Healthy and Delicious Cooking

I can't believe it's been 7 years since I started this blog, with encouragement from my children and friends. I was unemployed and miserable and my solace was cooking and revisiting dishes from my youth. People started asking me for recipes and a friend suggested a blog. I was quite prolific in those initial months, and without sounding overly dramatic, my new found hobby saved my sanity in those trying times. Staying focused and being somewhat creative (I was hopelessly computer inept) kept me from sliding into depression and panic. It also made me more confident with the computer as it taught me to explore different programs and apply them to my profession as a healthcare provider.                              Eventually, I did land a job, and my daily duties of work and home made my blogging increasingly erratic. Once again, my children's encouragement was reinforced when they presented me with a new comp...

 For Christmas my brother, Vijay, gave my husband the Charcuterie cookbook by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.  Michael decided to work through the book from start to finish. His first attempt at Home Smoked Bacon was fantastic. It took a week for the pork belly to dry out and a few hours to slow roast, and it was well worth the wait. I love bacon, and what I love most about these salty, smoky, crispy morsels, is that you can use a very small amount to achieve enormous  flavor. 4 ounces crisped up in a cast-iron pan, are ample for a flavor-packed meal serving 4-6 people. I sauté it with broccoli rabe and either add it to pasta or cannellini beans, or just enjoy it on it own, with a side of grains. Add a couple of ounces of bacon to your basic tomato sauce for a rich smoky flavor. Bacon is a great way for us carnivores to increase our grains and vegetables, reduce our  meat intake, and still feel very satisfied. Lots of recipes tell you to blanch the ...