I always enjoy starting a lunch or dinner meal at a restaurant with a cup of soup. Except for French onion soup, which I don’t like, or something very spicy, I’m quite open to a wide assortment of soups, like creamed ones, thick ones with grains, barley, orzo or others with meatballs, poultry, cheeses, and…
Category: gardens, flowers and vegetables
Shrimp Couscous Vegetable Chowder
I’m a big fan of shrimp, cooked in nearly any manner. I ate shrimp often as a teenager, since our mother took us, my three younger siblings and I to Florida’s beaches for Christmas break. There, I acquired a taste for shrimp cocktail, served with lemon slices and hints of a spicy cocktail sauce. I…
Baked Chicken, Pasta and Vegetable Casserole
I rarely make homemade chicken stock.
Zucchini Patties
As gardeners and cooks know, zucchinis, especially in summer, present a cornucopia of this green goddess fruit. There are even cookbooks devoted to zucchinis, mixed with other ingredients. Plus with the internet, cooks are flooded with selections of zucchinis for steaming, frying, boiling, baking, roasting, just to mention some. Other dishes mix this vegetable, shredded…
Mashed Cauliflower – Zucchini Bowl
Even though cauliflower appears plain and simple, I’ve always liked it. In simplicity shines its appeal. As a side-dish it compliments more substantial foods, like steaks, chicken, pork. It doesn’t scream out for attention, but certainly adds to a meal with its mild flavor. Some people say it has a sweet nutty flavor, a bit…
Old Fashioned Stuffed Peppers, Twisted and Colorful
I love color in food, in my kitchen, on plates, throughout my house, on walls, carpets, bathrooms, especially the garden, (where I grow an abundance of flowers and vegetables), wherever I ramble, play or work, my eyes open wide for color. Color at the grocery store, such as fruits and vegetables call to me; I…
Pork, Peppers, Pasta and Broccoli – A Skillet Dinner
For some reason, which feels a bit murky to me, our family didn’t eat many fresh vegetables, and that tradition stayed with me for decades and decades. Naturally we ate high quality Le Sueur canned peas, since our maid, directed from Mom, I suppose, bought only the best quality, at least with the peas. Deep…
Shrimp, Broccoli and Pasta Swirl
Leftover spaghetti is boring! It’s hard to make it tasty the next day; it’s so plain. I enjoy freshly cooked spaghetti, but leftovers are not for me!. I often end up tossing leftovers in the trash, saying darn that so much has gone to waste! However, it was fun using up leftover spaghetti recently, from…
Chinese Style Roasted Chicken Thighs: Cabbage, Garlic and Vegetables
I ate chicken often as a child; my mother did too, but not because she cooked it, we were fortunate and had a housekeeper who cooked and shopped for our family. Mostly I recall eating chicken as a leftover in such dishes as chicken a-la-king over rice, probably served with a variety of canned veggies…
Stuffed Jumbo Shells, 4 Cheeses, Layered with a Meaty Marinara Sauce, Baked
Pasta for lunch, usually curly kinds or other elbow shaped varieties were common in my childhood. That’s what our live-in maid/housekeeper cooked for us, ( my 3 younger siblings and I) often with butter swirled in, plus a smattering of American cheese scattered from above. As an adult I’m still fond of that meal, but…
Marilyn Raff 