Stirring the Pot

By Andrew Hunter

Certain foods can be found in every kitchen around the world, especially when they’re comfort foods. Rice is eaten at family tables from Korea to Argentina and places in between because all cultures are drawn to food that is comforting and makes us feel at home. Italians love Arborio, a short grain rice, for risotto, a creamy mixture that’s fit for peasants and kings alike.  It’s Italy’s ultimate comfort food.

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Rutabaga, My New “Butternut Squash”

From Lori Powell

Rutabaga is that funny-looking, waxy thing that you see in the root area of the supermarket produce section. It really doesn’t feel good to the touch but underneath is a globe of delicious goodness!

I must say that I was among the doubters, thinking it really can’t be that good and it’s probably woody and dry underneath the rind. Now rutabaga is my new butternut squash with lots more dimension – the adult version of butternut squash.

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Thanksgiving for Two

By Lori Powell

It’s wonderful to have a long table laden with friends and tons of food to devour at Thanksgiving, but after you have attended or hosted many of these wonders over the years it’s nice sometimes to just have a peaceful, intimate reflection with a close friend or significant other.

So here is a menu geared for simplicity and allowing you to have the time to actually relax and reflect on the many, many things to be thankful for including, possibly, this menu….

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Soup for two! Plus Leftovers

By Lori Powell

Soup time is here. I had to turn the heat on yesterday. I realized that my hands had lost some of their feeling due to how cold my kitchen was without the oven on...which I must admit, is a rare thing. It would have been lovely to have my hands wrapped around a mug of homemade soup.

In my neck of the Hudson Valley, the arrival of fall carries with it the aroma of dried leaves (carpeting the floor of my front yard which I will have to address soon) and wood burning in someone’s fireplace or wood stove (I have neither and yearn for one or the other) with smoke that wafts in the direction of my house.

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