Maple-Glazed Carrots

On November 22, 2023November 22, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry storedLeave a comment

My Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon went live early this week so that you have ample time to add its recipe to your Thanksgiving meal. Maple-Glazed Carrots slide in easily among traditional dishes, offering a hint of sweetness and touch of spice without overfilling a plate or adding excessive time to your prep. Their simplicity belies their flavor, which is rich enough to nestle against more complex holiday dishes or gussy up a weeknight meal.

Because they’re made in one pan on the stovetop, they don’t need space in an oven already claimed by a Thanksgiving turkey, dressings, or pies. Best of all, if your feast numbers swell and you have a bag of carrots in your refrigerator, you can glaze them quickly using kitchen staples and add this stress-free side dish to the holiday spread at the last minute. If you just bought carrots with their tops intact, take a nibble of their greens: Those that were recently harvested and remain sweet can be blended into a delicious herb salsa garnish.
Learn to make Maple-Glazed Carrots

Adapting Desserts

On April 23, 2020December 27, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Freezing, Topic2 Comments

Make easy desserts and three-ingredient cookies from your freezer and pantry. Get dessert recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I went so big on adaptable dinner ideas last week that I decided to step back and focus on just a few favorites when it comes to desserts. At least that’s my excuse—I actually find it easy to skip dessert, far easier than running out of cheese. When I do crave dessert, I’m often just as happy with a couple of squares of dark chocolate alongside a nightcap. But the rest of my family would disagree that dessert is expendable. My dad just bragged about how since he’s buying groceries less often, he’s cut back to two desserts a day.

So for those with a sweet tooth, I highlight some recipes that can likely be made without a trip to the store. As a bonus, some take minimal prep time, and some don’t require dessert staples, like flour, that may be in short supply. I also give you the simplest cookie recipe you’ll ever find—shortbread—and plenty of ideas for gussying it up.
Learn to adapt desserts and make Improv Shortbread Cookies

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

Adapting Breakfasts

On April 9, 2020December 27, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Freezing, Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Working from home, my first meal of the day is healthy, varied, and enjoyable. Get breakfast recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
If you’ve been staying home these last few weeks, one of the biggest changes to the way you eat may be at breakfast. If you have a job outside the home, or kids to get to school, or a daily routine that start with a gym or other leave-the-house activity, you likely rush out the door with little thought for breakfast—or perhaps no food in your belly. Cooked breakfasts, and particularly family breakfasts, might be reserved for weekends or even holidays. If you want to turn staying at home to your advantage, using it to break old habits and improve routines, I can’t think of a better place to start than the first meal of the day.

That doesn’t mean you need to wake up in the morning ready to spend hours slaving in the kitchen while your family eyes you hungrily. If “slaving” is the word that comes to mind over preparing any meal, then something is out of sync. And just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you have any more time to cook breakfast than you would normally. But it does mean you have access to a fuller kitchen than is found in your car or corporate office, and you have at least some ability to stock it with a wider variety foods than will fit in your day bag or desk drawer.

As someone who has worked from home for years, I’ve found plenty of ways to make my first meal of the day healthy, varied, and enjoyable. Here are some of my go-to breakfasts at home.
Learn to make pantry breakfasts and Improv Smoothies

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

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

Eggs

On November 27, 2018December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, IngredientLeave a comment

Custards and puddings let fresh ingredients shine even as they use leftovers. Get simple pantry dessert recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
For this month’s recipes on cooking from the pantry, I use the word “pantry” loosely: it encompasses foods you keep on hand in your cupboards, your freezer, your refrigerator, and perhaps even boxes under your bed. With these basic ingredients, you can pull together dishes with little notice or effort, whether for breakfast, dinner—or now dessert.

Baked custard is a childhood favorite. My grandmother made it as an afterschool snack for me and my sister—and apparently for my mom, because I have it on an old recipe card in her first cursive writing. Custard needs such simple ingredients that even though you can make it from the cheapest milk and eggs on the shelf, local farm-fresh ingredients will take it to another level—one you can taste and see, thanks to a golden yolk. Rice pudding, a more filling variation on the custard theme, has the added benefit of using up leftovers.
Learn to make Golden Baked Custard and Baked Rice Pudding

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