Articles

No-Bake State Fair Honey Date Bars

When I created an ice cream cake for my husband’s birthday a couple of weeks ago, I thought the no-bake granola crust would be a good make-over option for my old tried and true date bars — a recipe from my grandmother’s ledger.

Feed your inner child with Layered Ice Cream Crunch Cake

Last summer when I was spending time with my young granddaughter, the ice cream truck rolled down the street. We could hear the lilting, clearly recognizable music coming from the truck when it was a block or two away. Suddenly, I was a child again.

• Colorful dessert
• On her blog, Sue uses granola crust for honey date bars
• Crunchy crust

Eat Indian tonight — start with Pakora

My favorite guy had a birthday last week. We decided to make Mango Rice Pilaf and Pakora for the evening birthday meal. We had never even heard of Pakora until we ate at an Indian Restaurant in Fridley, Minnesota a month or so ago.

Pakora: India's version of onion rings

When my husband and I travel, we find our stops seem to be all about food. One of our favorite activities when we get out of town is exploring restaurants that are new to us. Ethnic restaurants are a favorite.

• Pakora
• On her blog, Sue makes Sherbanoo Aziz’s recipe for Pakora
• Moist batter

Garlic, Garlic

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have fresh garlic in my kitchen ready to smash, mince, chop or slice to use for culinary enjoyment. I’ve got cookbooks devoted to garlic and file folders bulging with recipes that include several bold, pungent cloves of the stinking rose.

That's some stinkin' good garlic sauce

I’ve been to wine tasting parties, cheese tastings and olive oil tastings, but a garlic tasting party? Never. When veteran gardener Carol Schmidt invited me to her farm near Pelican Rapids, Minn., to sample some of the 20 varieties of garlic she grows, I immediately said yes.

• Versatile sauce
• On Sue’s blog, you can see photos and learn more about Carol Schmidt’s garlic-tasting party
• Fresh garlic

New twist on an old favorite: Marinated Asian Cucumber Salad

Fresh long, seedless cucumbers are showing up at the farmers market and some grocery stores that carry produce from local growers. I buy cucumbers just as I buy fresh tomatoes – only in the summer when I can get them from local farmers or pluck them from the two plants I have in my little garden. To me, it’s the only way to get the true clean, refreshing flavor and crisp texture that cucumbers are supposed to have.

• Soak and chill
• You can find more recipes and stories on Sue’s blog
• Get 'em while they're fresh

A simple supper: Summer-Fresh Bowtie Pasta

Hot summer weekend afternoons are meant for lounging with friends on a pontoon boat floating down the Mississippi River. Preferably with a cooler full of ice and beverages. It’s best followed with a dinner made by friends.

• Serve it up
• You can find more recipes and stories on Sue’s blog
• Fresh ingredients

Cherishing cherry memories with Quick Cherry Turnovers

As soon as I see shiny dark red cherries in the grocery store, my mind floods with memories of summer days spent with my grandparents on their Indiana farm.

• Turnovers
• You can find more recipes and stories on Sue’s blog
• Ready to fry

Summer salad easy to tote to Independence Day picnics

If you’ve been to a Twins baseball game at Target Field on a Sunday afternoon, you may have satisfied your hunger pangs with a refreshing healthful salad from the Roots for the Home Team Garden Goodies Cart.

Columns

Slow-Cooked Peanut Butter Granola good any time of day

The mention of granola often brings visions of health. All those oats tumbled together with nuts, seeds, sometimes honey and often some dried fruits — how could it be anything but health food, right?

• Take it slow
• On her blog, see what new things Sue discovers at the Twin Cities Food & Wine Experience
• Granola that's no crock

Moroccan Chickpea and Sweet Potato Tagine packed with protein, fiber and flavor

A friend of mine sent me an email not long ago to tell me she received a tagine for Christmas. She wondered what to do with her new clay cooking vessel that combines a low-rimmed, round, shallow base with a high conical top.

• We're talkin' Moroccan
• On her blog, Sue tries her hand at making homemade Naan
• Couscous

Claiborne's pecan pie recipe stands the test of time

One day in 1960, a woman in Connecticut asked her daughter, Irene, to drive her to Stamford, about an hour away from their home. Craig Claiborne was going to be giving a cooking demonstration.

• Pass it on
• On her blog, Sue makes an unusual pie crust and fills it with cream cheese and pecan pie filling
• Protect your crust

Just can't get enough popcorn

A snack of warm, buttery, freshly popped corn has been one of my favorite treats for as long as I can remember. It stems way back to my childhood when my mom would make popcorn for the family to munch as we sat in front of the black-and-white television watching Dorothy and the little Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz.

• Chewy snack
• On her blog, popcorn goes spicy in one of Sue’s snack mixes
• Variation

Celebrate Oktoberfest with German-Style Potato Bake

When the air becomes crisp and summer turns to fall, the Germans host a raucous event in Munich to mark the change of seasons.

• Oompah Potatoes
• On her blog, Sue turns German-Style Potato Bake into a one-dish meal with some additional ingredients
• Ready for the oven

Chocolate cookies get a spark from crystallized ginger

The sudden change in weather, from sunny and warm to cool, wet and dreary, put me in the mood to start “cleaning out.” You know, cleaning out my clothes closet, cleaning out the refrigerator and cleaning out the kitchen pantry.

• Twice as nice
• On her blog, Sue bakes crystallized ginger into cookies and scones
• Ginger

Wild Rice Dried Cranberry Salad showcases local ingredients

At first glance of the cover of “The Minnesota Table: Recipes for Savoring Local Food Throughout the Year,” one might think it’s a book that would appeal to only those who live in Minnesota.

• On the go
• On her blog, Sue creates a dish using local and seasonal ingredients
• Visit The Minnesota Table website

You'll be the envy of the lunchroom with this Choice Roast Beef Sandwich

My granddaughters were talking with me recently about going back to school, wondering who their teachers would be and which of their friends might be in their classes this year.

• Lots of flavor
• On her blog, Sue’s kitchen is still a zucchini zone
• Options

Got zucchini? Moist cake flavored with orange liqueur, zest makes good use of summer’s bounty

Many years ago, when my husband and I bought our first house, I couldn’t believe our luck when we moved in just as the beautiful vegetable garden in the small back yard was profusely producing and ready for harvest. We enjoyed garden-fresh meals for weeks.

• Takes the cake
• On her blog, Sue stirs grated zucchini into a one-dish Southwestern-style meal
• Garden fresh

Join the Clean Plate Club with Whole Wheat Italian Bread Salad

According to registered dietitian Diane Welland, there’s no better way to take care of yourself and your family than by putting healthful, nutritious, clean food on the table.

• It's clean
• On her blog, Sue makes a clean salad of sweet beets with walnuts and chevre
• Click here to learn more about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Clean Eating