Submitted by Sunny McComber, Omaha, Nebraska During World War II, all the troop trains in my area were greeted—lovingly—by the ladies of North Platte, Nebraska, at the North Platte Canteen train station with cakes, pies, cookies, doughnuts, coffee, and TLC, as this precious young cargo headed for embarkation points. Grocery shelves were often nearly empty,…
The Family Table: From the Lean Years of War, Cake, Creativity, and Love for My Country
The Secret to My Great Grandma’s Cookies? Smash Them After Baking
When I stumbled upon the recipe for these pistachio smash cookies, I wasn’t sure what I had found. During one of my spontaneous urges to deep clean the house in the early months of the pandemic, I rediscovered a box of old family recipes tucked away in the laundry room. I hadn’t looked through the…
Pesto Turns a Simple Pasta Salad Into an Easy Dinner
Creamy pesto sauce turns a simple pasta salad with broccoli and tomatoes into a delightful dinner. Just before the pasta is done, add the broccoli to the pasta cooking water allowing it to slightly soften and turn a vivid shade of green. Pesto Pasta Salad Active Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Serves 5…
My Great Pizza Challenge
There are some who consider pizza the perfect food. It has complex carbohydrates, vegetables, dairy, and protein. OK, maybe “perfect” is stretching it a bit, but I remember when pizza was something you shouldn’t eat too much of because it might spoil your dinner. Now it is dinner. Millions of families rely on pizza because…
Once the Caramel Corn Pops, You Won’t Stop Snacking!
Did you know that popcorn comes in different shapes? There are two main kinds: butterfly (also called snowflake) and mushroom. Most of the popcorn you get at the movies or buy at the market is butterfly shape, which pops up light and fluffy with lots of “wings” sticking out. Caramel popcorn, however, is often made…
Satay Meets the Sheet Pan
In Cathy Erway’s book “Sheet Pan Chicken,” you’ll find myriad recipes for easy, unusual dishes. The author also advises on best sheet pans, nonstick versus non-nonstick, and how to choose a chicken, and features a chart on how to cook different chicken parts. In the world of Seriously Simple cooking, sheet pan cooking is definitely…
Strawberry Beet Salad With Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing Is a Must This Season
Let me start by saying that I’m not a beet-lover. At all. I don’t know what came over me when I first started thinking about this salad, but it probably had something to do with it being midwinter in New York, when the most color you get to enjoy is blue sky, if you’re lucky,…
Eat Your Greens, the Greek Way
In Greece, eating horta is a way of life. Though their name may literally translate to “weeds,” these wild edibles are considered far from that—they’re valuable delicacies. Horta is a generic name given to a vast variety of wild greens; some 300 edible species grow here, according to Greek and Mediterranean cuisine expert Diane Kochilas….
Homemade Hoisin Sauce Is a One-Pot Wonder
Have you ever looked at the back of a bottle of hoisin sauce? There are a lot of ingredients in it, some of which I’d rather avoid, which is why I prefer to make my own. Hoisin sauce is typically added to stir-fries and soups, and sometimes it’s drizzled over steamed Asian greens like bok…
The Comforts of Congee, However You Cook It
A hard cocktail of rain, wind, and snowflakes assaulted the farmers market last week. It was the kind of prolonged spring squall that has to make a farmer—more of whom showed up than shoppers—question his or her career choices. The only thing that sold out was coffee, because everyone’s hands were cold. A vat of…
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