Warm Quinoa and Feta Salad

On April 18, 2024April 18, 2024 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, saladsLeave a comment

We’ve had our usual cyclic spring weather in Montana, with a high of 76°F on Sunday followed by nights in the 20s. It makes me appreciate even more the first spring greens and herbs that eagerly pop through the sun-warmed soil and then tough out the crisp nights and frosty mornings. As I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, my first spring salads mainly consist of store-bought ingredients and sneak in handfuls of whatever garden treats appear first for fresh pops of green.

I make variations on these spring salads throughout the growing season, transitioning to homegrown summer vegetables and herbs as the weeks pass. But there’s something special about the ones made with those first perennial and self-seeded herbs and greens, the plants that bravely leaf out through 50°-plus temperature swings.
Learn to make Warm Quinoa and Feta Salad

From Garden to Oven

On May 28, 2020December 27, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, Using4 Comments

You can put the heat on unexpected spring vegetables, like lettuces and radishes. Get garden-to-oven recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
When the first vegetables grow big enough to harvest from the garden, I’m usually focused on enjoying them raw and fresh: leafy greens and herbs, green onions and garlic, radishes and peas. But as the recipes I’ve shared this month have shown, you can think beyond salads, garnishes, and snacks and actually cook these vegetables, whether they’re wilted over pasta or baked into a quiche.

You may already serve some spring produce, like asparagus and rhubarb, hot and sizzling. But it may never have occurred to you to put the heat on other vegetables, like lettuces and radishes.
Learn to cook spring vegetables and make Balsamic-Roasted Radishes

Spring Greens

On May 14, 2020December 27, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Ingredient, Using1 Comment

Hearty spring greens are delicious raw but can stand some heat. Get spring green recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Even in my cold mountain climate, harvesting from the garden has begun. After a winter of eating home-preserved food, I’m ready to start savoring fresh produce in my meals—and of course squirrel away tasty morsels for next season.

In our current social climate, this may be the first time you’re growing your own food, focusing on eating locally grown food, and thinking of saving your harvest for future enjoyment. If so, welcome to the club! You’ll find various ways to eat and preserve many delicious foods on the blog. I’m also continuing my sourdough starter giveaway all month for those who want to enjoy freshly baked bread with their garden goodies. In this post, I highlight some of my favorite early garden treats: spring greens.
Learn to make spring green meals and Wilted Arugula Pasta

Chive Blossoms

On May 21, 2019December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Ingredient, Refrigerating, Using1 Comment

Chive Blossom Vinegar taught me to love infusions beautifully dress salads. Get vinegar and salad recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
We recently had a friend over for dinner and somehow ended up talking about vinegar. Well, not just talking—I was soon pulling an array of vinegars from a shelf in my tiny kitchen and explaining why I have so many, how this is just the daily stash, where I store gallon jugs for pickling and canning, and how we had unexpectedly found a mother in one jug that I was using to start my own vinegar. I may have been a little excited.

You could say that the tang of vinegar is my jam. My pantry collection typically numbers 7 bottles, which I put into everything from drinks to mac and cheese to pie crust. But because I like to mix and match flavors and keep many herbs and spices on hand, I only saw the point of infusing vinegars after I discovered a chive blossom infusion in Harry Rosenblum’s Vinegar Revival. It’s so easy to make that my recipe varies little from his instructions, but my first attempt, and probably favorite flavor, used garlic chives. The resulting flavored vinegar beautifully dresses a salad featuring fresh spring herbs.
Learn to make Chive Blossom Vinegar and Herbed Bean Salad with Fresh Mozzarella

Mozzarella

On April 23, 2019December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Ingredient, Using1 Comment

Mozzarella was the first cheese I learned to make and use. Get cheese-making recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Mozzarella may seem like the epitome of soft cheeses, but as I’ve mentioned previously, it was the first cheese I learned to make. I have to thank the Cheese Queen, Ricki Carroll, for this: her books, kits, and company are the reason most people, including me and my young niece, started making cheese at home. Most of the recipes you’ll find today for quick mozzarella are nearly identical to her original kit instructions, including mine. But after years of making mozzarella at home, I’ve learned enough techniques and tips that I’m posting my own version, along with a recipe that will use the first harvest from your garden.
Learn to make Quick Homemade Mozzarella and Spring Pasta and Fresh Mozzarella Salad

Fresh Feta

On April 24, 2018December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Fermenting, Ingredient, UsingLeave a comment

I have a long list of reasons for making feta, starting with delicious and easy. Get homemade feta and salad recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I can give you a long list of reasons for making feta. It’s delicious. It’s relatively easy. It lets you become comfortable with many ingredients, tools, and techniques that are important in more finicky cheeses, including slow heating, powdered starter, held temperatures, curd cutting and stirring, hang draining, molding, and salting. It will impress all of your friends, if you decide to share. And did I mention how tasty it is?

In Greece and other Mediterranean countries, feta is as common as cheddar is in the United States. During my travels, I ate feta made from backyard goats and sheep, feta flavored with herbs just snipped in the garden, and feta in lots of salads. Feta is traditionally made from sheep or goat milk; if you can get your hands on either, you’ll get the best flavor. But even homemade cow’s milk feta tastes better than many of the most readily available commercial types.
Learn to make Dry-Salted Feta and Warm Quinoa and Feta Salad