Sunshine Risotto

On September 15, 2023November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, grains1 Comment

The risotto recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon started out as a from-the-freezer meal. It tastes of summer, but the grated and frozen summer squash, burst yellow tomatoes, and dried basil and parsley aren’t nearly as photogenic as fresh, barely cooked tomatoes and thin slivers of fresh squash and herbs. I altered my original recipe just so I could photograph the fresh dish, and it’s become a summertime favorite, especially when I’m cooking for family or friends.

My column includes both the fresh and the frozen versions, with the steps for adding fresh ingredients in the recipe and notes in the header for making this risotto in winter. Sungold, yellow pear, and other cherry-size tomatoes are so easy to freeze: just give them a rinse and pop them in a freezer bag. For summer squash, you’re getting the prep out of the way by grating and freezing. Drying herbs is simple, especially if you follow these tips. With these ingredients in your freezer and spice rack, along with homemade vegetable stock, this risotto becomes a sunny midweek, midwinter meal.
Learn to make Sunshine Risotto from fresh or frozen vegetables

Roasted Winter Vegetable “Grain” Bowls

On April 6, 2023November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry storedLeave a comment

In my area, snow and ice continue to cling to shady places and most growing spaces have yet to transition past mud to diggable soil. Spring cleanup outdoors will happen slowly for now, but indoors is a different story, as I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I’m focused on emptying my food storage spaces before the next round of growing and harvesting kicks in.

In my house, I’m making room in my freezer and on my canning shelves, both of which I filled to overflowing last year. But the main effort is to eat up dry-stored produce that has been keeping well in boxes but won’t continue to do so for long. The recipe in this week’s column uses some of these long-held homegrown vegetables, but they’re also ones that are easily attainable and affordable in grocery stores this time of year.
Learn to make Roasted Winter Vegetable “Grain” Bowls

Winter Squash and Mushroom Risotto

On March 23, 2023November 18, 2023 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, dry stored1 Comment

I feel lucky that my homegrown winter squash has held up so well in storage this year. First deer that found their way into the garden attempted to gnaw through their thick skins. Then we had several huge temperature swings throughout winter, including an extended power outage during subzero temperatures. Yet the squash kept in storage until now, ready for the delicious risotto I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

You can use all sorts of winter squash in risotto, from the pictured kabocha to delicata, butternut, or pumpkin. The same goes for mushrooms; cremini are readily available, but as local mushroom farming becomes more popular, it’s becoming easier to mix in oyster mushrooms, chestnut boletes, or other varieties. I recommend making your own vegetable stock too; it likely won’t be as thick or salty as store-bought broths. If you make a large batch and then freeze it in 1-cup portions, it will be ready to defrost for a range of risottos.
Learn to make Winter Squash and Mushroom Risotto

Squash and Rice

On February 13, 2020February 13, 2020 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Dry storage, Ingredient, UsingLeave a comment

Squash and pumpkins keep far longer than you think and can be eaten from sunup to sundown. Get winter squash recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Our winter squash and pumpkin crop yielded little last year, and as I packed away other storage veg, I thought I would have to do without a cold-weather stash. But as daylight waned, friends and family kept sending me home with squash, most fearing it would spoil before they could use it or lacking inspiration for how to prepare it.

If you’re in that camp, this week’s post should both quell fears and inspire delicious meals. Winter squash and pumpkins keep far longer than people think, particularly if they’re properly cured and stored. And they can go in a range of meals, from breakfast to lunch to dinner to dessert. As a bonus, they’re easy to prep and cook ahead for multiple quick, unexpected meals, like risotto and curry.
Learn to make Thai Squash Curry and Squash–Mushroom Risotto

One Prep, Two Meals: Potatoes

On October 24, 2019December 25, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Ingredient, UsingLeave a comment

Potato bowls travel well and fit my one prep, two meals plan. Get potato recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
A surprise project has me taking a break from preserving recipes this week: Waggoner Cruising Guide decided to publish a Twice as Tasty recipe. It’s online now and will appear in the annual guide and a cooking ebook next year. I’m so excited to share Twice as Tasty food with cruisers that this week’s post includes a paired recipe that I often make when we’re on the water.

The Waggoner Guide is considered the bible for Pacific Northwest cruising. It’s flagship tome, updated annually, has been guiding marine travelers for 25 years. You’d be hard-pressed to find a boater from the Puget Sound to Alaska who doesn’t have a copy.

For Waggoner, I chose a recipe that I make almost every time we spend a few days aboard a sailboat: potato bowls. This variation on stuffed baked potatoes doesn’t need an oven. They also fit my one prep, two meals plan, with extra potatoes rolling into a next-day salad with minimal effort. And some prep tricks make both dishes ideal for outdoor adventures.
Learn to make Potato Bowl with Black Bean Sauté and Quick Potato Salad

One Prep, Two Meals: Couscous

On July 25, 2019December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Ingredient, Using, WorkshopsLeave a comment

Quick meals don’t get any easier than boiling water, pouring it over couscous, and adding fresh veg and canned beans. Get couscous recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Hopefully you’ve been inspired by all of this month’s recipes to look beyond leftovers and use the one prep–two meals formula. If couscous isn’t a staple in your pantry, this week’s post may surprise you as much as risotto did last week. But once you try these recipes, you’ll stock up on couscous for plenty of quick, easy meals. Just as fresh pasta outshines dried in any meal, instant couscous can’t compete with semolina grains steamed in stages in a couscoussière. But for quick meals at home, in the woods, or on the water, it doesn’t get any easier than boiling water and pouring it over the couscous. Add some fresh veg and canned beans, and you have lunch and dinner ready in a snap.

Speed and ease are just two of the beauties of the recipes you’ll find here. As I shared with more than a dozen sailors in a workshop this week, the two recipes here can spawn many days of meals cooked in a galley or over a camp stove and grill: I always travel with several heads of preroasted garlic to serve on grilled pizza, sandwiches, and other meals. The extra half-batch of chermoula can be used as a shrimp marinade. Bonus cans of chickpeas can be mashed into hummus. Extra veg can be grilled or sliced for dinner sides or between-meal snacks. And homemade feta disappears so quickly into hungry mouths you could never travel with too much.
Learn to make Vegetable Couscous with Chickpeas and Feta and Couscous Salad with Raw Vegetables

One Prep, Two Meals: Risotto

On July 18, 2019December 1, 2019 By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Ingredient, Using3 Comments

Make-ahead risotto rice holds a regular slot on my dinner menu. Get risotto recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Risotto may seem like an unlikely candidate for the one prep–two meals formula: it has a reputation as a fancy meal that requires time and special care. But if you keep the right rice on hand and understand the basic technique, it simply becomes another fabulous way to stretch leftovers—and impress your friends at the same time.

These recipes build on the ratios given in Fresh Improv Risotto. So if you’ve already made versions of that recipe, or participated in one of my risotto workshops, familiarity will make your meals come together quite quickly. If you have yet to experiment with risotto, follow the recipes here and then check out the improv post for other risotto ingredient ideas.
Learn to make Garden Risotto and Last-Minute Shrimp Risotto