Fab Foodie Mama

After too many days of eating sugar, gluten, too much meat, and too much other junk, I crave simple, whole, non processed, vegetarian food.  I need to reset my habits and get back on track. Lentils are an amazing staple food.  I shared Foodie Mama's amazing recipe for Dal Makhani a while back.  This lentil dish is easier to prepare.  There is no need to soak the lentils overnight with this recipe, and the entire cook time is 1 and 1/2 hours.  The rice cooking technique is quite unique and almost fool-proof. Toasted almonds and a tangy lemon yogurt sauce add additional flavor and texture to this humble recipe.  This dish can be made vegan by using non dairy yogurt. We all need to be humble now.  COVID-19 still has its grip on the world. Stay Strong Foodie Followers, Foodie Mama 😷 Lentils and Rice with Yogurt Sauce and Toasted Almonds Ingredients: 3/4 C plain Greek yogurt  2T lemon juice 1/2 t minced garlic 1/2 t Kosh...

Being a Yooper,  I grew up on pasties.  All of my grandmothers and great grandmothers made them often and all of them tasted a little bit different.  I won't say which are my favorite, but the lard crust that Maima made was by far the flakiest.  A satisfying and filling meal, the pasty was brought to the Copper Country by the Cornish who worked in the copper mines a century ago.  Trips to England and our six months in Melbourne, showed us the varied ways pasties are made.  Here, not many venture beyond the traditional beef, rutabaga, potato, onion and (sometimes) carrot version. While I have eaten a lot of pasties in my life, I have never made them.  Perhaps because of the ubiquity in this area, or maybe because, while they are very good, all the chopping (or chipping, as I will explain later) takes a considerably long time. This version is taking a short cut, not on the chipping, but on the crust.   Pasties traditionally have their own flaky ...

Hunkering down has meant, so far, a lot of cooking and a lot of eating.  Since we aren't able to really be in contact with others beyond immediate family members, I have been cooking for my kids, even though none of them actually live at home anymore. This baked rigatoni is a fabulous, simple, creamy, comforting and easy pasta dish that everyone in my family loved.  I had the cudighi sausage in the freezer from a previous trip to Ralph's Italian Deli in Ishpeming.  This was the perfect use for it. Our first confirmed case of COVID-19 is here in Houghton County.  We are not at the top of the curve yet; likely not for a while.  It will get worse before it gets better.  Stay safe, fellow foodies. Oh, the quote in the title is a funny one liner that has become an idiom whenever I make rigatoni or ziti in my kitchen.  My cousin Joe told his daughter, Samantha,  to get in line for dinner one Christmas Even at my house probably about 12 years ago, ...

Foodie Followers: As each and every one of us are impacted in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety abounds at the present time.  So much is unknown, so much is scary; we are all trying to keep our families and ourselves safe and healthy.  Today is day 3 of the mandatory three-week Stay At Home order in Michigan, which is similar to the rest of the US and the entire globe. Please keep safe, Foodies.  We are in this together. One of the few activities we are allowed to partake in is going to the grocery store.  Understandably, many store shelves and fresh foods can be scarce.  Simplicity and creativity may be necessary in the coming weeks and months. I made this hearty, simple and comforting cabbage roll soup yesterday. Keep calm and carry on, everyone! This too, shall pass. Cabbage Roll Soup Ingredients: 12 oz ground beef 12 oz ground pork 1 T dehydrated onion 1 1/2 c long grain rice 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes salt and pepper to...