Welcome One and All!

Welcome to Everyday Stories About Food. Whether you are a lover of food, a grudging home cook or somewhere in between, there will be something for everyone in this space. Thanks for joining me.

I love food. Perhaps the only thing I enjoy more than eating food is talking about food. I’m an amateur home cook with a passion for all things culinary. I spent one summer as the cook at a summer camp, but other than that my culinary experience is limited to cooking for my friends, family, co-workers and the occasional bake sale. In other words, I have the same level of experience as most people.

As a child I learned the basics of cooking from my mother and grandmother. As I got older I discovered cooking magazines and began experimenting on my own. But I didn’t learn to love food until I was in mid-20’s and met a woman who was a passionate foodie. She was an amazing cook and an equally amazing storyteller. She had a way of describing the process of cooking a dish that made you hang on to every word. The more she talked, and the more I ate, the more food morphed into something else. Eating was no longer something I did to sustain myself three times a day. It became an obsession, an art form that has given me endless hours of entertainment and enjoyment.

Our lives are full of stories. Stories are one of the things that give our lives richness and meaning. Food and cooking are no different. It’s for that reason that I want to tell you stories about food, its origins, and its preparation.

Although we don’t always think about it this way, very few things in our lives are more powerful than food. Along with water and shelter, it is one of the basic things we need to live. A taste or smell can bring back memories of places we’ve been or people we’ve loved. It is an essential part of our culture. It can comfort us in times of sorrow and help us celebrate life’s important milestones. The way we buy it can be a powerful political and economic statement.

This week I will share a couple of my recipes I remember fondly from my childhood. Beef Stroganoff was my favorite meal growing up. My mother made this for my birthday and every time I could convince her it was a good choice for dinner. Most stroganoff recipes are served with noodles but I think this one is delicious over brown rice. Substituting fat-free yogurt for the sour cream lowers the saturated fat in the recipe.

French Apple Crisp is the first recipe I developed on my own. It was a combination of my mother’s apple crisp recipe and a French apple pie recipe from a cookbook. My sisters love this dessert; they often request it when they come to visit.

When you make a favorite recipe this week, or shop at the Farmers’ Market, or share a good meal and a bottle of wine at a restaurant with friends, think about the story behind it. Savor it as much as your casserole, or your salad, or your pinot noir, or whatever you happen to be consuming. It will remind you of the joy that comes with eating good food. Hopefully that joy will stay with you the next time it’s your turn to do the dishes.

Beef Stroganoff
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground beef
1 10-3/4 ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 6-1/2 ounce can mushroom stems and pieces
½ t. pepper
1 T. dried parsley flakes
1 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
1-1/2 c. cooked brown rice

In a medium saucepan, cook onion, garlic and ground beef over medium heat until beef is brown. Drain grease and return mixture to pan.
Add soup, mushrooms, pepper and parsley. Fill the soup can halfway full with water and add to the mixture. Bring to a low boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer until thick, 10-15 minutes. Stir in sour cream or yogurt. Cook until heated through, 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over brown rice.

French Apple Crisp
For Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

For Filling:
8 small apples, sliced (Granny Smith or other tart apple)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup oats
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
Vanilla ice cream, optional

In a bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Stir in butter to form a dough. Press ¾ of the dough into the bottom of a glass 8-inch square pan or pie pan. Reserve remaining mixture for topping.
Place sliced apples on top of crust. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon. In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, oats and nutmeg. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle oat mixture over apples. Sprinkle remaining crust mixture over oat mixture.
Microwave for 10 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream if desired.