Paring down

By Lori Powell
For One or Two Bites, a blog for singles and couples

So, Groundhog Day came and went and with it, the news that we have five to six weeks until spring. Feeling very inspired, I started on spring cleaning – or in my case, spring clearing – so that the cleaning part will be easier.

This past weekend, while Nemo was bearing down on the Northeast, I was pulling things from closets and making piles of no-longer-needed stuff that will be sold at yard sales or given away to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Old books will be donated to the local library to make room for the stacks of new books that have not had a home on my limited shelf space.

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A Meal from Mushrooms

By Lori Powell

My fridge is a bit empty due to my being out all last week on a location photo shoot. But if you have a pantry stocked with some good grub that includes some condiments, you’re well on your way to creating a delicious meal for one.

This week I’m going meatless and turning to some meaty portobello mushrooms. I am generally not a fan of these oversized fungi but when roasted, broiled or grilled whole they deliver a different world of flavor. You see, when roasted or broiled, the outside edges and gills get a bit crispy. On the grill over high heat, they get pretty much the same effect, with the added bonus of a smoky hit.

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A Garden in a Box

By Andrew Hunter

Who would have thought a garden could come in a box? I was waiting for an early afternoon coffee at a grocery store Starbuck’s when I spotted this box. I was intrigued because it read, “great for kids,” so after I got my espresso I went back to check it out.

The box claims you can grow oyster mushrooms on your kitchen counter. So I bought it and brought it home. Together, the boys and I followed simple directions where we cut open a bag, soaked it in water for 12 hours, misted it occasionally and, voila…a few days later baby mushrooms sprouted. The very next day, mushrooms were ready for harvest. It even grew a second round of the precious crop.

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Kitchen Yoga

By Lori Powell

Cooking for one is highly underrated and might seem to some a tad lonely. My day job is to create recipes to serve at least four or more people and sometimes involves working in the company of others. So I embrace MY time alone in the kitchen where the only sounds I hear are from my knife chopping and slicing or something sizzling and speaking to me from the pot on the stove.

Being alone in the kitchen is when I can truly lose myself in the ingredients and smells of conjuring up a nourishing meal. Everything else that happened that day gets drowned out by the current task at hand. It’s not unlike a runner who gets in the zone on the track and their single focus is to move forward.

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Couscous Makes an Easy, Go-To Meal

By Sandy Hu

I’m on Twitter every weekday afternoon as @specialforksndy trying to help people with their most pressing need of the evening: what to cook for dinner. One of my favorite ideas for cooks in a hurry is couscous salad.

Here’s the couscous recipe in a tweet, under the 140 character limit: “Boil 1 ½ c broth; add 1c couscous. Off heat, cover & stand 5 mins. Fluff w/fork; add chick peas+g onions+feta cheese+olives+Ital dressing.”

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