Spare Ribs, Asian Style

By Sandy Hu

In our house, “spare ribs” in the summer means succulent meaty bones on the grill with a spicy rub or barbecue sauce. But come fall and winter, when we don’t grill as much, “spare ribs” is something marinated, then slow-roasted in the oven.

Chinese spare ribs are cut across the bone so you can pick up the pieces with chopsticks. You can find this type of spare ribs in a Chinese butcher shop or get your supermarket butcher to cut them for you. Chinese spare ribs always seem to be pork ribs, the better to add some sweet-tart flavors to complement the richness of the pork.

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Make an Easy, One-Skillet Meal

By David Hu

Here’s a recipe that’s especially welcome on nights when you just don’t feel like cooking. Meat, veggies and rice come together in one skillet, so dinner is an efficient, one-dish meal. You do have to cook some rice first, however, but if you have a rice cooker, it’s a simple matter to measure out the rice and water in the pot, turn it on and come back to it when the rice is done.

Ground beef or lamb, green pepper and eggplant are an especially delicious combination of Mediterranean flavors. Quick, easy and hearty, this is a great dish for a brisk fall day.

To get the recipe and shopping list on your smartphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device) or PC, click here.

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Corn Pudding for a Harvest Moon

By Marilyn Hunter

Harvest moon is that very special time of year when a big, bright, orange moon rises around sunset. Harvest moon, sometimes known as corn moon, got its name by the light it provided farmers, which helped them work late into the night at the peak of harvest.

These nights, when moon meets sun, are a joy for our boys. For them, this time of year means pumpkin patches, corn mazes and hayrides. For the family table, it means taking advantage of the wonderful fall produce…apples, squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and the last few days of corn season.

There’s a giant pumpkin farm, far from the bustle of the city, where we go for all of the above food and fun. It takes all day by the time we go, spend time and come home, but it’s worth the travel.

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Going Meatless with Eggplant Parm Stacks

By Lori Powell

Now that we know that we should eat more veggies (although I think we all knew this already), I thought, why not go for a meatless meal?

Eggplant Parmesan seemed like a wise choice, given all the eggplant I have on hand. A big plus when you’re cooking for one is, you can buy a small eggplant so it’s easy to prepare a single serving.

Eggplant, in all of its glory, is out and about in the market in all colors – dark purple, light purple, white, and light purple striped with white. And all sizes – from small rounds, skinny long, short ovals to egg- shaped. They are an international vegetable and hail from not just Italy, but Africa, China, India, Thailand, Turkey the Ukraine, as well as closer to home in such places as Louisiana (Louisiana Long Green).

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Crazy for Fried Foods from the State Fair

By Katie Barreira

If a year were a roller coaster, now would be that bit right before the big drop; a steady uphill chug and then, whoosh! Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and before you know it, bam, the ride’s over and it’s a new year. But even though Macy’s has already hung some tinsel, I am staying squarely in the moment and celebrating the unofficial holiday of early fall, State Fair Season.

There’s so much to love about this nondenominational tradition. Sheep shearing demos, blue ribbon bake-offs, prize winning poultry, a full-scale Jersey cow carved entirely out of butter and, at the very top of the list, the unabashed consumption of fried food.

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