Orange-Kissed Grilled Broccoli

On June 30, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grilled2 Comments

Since I live in the woods under shade-throwing conifers, surrounded by dense clay soil and frequently visited by deer and other grazing wildlife, I grow most of my vegetables on a friend’s sunny property. When one of us has a favorite crop, we can risk growing a little extra, knowing that if we’re overly zealous and successful the bounty will be divided between two kitchens. This year, broccoli is on the favorite-crop list, so in May we planted 18 starts, and we’re already harvesting our first heads.

As I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, the first stalks were sweet and tender, so I simply sliced them into a salad. But I’m now laying them on the grill alongside asparagus and other vegetables. Slicing broccoli down its length, from crown to stalk, creates pieces less likely to fall through the grill. When cooked over an open flame, the pieces stay crisp and crunchy inside while roasting to perfection on the exterior.
Learn to make Orange-Kissed Grilled Broccoli

Garden-Fresh Basil Pesto and Homemade Pasta

On June 23, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, sauces4 Comments

When I started this blog 6 years ago, one of the first recipes I shared was Basil Pesto Base, which I make in large batches in my food processor every time our basil plants threaten to flower and then freeze to use all winter. But recently, I had the chance to test mortars and pestles for The Spruce Eats and became hooked on the creamy texture of freshly pounded basil pesto. My reviews haven’t gone live yet on that website, but I couldn’t resist sharing the recipe and technique I developed during testing in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

Once I had several batches of freshly pounded pesto, I also couldn’t resist trying my hand at scratch-made pasta. With some tips and tricks—and a hand-cranked, countertop pasta maker—homemade pasta turned out to be far less messy and far less difficult than I had anticipated, with tasty results that paired perfectly with creamy, mortar-pounded pesto.
Learn to make Garden-Fresh Basil Pesto and Homemade Pasta

Mega-Mint Mojito

On June 16, 2022December 28, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn beverages, ColumnLeave a comment

In my Twice as Tasty blog post and column for the Flathead Beacon last week, I shared Strawberry Shortcake with Lilac Cream, one of my favorite treats for early-summer celebrations (like Twice as Tasty’s 6th birthday!). But I must admit that I tend to drink my desserts rather than eat them. So I would include this week’s recipe on the celebration menu too. It’s sweet enough to count as dessert in my book but simple enough to mix up for a spontaneous party—especially if you have a bottle of mint simple syrup stashed in your fridge.

As I note in this week’s Twice as Tasty column, you don’t really need a recipe to make simple syrup. But if you’re a by-the-book kind of person, I break down the steps here, along with tips and tricks for keeping it light and fresh.
Learn to make Mega-Mint Mojito and simple syrups

Strawberry Shortcake with Lilac Cream

On June 9, 2022November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, quick breads5 Comments

It’s hard to believe: Twice as Tasty turns 6 this month! If you’ve been following the blog from the beginning, you’ll know that every year I celebrate by sharing a birthday dessert recipe. In past years, I’ve shared highlights and recipes from the most recent year and plans for the future. This year, it’s just about the cake—shortcake, to be exact.

I’ve gone back to a favorite, and the blog’s first, birthday dessert and shared a streamlined version this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. The delicious scratch-made strawberry shortcake can be ready in less than an hour. Alternatively, you can go big on flavor the way I did in the original recipe by topping the dessert with lilac-infused cream, using the techniques I share in this post.
Learn to make Strawberry Shortcake with Lilac Cream

Creamy Balsamic Salad Dressing

On June 4, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, saladsLeave a comment

If you want to look pro in the kitchen with minimal effort and little expense, a smart move is to make your own salad dressings. As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, store-bought dressings are expensive and loaded with additives easily avoided in homemade blends. I eat salads almost daily in summer, but I never buy dressings and am convinced you don’t need to either.

Among the first recipes I ever published on this blog are my base blends for vinaigrette and creamy salad dressing. For one of my more popular workshops, I bring more than 30 ingredients to blend into personalized dressings. This week, I share one of my go-to combinations that builds on those basic ratios.
Learn to make Creamy Balsamic Salad Dressing and other vinaigrettes

Rhubarb–Apple Crisp

On May 26, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn baked, Column2 Comments

To me, nothing says spring like fresh rhubarb. I share the history of my fourth-generation rhubarb plants and my love for their ruby-red stalks this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. But what I’m really saying is that you couldn’t eat as much rhubarb as I have, and from such a young age, without becoming hooked on its tart fruit.

My pie-making grandmother baked plenty of those stalks between layers of her flaky crusts, but my mom was the master of rhubarb crisps. My column features a hybrid version of her recipe, mixed with apples and sweetened with a little honey, but you can find a pure rhubarb version here on the blog.
Learn to make Rhubarb–Apple Crisp

Drying Fresh Herbs

On May 19, 2022November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dehydratedLeave a comment

Almost everything I cook has a fresh or dried herb in it—and even if you barely cook, I’d bet you have at least a couple of jars of dried herbs in your kitchen. But as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, drying fresh herbs yourself, whether homegrown or store-bought, is an easy DIY project that will result in far better flavor and cost far less than commercially packed jars of dried leaves.

The column focuses on tips that will help you successfully dry a range of fresh herbs, but the first step may be to grow your own. Many herbs grow well in pots on a windowsill or deck. If you have more space, you can plant many types of perennial herbs now and see them pop up on their own year after year. Some can even grow until they produce seeds that you can save to cook with or to replant, such as fresh cilantro and its seed, coriander. And like sourdough starter, herbs love to be used: the more you cut them to use fresh or to dry, the more they grow and produce.
Learn about drying and using herbs

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