Browsing Category: Cooking

Green & Red Pesto Sauces for Pizza

We are getting close to the first hard frost (we had a few mild frosts the past week) here in the Northeast and that will mostly put an end to my home garden. While the basil is mostly past peak, I’ve done a pretty good job at keeping it trimmed. It hasn’t all gone to flowers and there are still plenty of leaves that will need to be cut and used.

One great way to use up a lot of excess basil? Make pesto. Sure, you can use it for pasta but did you know both red and green pesto sauces also work great on pizza? Continue Reading

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10 Low Effort Afternoon Snack Ideas

10 low effort but nutritious afternoon snack ideas

I keep snacking. All. the. time. That was probably the most consistent piece of feedback I kept getting during those early months of lock down. People that were used to the office environment were no working and sitting ten feet from their fridge. It was taking a toll on their waistline.

As a work from home, pre-COVID veteran, I had faced this battle myself and (mostly) conquered it years ago. The plan of attack is simple. Have a solid list of low effort snacks (sweet, savory, smooth, creamy) in the house and ready to go for that afternoon sugar dip.

These are my 10 favorite low effort afternoon snacks to stave off the munchies during that 3 p.m. conference call. Continue Reading

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The Best No Recipe Pizza Sauce

For the love of god stop buying overpriced pizza sauce at the grocery store. Especially this time of year where local tomatoes are abundant. There’s no need to over complicate your pizza.

Pizza should cook quickly, whether it’s on a pan, stone or grill. There’s no time or reason to let a complicate sauce cook and simmer on your dough. Trust me, your local pizza shop isn’t doing this. There is an easier way! Continue Reading

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Types of Salt & How to Use Them

types of salt and how to use them

If you’re going to call one item in your pantry an essential ingredient than it should probably be salt. Salt is an important flavoring but also much, much more and likely used in just about every recipe you prepare.

Not only an essential cooking ingredient and taste modifier, sodium chloride is also an essential nutrient that we can’t survive without. Essential indeed! 

But what is the difference between the most common types of salt: kosher, table, and sea salt? And how best are they used in the kitchen? Continue Reading

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3 Quick, Easy, and Healthy Summer Fruit Popsicles

3 quick and easy summer fruit popsicle recipes

We recently went blueberry picking at a nearby farm. Turns out, when you are required to wear masks and can’t do any field sampling, you fill up your bucket much faster! It also happened to be really hot that week and turning on the oven at all for preserves and jam wasn’t appealing.

We ate many of them fresh but we also had fun coming up with a blueberry popsicle recipe that tasted way better and was way more healthy than the vibrant blue ice pops that typically fill our freezer. Continue Reading

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3 Simple Tricks to Picking the Perfect Watermelon

3 tips to picking the perfect summer watermelon

Is there a fruit more associated with a season than watermelon? Maybe fall and apples but the red, sweet, dripping melon is an automatic taste reference point for hot summer days in July. Picking out the perfect watermelon for your BBQ or beach picnic can be tricky.

There aren’t a lot of outward clues between a sweet and juicy watermelon and a dry, cottony dud. So how do you pick the perfect summer watermelon? Do you just close your eyes and pick? No. There are a few things you can look for that will increase your chances of picking a ripe and ready winner. Continue Reading

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