Chinese or Szechuan Pepper Oil Szechuan pepper-infused oil is a tasty and versatile condiment. Use it in marinades for meat, as a dipping sauce or to spice up soups and other dishes. It’s more than just pepper flavored. It has layers of taste from other spices and aromatics. Once you see how flavorful it is,…
Tomatoes and peppers. That’s 90% of why I love gardening. Is there anything to compare to a home-grown tomato? Not even the tomatoes at the farmer’s market are as good as what comes out of my garden. And for unparalleled taste, peppers are a close second. Like tomatoes, the flavor and variety of peppers that…
Between the demands of work and family, who has time to cook from scratch? It is much more convenient to buy something ready-made or almost made. Don’t you just love those veggies in the produce section that are already prepped and all you have to do is perhaps mix in a couple more ingredients and…
Beans, beans, the magical fruit… School yard rhyme aside, you really should be eating beans at every meal. Beans are super high in fiber, protein and lots of vitamins. And they are tasty, inexpensive and filling, making them the ideal food for those trying to keep their food budget under control. They really are a…
Food costs are going up. Way, way up. In the last year—from September 2020 to September 2021—the cost of food rose 31%. That’s the steepest increase the US has seen since government started tracking food prices. The cost of food has way outpaced the increase in wages. That means that it’s getting harder and harder…
One of the best things to come out of the garden each year is asparagus. It’s a perennial vegetable that, once established, will give you years of vegetable deliciousness with very little work. In fact, after planting your vegetable garden, I highly recommend you make establishing an asparagus bed your next priority. Small investment, big…