Brine-Braised Breakfast Potatoes

On March 9, 2023March 9, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, Ingredient, UsingLeave a comment

Two questions come up often when someone lets me ramble on about pickling and fermenting: What do you do with all of those pickles, and what do you do with the leftover brine and whey? In my Twice as Tasty column this week for the Flathead Beacon, I give the basic answer for both questions: Use it.

Pickles can be more than snacks and condiments. I have so many uses for pickles that I created a special recipe collection, The Pickled Picnic, to accompany my pickling cookbook. Once I empty a pickle jar, it still holds brine, a fabulous ingredient for sautés, salad dressings, and more. When I make yogurt and cheese, the leftover whey has multiple uses, giving a two-for-one punch to every gallon of milk I buy.
Learn to make Brine-Braised Breakfast Potatoes

Quick Stock and Soup

On March 26, 2020March 26, 2020 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, Using3 Comments

During your soup prep, you can make a quick stock just for your evening meal—or to share with housebound family and neighbors. Get stock and soup recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I always have containers of various soup stocks in my chest freezer, just waiting for me to pull out and add to risotto, sauces, bean dishes, and chowders. But even my 5.5-cubic-foot chest freezer may be a luxury in your home. That doesn’t mean you need to miss out on the benefits of homemade stock.

By tacking just a little extra time onto your soup prep, you can make a quick stock just for your evening meal—no storage required. Quick stocks have many bonuses. They suck extra flavor and nutrients out of your soup scraps. That flavor changes every time you make a quick stock, aligning with the ingredients of your soup. Your soup will taste far better than if you just poured in water and far less salty than if you used store-bought bouillon or broth. All those benefits come at the cost of a few minutes spent on prep and a few cents spent on basic ingredients.
Learn to make Quick Top-to-Root Stock and Top-to-Root Minestrone

Stocks and Scraps

On March 19, 2020March 19, 2020 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Top-to-root eating seems more important than ever as we think about preparing better for the next crisis. Get stock recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
As I mentioned in last week’s blog post and at my earlier workshop at Free the Seeds, top-to-root eating focuses on savoring it all by putting tops, roots, shoots, peels, and other scraps to use. This idea seems more important than ever as we think about how we stock our pantry, plan our growing season, and in general prepare better for the next crisis.

If you haven’t explored the Recipe Index, cruise through it now; you’ll likely find plenty of new ways to use the ingredients you do have on hand. Here, I’ll highlight some ways to put what’s left after you’ve made those recipes—the scraps—to use.
Learn to make Vegetable Scrap Stock

Top to Root: Savoring It All

On March 12, 2020March 12, 2020 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Refrigerating, Using, Workshops2 Comments

In a workshop at Free the Seeds, I shared ways to eat from top to root. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
What do Bloody Mary mix, carrot-top salsa, yogurt whey muffins, and roasted raspberry jam have in common? All these delicious recipes rely on ingredients that typically head straight for the compost or sink drain. In the Twice as Tasty workshop at last weekend’s Free the Seeds fair, I shared ways to eat from top to root. Here I share my notes from the workshop, which include ways to give trimmings a second life, ban “discard” from your kitchen, and ultimately look at what heads for your plate versus your compost bin in a new way.
Read more about eating from top to root