By Cynthia Sadurni Arroz con leche, rice pudding Mexican style, is one of those comfort food desserts of my childhood. It is sweet and wholesome, almost like a loving hug. This delicious and easy to prepare sweet treat comes to us from Spain, and before that, well, that is quite a long story! There are…
By Marj Watkins My father cherished his half-dozen bee hives. The bees never stung him. He placed some hives in his friend’s orchard, where they helped the fruits to thrive by pollinating the flowers. Honey is one of the oldest sweeteners in the world. Many variations of honey are cherished around the world, both for…
By Nichole Banducci You’ve gotta try this perfect, unexpected fall / winter salad. It’s a family favorite during the holidays, but honestly, I can sit down with a plate of it at any time. Roasted squash, onions, and apples provide a uniquely delicious base, highlighted by tart cranberries, crunchy pecans, and salty/sweet manchego cheese. The…
By Marjorie Watkins with Suzanna Leigh Winter winds mean it’s chicken soup season! For soup stock, you can use canned chicken broth or chicken broth cubes and water, or you can make your own broth with chicken bones. My grandmother Fanny taught me how to make the bone broth. Fanny and Albert, my grandfather, came…
By Lauren Garaventa From the Editors: It’s the season when many of us cook at home more often, and a great time to learn more about new ingredients and kitchen staples. With this in mind, The Loop’s Caitlin Rothermel interviewed Lauren Garaventa (proprietor of The Ruby Brink) to find out more about the dos and…
By Marjorie Watkins with Suzanna Leigh While I was writing this column for The Loop, my son Steve, daughter Suzanna, and I got to talking about breakfasts we’ve eaten in other countries. Steve and I remembered a Japanese breakfast of hot rice with egg. The raw egg was put into a depression in the rice…
By Eva Deloach We love the foods of the fall time and want to highlight from time to time some of the not so-widely used ingredients to add to your own fall food home-cooked creations. This time around, it’s Black Buffalo barley. We brought this very ancient, naturally hull-less barley in to Minglement a long…
By Marj Watkins, as told to Suzanna Leigh “Oh Mom, venison again?!” When I was growing up during the depression, eating all of my meals at home, breakfast was usually oatmeal mush with sugar and milk. We didn’t look forward to it, but when you are hungry, you eat whatever is presented. If we didn’t…
By Claudia Hernandez Not much is better on a leisurely weekend afternoon than a snack of sharp cheese, good bread, and a homemade preserve. At once spicy, sweet, and tangy, this plays well not only on a cheese board, but also spread on roasted winter squash or a sandwich. This recipe for Autumn Plum Chutney…
By Marjorie Watkins When I was a little girl, almost 6 years old, I heard the grown-ups talking about the stocks falling, and I imagined the cows tripping and falling down. On Gramma Brunson’s farm, they had seven cows. All those cows fell down? Oh, that is sad! I hope someone helped them get up….