Zesty Baked Chickpea Snacks

On February 27, 2025February 27, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry storedLeave a comment

Shell beans and other legumes form such a versatile and nutritious food group that we should all be eating more of them. They go in everything, whether blended into smooth, creamy hummus; softened in hearty soups; or left whole and slightly chewy in salads. It was only a few years ago that I discovered they also can become crunchy homemade garnishes and snacks ready for all sorts of seasonings, as I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

I’ll be using a variation on this week’s recipe to demonstrate the magic that happens when you toast, grind, and bloom spices in my free Seeds of Flavor workshop at Free the Seeds this weekend. Join me Saturday, March 1, in Kalispell in Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts and Technology Building. The free daylong event will be packed with workshops, a giant seed giveaway, booths hosted by local farmers and organizations, and a special keynote speaker to celebrate a decade of this fabulous educational and family-friendly gathering. Find all the info you need (like the full workshop schedule) on the website of the event’s organizer, Land to Hand Montana.
Learn to make Zesty Baked Chickpea Snacks

Shaved and Roasted Carrots with Harissa

On February 21, 2025February 21, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

Most of the snack recipes I’ve been sharing recently in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon benefit hugely from seasonings, but only with a light hand. Sheets of roasted seaweed and kale baked until crisp easily turn soggy, enough to make them chewy or fall apart, if you introduce too much oil or liquid.

This week’s recipe turns carrots shaved thin with a peeler or mandoline into slightly crisp strips that handle moist seasonings better than fragile leaves. The sturdy root vegetable won’t fall apart even when you toss it with olive oil, maple syrup, and harissa, a North African chile paste.

I included a recipe for my version of this traditional chile paste in my cookbook, The Complete Guide to Pickling. It takes just 10 minutes of hands-on time to make and lasts several months in the refrigerator. It’s worth keeping on hand because its so versatile, giving a little heat to everything from brined olives to grilled shrimp. It’s also a classic flavor in Harira (Moroccan Tomato Lentil Soup).
Learn to make Shaved and Roasted Carrots with Harissa

Oven-Roasted Kale Chips

On February 13, 2025February 13, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, fresh eatingLeave a comment

It took me some time to become a fan of kale. When I was a kid, it hadn’t yet been popularized by the clean-eating crowd, so my dad never grew it. As an adult, every time I bought a bundle at the grocery store, it seemed overly chewy and fibrous—one of those vegetables you’re supposed to eat because they’re good for you but you don’t really enjoy. It wasn’t until I started growing kale in my own garden and harvesting young, tender leaves that I became hooked on its many varieties.

As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, an easy way to make kale crisp and chewable—whether the leaves are young and soft, larger and fibrous, or starting to wilt in the fridge—is to roast it. Even the toughest leaves take on a delicate, crispy texture once you remove them from their ribs and bake them as chips. They’re so fragile that when the chip container is empty, tiny flakes remain behind, along with some of the sesame seeds I used as seasoning. I sprinkle these on popcorn to savor every last bite.
Learn to make Oven-Roasted Kale Chips

Homemade Roasted Seaweed Snacks

On February 6, 2025February 6, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry storedLeave a comment

I’m planning to share some crispy snack food recipes this month in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. They’re great for those days when you can’t seem to get rid of the munchies but aren’t really hungry. I often make them before road trips, when it’s easy to plow through a whole bag of potato chips as dull miles of endless farm fields roll by.

My crispy homemade snacks are healthier than that bag of chips, seasoned for flavor, and made from ingredients available year-round. The ones I share this week pare down sheets of seaweed into bite-sized squares—just like the roasted seaweed snacks that have become popular on grocery store shelves but without all of that single-use plastic packaging. Making your own lets you control the flavor too. I often make mine from the scraps left after trimming the sheets down for homemade sushi rolls.
Learn to make Homemade Roasted Seaweed Snacks

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk Glaze

On January 31, 2025January 30, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, sourdoughLeave a comment

As the 8th Annual Sourdough Month comes to a close, it seems appropriate to end on a sweet note. This week’s recipe is also the culmination of the mother doughs and recipes I’ve been sharing in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon all month. I’ve now shared multiple ways to shape and bake each mother dough: dinner rolls, buns, crescents, loaves, and now cinnamon rolls.

Each mother dough isn’t just adaptable on its own; they’re often interchangeable depending on whether you want a richer, buttery dough or a sweeter, softer one. To put it simply, you can make delicious cinnamon rolls with either Sourdough Brioche Dough or Sourdough Crescent Dough.

