Almond Tabbouleh in Tomato Cups

By Allison Kociuruba

There’s nothing like tomato season in my kitchen. From caprese to BLTs and fresh pasta sauce, I am constantly searching for ways to serve tomatoes for dinner. This week I’m trying an easy, virtually no-cook recipe that can be served as a first course or a vegetarian supper.

Tomatoes, particularly the large heirlooms we find at the farmers’ market, are great for stuffing and you can find uses for the pulp after you hollow out the tomatoes, so there’s no waste! This tabbouleh, studded with roasted almonds and the vibrant flavors of fresh parsley and mint, comes together easily and makes the perfect filling for the tomatoes.

Click to read more ...

Fall Memories – Candied Pecans

By Marilyn Hunter

When I was a little girl, we would pile into the family wagon (a Ford with “wood” paneling) and head to mamaw and papaw’s West Texas home for long weekends. Starting in mid-summer through the fall, my brother Eddie and I spent our afternoons gathering pecans from the backyard grove. We knew our efforts would be rewarded come Thanksgiving with Texas pecan pie.

Our boys may be years and miles away from my papaw’s backyard of pecan trees but I can still teach them the art of shelling and candying pecans.

Fancy pecans, candied with ginger and brown sugar, are a special fall treat. Package them in pretty jars and give as gifts, set around the house in small bowls as party treats, sprinkle over salads or mix with chopped fruit to sprinkle over ice cream for a quick and simple dessert. The boys love to snack on them all season long.

Click to read more ...

My Favorite Go-To Meal

By Joy Liao

Now that school is back in session, I’m reminded of one of my favorite go-to meals from my college days. While I, like most students, survived on microwave dinners, fast food burgers and instant ramen, I was always on the hunt for simple meals that required few ingredients and little prep time. My solution: Stir-fry Noodles.

Hearty and flavorful, this versatile, one-pan meal can satisfy the biggest of appetites. The recipe calls for few kitchen tools and no advanced cooking know-how, making it the perfect dish for the cooking newbie.

Click to read more ...

Surprise! These ‘Crab’ Cakes are Made with Zucchini

By Sandy Hu

Cherie Pollock of Orland, California, is one of those competent, talented home cooks who can whip up a beautiful gazpacho for 20 and still bake three pies from scratch for lunch. So when she told me about a recipe for ‘crab’ cakes made without crab, of course I was intrigued. Cherie didn’t know the origins of the recipe; she had received it from a friend.

I was skeptical of the outcome, at first. And had the recipe come from anyone but Cherie, I don’t know if I would have tried it. But I did yesterday, and when served hot and crisp, the patties were really quite good. And yes, they did taste surprisingly like crab cakes.

Click to read more ...

Fresh Nectarine Galettes

By Allison Kociuruba

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have quite a few houseguests. And by quite a few, I actually mean a LOT. It’s the blessing (and curse) of living in a popular travel destination.

Truthfully, I love it. We live far away from family and most friends so I relish in entertaining familiar faces and sharing the hidden gems of the Northern California coast.

Because we often eat out with guests, I don’t get to cook as much as I’d like, so I try to surprise everyone with baked treats when they wake up. I’ve done the yeast-risen cinnamon bun thing but setting the alarm to wake up over an hour before everyone else was not much fun, so my latest trick is these fresh fruit galettes.

Click to read more ...