Cooking . Food . Hope . Recipes . The General
More Veggies Please
On July 24, 2022 by Speranza
I own more than a few cookbooks. I even maintain a small ‘vintage’ collection whose tomes often include amusing “household management” tips in the back. What is the point of this, you ask? Well, if the internet goes down, at least I will still know how best to whiten The General’s spats, while I’m jugging a few hares in the larder …
Anyway, the point is, despite all the recipes online (and a set of binders that house personal recipes!) I still struggle with how to cook with less meat. Although I really love veggies – not a huge carnivore at all – the main motivation is to do The Right Thing for our burning planet and now, frankly, my budget. But over and over by Wednesday I grow bored with tomato based dinners, anything approaching Tex-Mex or soaking cashews overnight. (I have tried, I am sorry – as a texture person I simply cannot embrace the vegan staple of “cashew cream.”) There is something about this putty-hued sludge that just makes me gag.
Food . Middle Aged . Recipes . The General
Freeze Frame
On February 18, 2021 by Speranza
I think that I sometimes give the impression here of being very organized; but with certain things, I can procrastinate for an impressively long time.
Eventually though, enough is enough. Like when I opened the door of our basement freezer and forced myself to admit that only a very slim package of bacon could fit through the solid wall of ice. Even the interior lightbulb had been reduced to a faraway, dull yellow glow inside its icy globe.
Something had to be done.
Cooking . Recipes
Someone’s Mum’s Borscht
On September 22, 2018 by Speranza
It’s been ages since I posted a “Someone’s Mum” recipe, those recipes from my many binders that I have no idea where they originated from and yet they remain stalwart favorites. I must confess that I absolutely love beets (or ‘beetroot’ as they are better known in the UK); I’ve always liked them, even when the only way that I knew was pickling. (Oh, the innocence – but to be fair, I was only six at the time coaxing those slippery purple orbs out of the jar).
Being A Mum . Recipes . Someone's Mum
Someone’s Mum’s Apple Shortbread
On November 10, 2016 by Speranza
As everyone knows, last night was the much anticipated election for the United States. I had to work till 9pm and when I came home, The General was already installed in front of the TV with Doritos and there was a bit of a party atmosphere in the air, as I tore off my coat and settled in to watch the results turn over in companionable silence. To me, it felt historically important, exciting; in all likelihood, we would be witnessing the first woman to be elected President.
WRONG!
Food . Recipes . Someone's Mum . The General
Someone’s Mum’s Rib Recipe — For those who don’t even like Ribs
On May 27, 2016 by Speranza
I have a long and complicated history with ribs.
As a child, and then growing up, I wouldn’t even taste them having been deeply traumatized by the sight of slavering people in restaurants (albeit not fine restaurants) sucking and chawing away at bones with red sauce running down their chins and a shiny, 1980s lip gloss look about their entire personage afterwards.
Plus, these were actually ribs and guess what they looked like? Yes! Ribs! Gack!
As someone who often likens their own eating habits to that of the Gentle Brontosaurus (“Only tender young shoots and veggies for me please”) I actually do eat meat but I am very particular about it, which is an important precursor to this recipe.
Because these are, the ribs that even I will eat and enjoy – if somewhat guiltily.
Men, generally, seem to love these by the way and make no bones about it, if you’ll pardon the pun.