Keeping the Castle

July 20th, 2008

New Page: Dairy-Free and Nut-Free Cooking

I’ve been writing about allergy-free cooking  since the very beginning of this blog. I know that a lot of families also have to deal with the challenges that dairy- and nut-allergies pose. So I’ve put together a list of recipes and tips for cooking without eggs, milk or nuts. The page is “Dairy-Free and Nut-Free […]

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June 29th, 2008

Quick Barbecue Tips

Summer is the time for barbecues. Here are two quick tips to make this warm season ritual even easier:
* Use cardboard egg cartons and charcoal briquettes to start up the grill. Place the briquettes in the sections of the carton. Close it and place in the bottom of the grill. Light it up. The […]

By Maricar -- 1 comment

May 8th, 2008

The Winner of The Very Best Cooking Guide & Recipe Organizer

Thank you to all of you who joined the giveaway for The Very Best Cooking Guide and Recipe Organizer!
To pick a winner, I used random.org to generate a random number. And that number is:
 
# 48, which corresponds to commenter:
Patricia HillMay 2, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I really need this

Congratulations, Patricia! Watch for […]

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May 7th, 2008

Tips for Cooking with Lemons

What’s in a lemon?
A medium-sized lemon contains approximately 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
When buying lemons, choose those that have smooth skins and small ends. They should feel heavy for their size. If using the zest or peel for cooking, buy organic.
Keep lemons in the refrigerator to […]

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March 30th, 2006

A Columnist’s Response to “Culinary Illiteracy”

A few days ago, I blogged about Candy Sagon’s article about how “culinary illiteracy” has taken over American kitchens. Tim Rowland of the Herald-Mail responds to this article and lightheartedly defends the homecook.
Says Roland:
It is only natural, I suppose, that they would want to blame us, the home cooks, for a problem that is clearly […]

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March 23rd, 2006

Are You Cooking-Challenged?

Today’s cooks are less knowledgable than the previous generations. This is according to Candy Sagon of the Washington Post. As a result, food companies like Kraft Foods and Betty Crocker avoid terms such as “braise”, “fold” and “sear”.
That may be, but I agree with Beth Wareham, a director at the company that publishes the “Joy […]

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March 20th, 2006

Cooking Just for Two

It’s a challenge to cook just for one or two people when most recipes are for 4 or 6 servings. For singles and couples who have no children, the choice often comes down to eating out or repeating meals to the nth degree. But for those who really want to enjoy a home-cooked meal, resources […]

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March 16th, 2006

Artichokes and Clams

You know how some ingredients seem too intimidating to cook or prepare? It’s clams and artichokes for me, though not necessarily in the same dish. To be honest, I’ve never cooked either. Clams are just strange creatures. Difficult to open, and their insides don’t make sense to me, even after all the biology classes I’ve […]

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