Recipe Dump!

So often, I find it difficult to keep up with updates because I cook many of the same 20 dishes in different combos so often.  Not this week!  After the jump find a slew of recipe sources and interesting things to make this Fall...

Once-a-Month Cooking

 One way to be frugal is to cook an awful lot of food at one time.  You buy in bulk, cook in bulk, freeze in bulk, and then eat it slowly over the next few weeks.  This is called "once-a-month cooking" or sometimes, "freezer cooking" and it is something that both intrigues and frightens me.  My freezer is constantly being used with best intentions and then stuff just sits.

After the jump find some resources for how to plan such an endeavor and a treasure trove of recipes to use when you decide to take the plunge.

 

Using Everything -- Orange Peel Edition

I always feel like I'm leaving such a waste just throwing out perfectly good orange peels.  But the thought of constantly candying them is exhausting.  Here are some other uses for the mighty orange peel.
  

Things to do with Orange Peels

Adventures in Whey II: Not Just for Little Miss Muffet Anymore

This is part two of what I'm desperately hoping doesn't become a series.  I did actually attempt (and mostly succeed) in going from a gallon of milk to three cheeses in about a day.  Warning: do not attempt this without a LOT of time on your hands.

Government Cheese

There's been a lot of kerfuffle on the Internet about this new redesign of the Food Pyramid.  A lot of people have their knickers in a twist over the dumbing down of the American People by switching from a triangle to a circle.  I have to disagree.  Follow me after the break for some fun and nifty government resources (read: free!) and a little free opinion thrown in on the side.

Amaranth: Everything Old is New Again

I keep running into people talking about Amaranth like it is some sort of alien grain sent from the heavens to confound the kitchen-bound.  It isn't.  It's awesome!  This grain was cultivated 8,000 years ago and just keeps coming back.  It's gluten-free and incredibly versatile.  Join me after the break for a selection of delightful recipes to get you started using this grain.  It's the next quinoa*, I'm convinced.

What to do with Whey?

Making a recent yogurt recipe left me with a few cups of whey and whey is one of those things that people talk about but never seem to get around to actually using.  I really didn't want to waste perfectly good (and nutritious!) whey...so off to Google it was.  There were a few REALLY GREAT ideas I've culled with some basic google-fu; follow me after the break for that adventure because I'm sold: whey is where it's at.

Apologies for my Absence

I am a terrible updater, there's no doubt about it.  But I will endeavor to update with a little more regularity (or at least mention when I'll be falling off the face of the planet). 

While I've been gone, I have downloaded 2 new apps that are phenomenal (for Apple, not PC, sorry).  I would like to share them with you after the jump...

Cooking with Children

The more I've thought about this, the more I am I convinced.  The world would be a better place if children were taught to cook from an early age.

I was a late-comer to cooking.  In some ways, that was a good thing -- I had the chance to learn to be fearless.  In some ways, not so good -- I felt pretty nervous and lacking in the kitchen until most of the way through college.

In my family, I was not the cook.  This comes as a great surprise to my friends now, I'm sure, but until this past year, my family barely let me into the kitchen.  My mother liked control in the kitchen and she and my father split the cooking duties.  In a small space, this meant children were more of a nuisance than helpers (too many cooks and all that).  Since you are not my therapist, dear reader, I won't go any further into the past...but just recently I had a phenomenal experience with kids I do want to share.  Join me after the break for that and the best pancake recipe EVER.