’t been cooperating: we woke up to 10 inches of fresh snow on Monday. So it seems appropriate that I’ve been making and sharing hearty bean recipes in recent weeks in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon and on Fifth Season Fresh. These recipes can pair some of my summer freezer stash or spring green goodness with filling beans in dishes that bring a bright pop of flavor and warm me down to my chilly toes.

For a quick filling bean snack, check out the dip in my Flathead Beacon column this week. In it, I talk about choosing quality ingredients for simple recipes like bean dip. To my mind, that means homemade yogurt.
Learn to make Creamy White Bean and Yogurt Dip plus Homemade Yogurt

Sour Cream–Applesauce Coffee Cake or Muffins

On April 7, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, quick breads2 Comments

I offered up a streamlined version of one of my favorite coffee cakes in my Twice as Tasty column this week for the Flathead Beacon. The simplified recipe is easy to make with store-bought ingredients, many of which you probably already have in your kitchen. It’s also easy to pour the batter into a muffin pan and bake it into muffins.

Both shapes have their pluses and minuses. It’s attractive as a coffee cake for a group brunch, especially if you bake it in a springform pan, which makes it easy to release and shows off the streusel layers as you cut and serve it at the table. But that shape may be less ideal for an outdoor gathering or if the coffee cake will be eaten over several days at home. That’s when muffins make sense: They’re more informal but easy to eat on the go and keep well in the fridge or freezer. With either shape, you can upgrade my streamlined recipe by using scratch-made ingredients, like Homemade Sour Cream.
Learn to make Sour Cream–Applesauce Coffee Cake or Muffins

Chocolate–Sour Cream Cookies

On March 31, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, cookiesLeave a comment

Some years, I’ve spent April focused on recipes for making your own cheese and other homemade dairy products here on the blog. Now that I’m writing the Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, I’m rewriting some of those recipes with the tweaks and upgrades I’ve made to them over the years. I’ll be sharing those new-and-improved recipes here this month.

My Flathead Beacon column will feature recipes that use these fresh dairy products and hopefully inspire you to try making them yourself. I couldn’t resist writing in March about a few of those recipes, including Savory Herb and Sour Cream Scones, Sourdough–Yogurt Pancakes, and this week’s Chocolate–Sour Cream Cookies. So check out the recipes in the column, and then come back here to the blog for the homemade dairy instructions.
Learn to make Homemade Sour Cream and Chocolate–Sour Cream Cookies

Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

On March 24, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry stored1 Comment

Red beans and rice can be a simple comfort food, relying on browned onions and meat for its main flavor, but I take it much further in the vegetarian version I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. My favorite version of this quintessential Southern dish has a long ingredient list packed with flavor.

If you tend to believe that a recipe with more than a handful of ingredients is too complicated to make, look at this one again: You’re essentially dumping everything into a pot, cooking it, and serving it over steamed rice. And if you’re missing something on the list, you can pretty much cook the beans with as many of the ingredients as you do have and end up with a delicious meal.

There is one shortcut I use to shorten the ingredient list: If I’m cooking dried beans, I preseason them with many of the flavorings and then just add the final ingredients when I make the dish as a quick midweek meal.
Learn to make Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

Savory Herb and Sour Cream Scones

On March 17, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, quick breads1 Comment

No matter how cold or gray it is, it feels like a little bit of spring when I spot the first herb and bulb shoots poking through ice and snow. Although I freeze, dehydrate, and otherwise preserve homegrown herbs to use all year, I’m always eager for the first fresh cuttings. Once enough have popped up that I can do more than sprinkle them as a garnish, I make savory scones packed with fresh herb flavors.

I share a savory version of my favorite scone recipe in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. In early spring, I use chives and parsley, the first herbs that appear in my garden or I can get fresh locally. As the weeks pass, I start to swap in sorrel, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, dill, and more.
Learn to make Savory Herb and Sour Cream Scones and more

Hot Pearl Barley with Honeyed Nuts

On March 10, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry stored2 Comments

I didn’t learn to enjoy hot cereals until I spent a winter in St. Petersburg, Russia, with weeks of subzero mornings. A kasha blend of mixed grains is now one of my go-to breakfasts for chilly Montana mornings. Although delicious, it doesn’t taste or look as good when it sits, so it’s best made and eaten immediately. That’s why when I want to make a large batch of hot cereal to serve to a group or keep on hand to quickly reheat and eat over a few days, I choose pearl barley.

As I explain in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, I recently started making pearl barley in the pressure cooker, a technique I hadn’t thought workable because I feared it would foam and stop up the pressure valve. By using a water bath, that fear has vanished. The reward: it takes less than half the time as cooking pearl barley on the stovetop. So you can prepare it on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker, depending on the tools you have at hand.
Learn to make Hot Pearl Barley with Honeyed Nuts