Home-Spiced Nuts

On December 23, 2021February 26, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry storedLeave a comment

I love home-spiced nuts at the holidays. I reach for them long after I’ve tired of the endless sweetness of cookies, and they’re just as tasty on a cheese and pickle platter as a eaten straight from the jar with a cocktail.

The recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon not only explains how to make your own spiced nuts but also gives you plenty of options. From my favorite homemade sweet-and-spicy blend, to a premixed garam masala, to an infused salt variation, there are ideas for every occasion.
Learn to make Home-Spiced Nuts and my Sweet Spice Mix

Ginger-Spiked Carrot and Apple Pickle

On December 16, 2021November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, Cookbook, pickles2 Comments

Pickles have been a holiday staple since I was a kid. A bowl of home-canned pickles always sat on the dinner table at gatherings. While we waited for guests to arrive, my dad would be sneaking Christmas cookies, but I’d be dipping the cute little serving fork into the pickle bowl. If we set the table too early, I could nearly empty that bowl before the doorbell rang.

The flavorful pickle I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon adds a bit of zing to many rich holiday main dishes and puts a splash of color on the table. It’s one of the 125 recipes you can find in my cookbook The Complete Guide to Pickling.
Learn to make Ginger-Spiked Carrot and Apple Pickle

30-Minute Tomato Soup

On December 9, 2021November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, soupsLeave a comment

In this week’s Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, I share one of my favorite soup recipes. Even my sister, who grew up unimpressed by many tomato dishes, has gotten hooked on this soup. It’s quick, easy, and uses the homegrown produce that’s been stashed away for the winter. In the column, I share my storage methods for its main ingredients, hoping to entice you to plan ahead next growing season. I also tell you how to make it right now with whatever tomatoes and onions are in your kitchen.
Learn to make 30-Minute Tomato Soup

Crumble-Top Deep-Dish Apple Pie

On November 25, 2021November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, piesLeave a comment

It’s feast time! I’m excited to be featured in the holiday feast issue from the Flathead Beacon—especially because my contribution, Crumble-Top Deep-Dish Apple Pie, made the front cover of the print edition. If you can’t pick up a copy locally, you can find the story online.

If you read to the end of the story, you’ll find the other reason I’m so excited to share this piece: Starting next month, I will be joining the Flathead Beacon as a food columnist. I’ll share more about that project—and some changes coming to this blog—when the first column goes live.
Learn to make Crumble-Top Deep-Dish Apple Pie

Cranberries and Garlic

On November 19, 2021November 19, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Ingredient, Using3 Comments

Here are three articles that feature two of my wintertime favorites: cranberries and garlic. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
I have three articles to share this week that feature two of my wintertime favorites: cranberries and garlic. They include some family history, some reasons to eat both of these superfoods, and a couple of delicious recipes. You’ll find inspiration for your holiday table and potential items to add to your wish list or gift to your favorite chef.
Learn to make Spinach Salad with Cranberry Sauce Dressing and Immunity-Boosting Garlic Soup

Late Tomatoes

On November 11, 2021November 11, 2021 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Ingredient3 Comments

Late tomatoes never match midsummer fruit, but I treasure them as the season’s final flush. Get tomato recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Tomatoes are the last true summer crop that I grab from the garden. The shift comes as swiftly as the fall back to standard time: one deep temperature swing makes every green fruit still on the vine inedible. Each fall, I follow weather forecasts, gamble on their accuracy, and try to pluck every fully formed tomato before the first killing frost.

Even if I succeed, the reward isn’t the perfectly red, juicy treats I’ve been feasting on all summer. It’s boxes of hard, underripe tomatoes. Some I’ll eat or preserve while green, but most sit for weeks beside my desk, where I watch them gradually ripen.

These tomatoes never match the bright, sweet bite of sun-kissed midsummer fruit, but I treasure them as the season’s final flush. Rather than eating them out of hand, I’ve found that letting them cook slowly, like in this savory pie, maximizes their maturing flavor.
Learn to make Late-Season Tomato Pie and Herb and Cheese Pie Crust

Arugula

On November 4, 2021November 3, 2021 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Ingredient, Using4 Comments

Find out how I fell for arugula in my first piece for The Green Room. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
I’m excited to share my first piece for The Green Room, one that’s all about the arugula. I grow my own arugula all summer, and even now a self-seeded fall crop is doing its best to hang on in my cold frame. But not everyone has the time or space to grow their own greens. Fortunately, fresh arugula has been easier to buy year-round than when I first discovered this spicy green—as I explain in my story.

That’s partly thanks to companies like Fifth Season Fresh, which publishes The Green Room and is working toward a more sustainable global food system. Although its products are currently only sold in a trio of states, recipes that use them and loads of other fresh produce are at your fingertips for your next meal.
Learn to use arugula and make Penne with Wilted Arugula

Curtido

On October 28, 2021December 27, 2021 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Cookbook, Fermenting, Refrigerating, Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Can you believe that just 1 year ago I announced the release of my cookbook, The Complete Guide to Pickling? More than 6,000 copies have sold over the last year, and I’ve received such amazing feedback from readers. I’m particularly thrilled that I can continue to share some of my favorite recipes from the 125-strong collection. Thanks to Clean Plates, you can now learn more about—and how to make—my Cultured Curtido (Cabbage Slaw) recipe.
Learn to make fermented and quick curtido

Ginger and Lemon Cupcakes

On October 21, 2021October 20, 2021 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Topic4 Comments

These birthday cupcakes were created by an 8-year-old head dessert chef, with me as sous chef. Get cupcake recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I celebrate Twice as Tasty’s birthday every June with special treats and reflections on the past 12 months. But October is a big personal birthday month in my family. My niece Hayley celebrated her 8th birthday last week, and she and her dad made vanilla cupcakes with pink frosting and sprinkles for the occasion. For my birthday this week, Hayley was head dessert chef and I was sous chef, creating a new cupcake recipe inspired by one in American Girl Cupcakes.

If you peruse the Twice as Tasty recipe index, it’s clear that I love ginger desserts. You’ll find recipes for gingerbread pancakes, quick bread, and cookies. I also bake triple-ginger cookies and cake and use ginger in many other sweet and savory recipes. So when Hayley stopped browsing recipes on a page for gingerbread cupcakes, we knew we’d found this year’s Auntie Julie birthday dessert.

Our recipe brings in more ginger and spices, swaps some of the butter out for homemade applesauce, and makes other improvements. Hayley then helped me write the instructions and provided tips and tricks. The results are delicious.
Learn to make Very Ginger Cupcakes and Lemon and Sugar Glaze

Preserving Onions

On September 30, 2021September 30, 2021 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Cookbook, Refrigerating, Topic, Using1 Comment

Until I wrote the The Complete Guide to Pickling, I rarely pickled onions on their own. I dropped slices into other pickle jars, from refrigerator zucchini to canned bread-and-butter cucumbers to fermented kimchi. They weren’t just garnish and always ended up on sandwiches or in breakfast potatoes. But I rarely devoted pantry or fridge space to jars of pickled onions.

Once I started creating just such onion-focused recipes for the cookbook, I couldn’t stop. There were so many fun variations, flavors, and uses. Now I’m simply making the book’s recipes for my own enjoyment, and if you open my fridge today—you’ll find plenty of onion pickles.
Read more about preserving onions and learn to make Apple-Sweetened Yellow Onions