From Scratch

For me, few thing are homier on a cold winter day than a bowl of hot chicken noodle soup. It’s easy and quick to make and so adaptable to individual tastes or what’s on hand; canned soup just doesn’t compare.
I don’t think I’ve ever made chicken noodle soup exactly the same twice. A pinch of this, a […]

There’s something so satisfying about a hot bowl of homemade split pea soup on a chilly day, but so dreary when it’s a puddle of green puree, reminding me of Oliver Twist and his bowl of gruel.
Like everyone, I eat first with my eyes and that means more than color. It also means texture. Shapes. Even height […]

The temperature doesn’t have to drop much for me to think of beef stew. Depending on which appliance you use, the cooking time for this flavorful meal in a bowl will be either 10 minutes or 8-10 hours. Either way, it’s carefree.
It’s a pressure cooker recipe but I’ve also made it in the slow cooker […]

Here’s why I love pressure cookers. The day got away from me yesterday — I was out with a friend — and it was almost 7 when I got home, famished. The Democratic presidential debate was on at 8, so there wasn’t much time. I dug out the pressure cooker and an acquaintance’s recipe that’s been in […]

I love pressure cooking, but I used to be afraid of it. Like many Americans I grew up on stories, real or apocryphal, of beef stew a la ceiling. But the new-generation pressure cookers have three levels of progressive safety features (if you reach the third, the gasket will simply melt) and the programmable, electric […]