Learn to make Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk Glaze

Sourdough Crescent Dough and Rolls

On January 23, 2025January 23, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, sourdoughLeave a comment

I originally hadn’t intended to share more than one mother dough during the 8th Annual Sourdough Month in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. But I’ve been playing with a second dough recipe this year that received such accolades when I shared it with friends and family that I couldn’t sit on it until next January. What started as a homemade yeast dough recipe that I then converted for sourdough was popular not just with sourdough lovers but also with those who grew up eating pop-can dough baked into crescent rolls.

I wasn’t one of those kids. When I was young, the only time we twisted open a can of poppin’ fresh dough was around a campfire, where it was a special treat to wrap it around a thick stick, hold it over the open flame until it baked and browned on the outside, and then slide it off and fill the finger-size gap left in its center with jam or cheese. So my memories of the flavor of store-bought crescent roll dough are overpowered by the smell of woodsmoke and a taste closer to wood-fired pizza. I was quite prepared to shape my Sourdough Brioche Dough into crescents and leave it at that.

Learn to make Sourdough Crescent Dough and Rolls

Sourdough Brioche Loaves

On January 16, 2025January 16, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, sourdoughLeave a comment

With this week’s Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, you now have several ways to shape the brioche mother dough I’ve been focused on so far this month. The first technique shapes the dough into round rolls or slightly flatter buns, which bake freeform on a flat pan. You could turn the dough into larger freeform loaves and bake it the way you would Sourdough Cabin Bread, but such a buttery dough can make a melted mess of a baking stone. So the recipe I share this week bakes the dough in loaf pans—and it works particularly well in a covered Pullman pan.

I own two 1.5-pound Pullman pans from different companies. Both have a corrugated bottom and sides to help improve airflow and reduce condensation, but one also has a perforated bottom. When baking sourdough brioche bread and other buttery recipes in the perforated pan, I line it with parchment paper to keep butter from dripping through onto the floor of the oven.

Learn to make Sourdough Brioche Loaves

Sourdough Brioche Dough and Rolls

On January 10, 2025January 10, 2025 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, sourdoughLeave a comment

To kick off this month’s sourdough recipes, I share my brioche mother dough and explain how to turn it into rolls, either rounded for the dinner table or as slightly flattened buns to split for burgers. As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, this brioche dough has many uses. Once the dough ball is fully formed, you can bake it into all sorts of shapes. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite uses for this dough all month.

Brioche dough has a rich, buttery flavor and somewhat flaky texture that I feel is beautifully enhanced by the complex taste created by wild yeast. Brioche has less butter than croissants, but recipes vary widely in their butter-to-flour ratio. My version lands in the middle of many of the recipes I’ve tried. Brioche has plenty of eggs to make it denser than croissants and a little sugar—both granulated and milk’s natural sugars—to offset the tanginess of the sourdough. It’s also easier to make, with the soften butter pressed in at the start, long fermentation times, and minimal kneading.

Learn to make Sourdough Brioche Dough and Rolls

Broccoli, Tomato, and Pasta Soup

On December 26, 2024December 26, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, soupsLeave a comment

I’m all about easy meals as the year winds down. It’s one of many reasons to freeze, can, dehydrate, and dry-store homegrown or locally sourced vegetables when the garden produces more than you can eat fresh. Instead of needing to go to the store, you can “shop” in your freezer and cupboards, as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

The soup recipe I share uses frozen vegetables that you can put directly in the pot, without thawing them first. I do thaw the Homemade Vegetable Stock that provides a flavor base, because then the soup is ready faster and has a more consistent texture. Some of my favorite flavor upgrades include dehydrated Home-Smoked Chili Peppers in place of the paprika and Cold-Smoked Cheese for the finishing touch. If you’re just learning how to store in-season produce, make this soup with fresh ingredients now and you’ll have plenty of inspiration to preserve in-season produce when the garden and farmers’ markets are in full swing.
Learn to make Broccoli, Tomato, and Pasta Soup

Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies with Ganache

On December 20, 2024December 20, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, cookiesLeave a comment

One of the beauties of ganache is that it can be a feature or an optional decorative touch for a dessert. When I shared my recipe for Ganache (Chocolate Glaze), I emphasized how it can be drizzled over everyday cookies and other desserts to make them seem a little fancier. The recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon makes the creamy chocolate integral to the cookie, using it as the filling for peanut butter thumbprints.

The cookies I use as the thumbprint base are simply Fresh Ground Peanut Butter Cookies. Once you’re comfortable making those, then the chocolate upgrade creates a stress-free holiday version. If you bake them as thumbprints but run out of time for decorative chocolate, spoon it into their centers or pop open jars of homemade jam for the filling. Run out of time after you mix the dough, and you can easily bake it off with the traditional cross-hatched look. The everyday cookies are so delicious on their own that they’d be welcome at any party.
Learn to make Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies with Ganache