RECIPE BOX « A Woman Sconed

Pleasing the plum palate

By rahoward, on September 23rd, 2018

Is it possible I’ve been hypnotized by a fruit? If so, it is the plum that has seduced me, once again. Fortunately — or not, really — the season is woefully short, but during it, I find myself drawn, again and again, to the stunning array of plums, pluots and plum/cherry hybrids, gleaming like jewels . . . → Read More: Pleasing the plum palate

Harvesting late-summer creativity with ratatouille

By rahoward, on September 22nd, 2018

If you’ve never seen the movie “Ratatouille,” you should. And if you’ve never made the vegetable dish that, in part, inspired the film’s name, you should go there, too. Both exemplify the best of what I love about art, cooking and creativity and the hope inspired in one’s passions.

Both are “simple”:

Released in 2007 . . . → Read More: Harvesting late-summer creativity with ratatouille

Baked Sunday Mornings: Sizing up a Monster Cookie

By rahoward, on September 9th, 2018

Many memories were stirred up as I mixed and baked a batch of Monster Cookies for the Baked Sunday Mornings online baking group this week. The recipe (you’ll find it here: http://bakedsundaymornings.com/2018/08/31/in-the-oven-monster-cookies/), from “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking,” by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito (2008), is an old-fashioned drop cookie, described as “One part oatmeal . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Sizing up a Monster Cookie

Hushing with a sweet Charlotte

By rahoward, on August 31st, 2018

“Curving back within myself, I create again and again.” —Bhagavad Gita

In recent years, I’ve pondered the word “faith” a lot. I think it’s a term most associated with religion, but beyond that, it is, I think, a firm, reliant belief that there is something beyond us, taking care of things or (here’s one to . . . → Read More: Hushing with a sweet Charlotte

Bread of the Month: Pureéing mango for quick bread

By rahoward, on August 28th, 2018

Idon’t have a lot of experience with mangos, outside of the occasional fresh spear or using frozen chunks (very handy and yummy) for smoothies. Mango is unique in flavor — it is subtle in both taste and texture, iseeming to fuse together peaches, pineapple, melon and citrus. It’s delicious, but not overpowering, a mellow . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Pureéing mango for quick bread

Roasting sweet tomatoes

By rahoward, on July 31st, 2018

I wrote a column recently for Kansas Country Living magazine about summers from my childhood that were virtually a real-life version of the “attack of the killer tomatoes.” In essence, there was an overabundance of these juicy red fruits, to put it mildly. Dozens of tomato plants were cultivated in my parents’ garden each season, . . . → Read More: Roasting sweet tomatoes

Baked Sunday Mornings: Fixing an oven-free ‘slump’

By rahoward, on July 29th, 2018

Sometimes, when you are in a slump (writing/cooking/baking/working/living), the best thing to do is make one. Never heard of a slump? I had, but had not made one until the Baked Sunday Mornings group put a recipe (see here: http://bakedsundaymornings.com/2018/07/20/in-the-oven-sour-cherry-slump/) for Sour Cherry Slump from “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking” by Matt Lewis and Renato . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Fixing an oven-free ‘slump’

Bread of the Month: Battering up a dill bread

By rahoward, on July 29th, 2018

I wonder sometimes if casserole breads have gone the way of the casserole. You don’t hear much about them anymore, as if they’ve fallen into the category of “retro,” and lapsed into the rare recipe collection to be mused upon as a charming trend of yesteryear. If you’ve ever made a casserole bread — a . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Battering up a dill bread

Baked Sunday Mornings: Chilling with granita

By rahoward, on July 15th, 2018

Summer means iced tea — more than any drink — for me. I’ll take a tall glass of a plain black or green tea, but a good flavored iced tea — naturally flavored — like mango, mint, hibiscus or berry adds flavor and variety to the refreshment.

I also love granita. I’ve made a . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Chilling with granita

Baked Sunday Mornings: Doubling up with big biscotti

By rahoward, on June 17th, 2018

Biscotti, by description, seem something that would defy enthusiasm. Their name, derived from the cookie-version of “biscuit” and meaning “twice-baked,” is just an inkling of what they are. This double baking is meant to make them dry and hard (not typically the aim for most baked goods), for a longer shelf-life and desirable (and necessary) . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Doubling up with big biscotti

“People ask me: "Why do you write about food, and eating, and drinking? Why don't you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way the others do?" . . . The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry.”
--M.F.K. Fisher

"It was in a yellow limestone church in Stockdale, Kansas, a crossroads town, that I sat dreaming during summer Sunday sermons, not of heaven or hell, but of the good dinner to come."
--Clementine Paddleford