The story starts with my best friend Patty who has come to visit me in Santa Barbara from Boston. She knows everything about me and vice versa. When she arrived in CA she had met Jim but never spent much time with him other than casual short talks. On Saturday morning we all went to … Continue reading Patty & Jim in the Kitchen
Last Saturday, our good friends Celisha and Joe came over for dinner. They have a two-acre farm with cows, chickens, and a large garden. They brought us some raspberry jam and two large beautiful heirloom zucchini. Celisha said that the zucchini was great in zucchini bread so we decided to make some. Not having our … Continue reading Zucchini Bread
Like everyone else who shops at Costco, we grab one of their huge carts and end up buying a bunch of stuff that never appeared on our shopping list. This particular day it was pasta. I had been pestering Jim to make his (and Patty's) homemade pasta stuffed with roasted butternut squash and topped with … Continue reading Butternut Squash in Browned Butter & Sage Sauce
I had never heard of this dish but was cruising Reddit today and went to the r/cooking subreddit. Someone asked what classic French dish he could make for his girlfriend who loved French cooking. One of the replies was "Tartiflette." So I had to try making it. It is still a work in progress as … Continue reading Tartiflette
Know I'm really early with this post. Made this soup during a Super Bowl, James liked it so much he declared it family tradition. So now, we have this soup on every Super Bowl since 1994. Was feeling in need of basic nourishment last Sunday Ingredients: 1 pound Italian sausage, skinned and cut into 1-inch … Continue reading Tuscan Sausage and Bean Soup
We made this last night and Laura really liked it. It has the holy trinity of heat, sweet and salt that makes Asian dishes so good. It comes together quickly after you get everything prepped. Served it with rice and stir-fried boc choy with oyster sauce. Be sure to let the boc choy dry out … Continue reading Vietnamese Pork
When we fry food we always try to do it outside on the side burner of our grill. While we were gone in Wisconsin (we are back in Medford, yeah!) we had our gardener take our old nasty grill to the dump. I went down to Home Depot and bought a new grill and took … Continue reading Baked Eggplant Parmesan
This was the soup of the day at one of our favorite restaurants Heartbreakers in Antigo Wisconsin. Laura ordered a cup and immediately wished she had ordered a bowl. So we came home and tried to recreate it. It turned out very well and we recommend that you try it. It is rich enough to … Continue reading Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Up here in Northern Wisconsin we are awash in zucchini and yellow summer squash. I had never tried to make a summer squash souffle so last night I found a recipe online and tried it out. It turned out real well. I selected 5 of the smallest squashes I could find because the larger ones … Continue reading Yellow Summer Squash Souffle
Up here in Northern Wisconsin the farm stands now have lots of colorful cherry and grape tomatoes. Last night I made this recipe, which is vegetarian but nicely filling. Ingredients: 4 scallions 1 lb. cherry and/or grape tomatoes of any and all colors Kosher salt 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 1 tablespoon avocado oil, or … Continue reading Tomato Fried Rice
