Posts Categorized: Expert Chef

Spooky Eyeballs

October 31st, 2011 by Erin Dow in Expert Chef, Family, Healthy Holidays

On a day when people like you and I, despite our better judgment, purposefully cart our children around collecting junk food, here’s a fun way to keep the spirit of healthy living alive tonight. When my children came home and saw these just casually hanging out on the kitchen counter, they were more than a little disturbed…and my kids are not easily impressed by anything I do. But with a few pieces of fruit and about 15 minutes with a paring knife, you’ll have a fun item to share for your Halloween celebration.

Veggie of the Month: October

October 13th, 2011 by Erin Dow in Expert Chef, Vegetable of the Month

If you used to find squash in your grandmother’s basement or tucked under your cousin’s bed, chances are they were the winter varieties like Acorn, Hubbard, and Butternut squash. Specifically bred for a tough skin and low-moisture yellow to orange flesh, winter squash ensured that families could store and eat the healthful vegetable throughout the winter. Some varieties will stay in perfect condition for six months or more when stored properly; in fact, my mother had a spaghetti squash perched on her basement steps for almost a year with no ill-effects whatsoever.

Slaw: Mayonnaise Optional, Flavor Guaranteed

September 29th, 2011 by Erin Dow in Expert Chef

Most everyone knows what coleslaw (or slaw) is and people love it or hate it; well, they generally either love or hate the version they’re familiar with. But there are infinite variations–often associated with a particular region–so we’re pretty much guaranteed that there are a ton of shredded cabbage salads we haven’t tried yet. Because of the ease of preparation, the almost infinite possibilities and the flexibility of the ingredients, slaw is a side dish stand-by that provides us with several significant benefits over other salad-type dishes.

Slaw: Mayonnaise Optional, Flavor Guaranteed

Meathead: A Blog Worth Reading

September 1st, 2011 by Erin Dow in Expert Chef

On the numerous occasions I’m asked how best to ensure success in the kitchen, my two part answer is always the same. If taste comes first, your starting point should be the freshest foods you can find. Whether it’s local and organic or supermarket and conventional, the best foundation for a satisfying meal–and its preparation–is starting with quality product. And with a modest investment in a simple digital thermometer, your workload, your risk and your frustration levels are all but eliminated.

Locavore: Healthy Eating = Eating Local

August 18th, 2011 by Erin Dow in Expert Chef, General

I’ve often written about the fact that eating the freshest, local and seasonally-relevant foods can make cooking easier: better quality ingredients = better flavor with less work. But finding local and seasonal foods can be challenging for people who aren’t dialed into the nuances of the growing seasons and the best sources for the amazing local products that surround them. Fortunately, there are numerous apps available for iPhone and Android devices that provide an easy solution. I’ve dubbed around with several of them on both platforms, and the one I recommend most is Locavore, obtainable at both the Apple App Store and Android Market and, as of this writing, available for precisely no money whatsoever. That’s my kind of price.

Posts Categorized: Expert Chef

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