The Most Important Nutrition Lessons, I Learned from my Mom I love food. It is with food that we express our love, our culture and our creativity. We comfort one another with food, celebrate special occasions with food and share memories with food. Food nourishes us in so many more ways than its nutritional content…
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Mojitos for a Crowd
A new use for mint During our recent visit to Cuba I discovered the ultimate use for the mint that has taken over my garden…mojitos! To be honest, I was planning to dig up my mint plant this year because it is out of control. The CSU Master Gardeners recommended that I plant mint in a…
Vegetable Thai Curry in a Hurry
I’ll Bet You’re Famished You never know when you are going to need a meal in a hurry. When we were docked in Marina Hemingway near Havana, Cuba, reporters from our hometown newspaper stopped by. Steamboat Pilot reporters Scott Franz and Matt Stensland were visiting Cuba for a “journalism activity”- one of the 12 categories of…
Setting Sail for Cuba
Night Passage There is no deeper darkness than a night passage, sailing on a moonless night. We’re 50 miles off the coast of Florida, with full sails headed to Cuba. It has been a while since I did a night crossing and I will admit to a certain nervousness when pitch black is all I…
Thankful for Local Agriculture
Where would you be without agriculture…naked and hungry! This week in the Boat we are celebrating Agriculture Appreciation Week. It’s an opportunity to honor the ranchers and farmers of our community that help keep us clothed and fed. This week-long celebration of agriculture is promoted by the Community Agriculture Alliance, a local non-profit that both reminds…
Spicy African Rice and Peanut Stew
We don’t alway get big snow in Steamboat in March. The tracks of weather that swept through Northwest Colorado in earlier months give way to blue sky, bright days and clear, chilling nights. While we await the next blanket of snow, we still look to comfort foods to feed the family and the soul. Stew…
Preserved Lemon Herb Sauce
It’s time to move the delightful, salty and citrus flavor of preserved lemons onto the front shelf of your pantry. Even though preserved lemons have been used in Moroccan cuisine for centuries, they are relatively new to many of us. In the past, I have been frustrated that I can’t find them in our smaller mountain…
Preserved Lemons
Try this Unique and Fun Flavor The salty -tangy flavor of a preserved lemon will make your dish sing with flavor. They are easy to make with only two ingredients and thirty minutes worth of effort. After a month of fermenting you will have a jar of preserved lemons available for the next year. This recipe…
Sweet Heat Pecans
Let’s face it- salads can be deadly dull when they’re just a bunch of lettuce and dressing in a bowl. I like to jazz my salad up with an interesting toppings- feta cheese, bacon bits, preserved lemon. But nuts add the perfect mix of texture and flavor to make a salad more satisfying. If you want…
Baked Peach Oatmeal
Warm, wholesome oats mixed with plump peach chunks and the natural sweetness of applesauce…there is no better way to start a cold morning than with a bowl of Baked Peach Oatmeal. Spoon a helping of the baked oats into a bowl, then top with tangy vanilla yogurt and you’ll be in for a breakfast treat. Print…
Bummer…Sorry you Can’t Eat That
Hosting Guests with Dietary Restrictions Inviting guests for a dinner is stressful enough, then you discover that one of your guests has a dietary restriction. When you host others, the chances are great that you will experience this challenge. They estimate that 15 million Americans have food allergies and millions more must avoid certain components in food. Sometimes these…
Polenta Rounds
What could be easier? All you need is a tube of polenta, a little cheese and some imagination, for an impressive appetizer or quick side dish. I’d love to claim that I am organized and thoughtfully plan my food for the week. Nope, not me. Neighborhood potlucks and get-togethers with friends sneak up on me. Staring at…
Lemony White Bean Dip
Hosting nutrition students in Steamboat is one of the great pleasures of working as an Extension Agent for Colorado State University. I recently spent a week mentoring Kia, a talented graduate student and aspiring dietitian. Using one of my favorite (and easy-to-make) dip recipes we spent an afternoon making short food videos. Trying to replicate those popular, snappy…
Carrot Cashew Soup
There is snow in the forecast and I’m ready! It’s time to dig out the sweaters and gloves, put on the snow tires and start making soup. Carrot Cashew Soup is one of our family’s favorite dishes for a satisfying cold weather meal. This recipe came from the vegetarian commune where Dean lived at Ohio State, but you don’t…
The Best Beef Tacos
Taco Night Gets Even Better Taco Night has always been a family favorite, then I found a secret ingredient that took my tacos to a whole new level. Oh sure, my tacos were passible back when all I used was the commercial taco seasonings, but they were nothing special. In search of the perfect taco, I’ve tried several…
Roasted Roma Tomatoes
In the Boat, many gardeners move their tomato plants outside during the day, then tuck them back in their garage or house during cool nights–truly a labor of love–and much more patience than I have. Sure, I try my hand at growing my own tomatoes, but at the farmer’s market I can buy Colorado grown,…
Three Ways to Cook Olathe Sweet Corn
How Sweet it is! Olathe Sweet Corn is a special fall treat for my family. Fresh Colorado sweet corn is only available from mid-July to mid-October so when my Extension colleague offered to bring me a box of fresh-picked Olathe sweet corn— of course I said “yes.” Next, I needed a plan for dealing with those…
Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salsa
Grilling Corn The smoky, charred flavor of grilled corn is essential for this Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salsa. After reading all of my cookbooks and blogs about the best way to grill corn, I set about conducting my own experiment to determine the best grilling method. Here are a few things that I learned along…
Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce
In high-altitude backyard gardens, for a short period of time in August and September, you can taste the sweet, intense flavor of a locally grown vine-ripened tomato. We’ll do anything for that amazing flavor – tuck our tomatoes under a blanket on cold nights, wheel our heirloom varieties out for sun in the morning and…
Zucchini Pancakes
With only 59 frost-free growing days, gardening in Steamboat is a challenge. Thank goodness for zucchini! It’s the one consistently generous plant in my raised-bed garden. One hill of three plants will usually provide us with a couple dozen zucchinis to eat and share in the late summer. The ease and versatility of cooking with…
Make Ahead Chicken Enchiladas
No time to cook! As a county extension agent there is no busier time than county fair time. For a week, every day (and night) there is an important event needing my attention – home arts judging, 4-H Barbecue, Junior Livestock Sale, Wine & Beer competition and the list goes on. It’s an exhausting and…
Sour Cherry Jam
Why go to the trouble of making Sour Cherry Jam? Trust me, this tart, fruity spread has a flavor like nothing you can buy in a store. Most jams rely on traditional pectins which require the addition of a lot of sugar in order to gel. After trying several types of pectin I zeroed in…
Wanted – a new Frying Pan
A 12-inch skillet is the workhorse of our family’s kitchen. Whether we are sautéing vegetables, cooking eggs or making quesadillas, it will most likely be in a skillet. This is why it is particularly frustrating that – I hate my frying pans. Our current round-up of skillets includes assorted non-stick, cast iron and stainless steel…
Garlic Sugar Snap Peas
Edible pea pods are a summer staple in my home. They make a great dipper for hummus, pack easily in a lunch and I can actually grow them in my mountain garden. I have been experimenting with quick and easy ways to cook them for dinner and found my inspiration at P.F. Chang’s. Print Garlic…
