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Food and Fun

  • Don't be afraid to substitute herbs and spices

    Don’t be afraid to substitute herbs and spices

    From time to time, every cook gets into a pinch when there is no pinch of cumin in the cupboard.

    Before going out to buy more, see if there are other alternatives that will work just as well. 

    It not only saves money, but eliminates waste by using another herb or spice in a way that serves the same purpose. It could also keep you from buying a herb or spice you will only use once. 

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  • An early surprise

    Terrell Springs started off 2012 by making a mad dash to Lancaster from Great Falls in the wee hours of the morning.

    No, the trip wasn’t in the New Year’s Day  plans of he and his girlfriend, Ashley Boulware. However, their daughter, Telia Alani Springs, couldn’t wait.

    “I had the emergency flashers on all the way,” he said. 

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  • Today's Recipe

    Chef Nancy Hughes hopes you’re hungry.

    The author of “15-Minute Diabetic Meals” and the “The 4-Ingredient Diabetes Cookbook” has put together an easy-to-make Molasses Drumsticks with Soy Sauce recipe that’s finger-licking, lip-smacking good.

    “The molasses gives it a deep, earthy sweetness. It’s like a real dark, rummy brown sugar,” Hughes said in an instructional video posted on the American Diabetes Association website.

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  • Game On!

    A simple food suited for paper plates and disposable utensils has once again become the rage in trendy, high-end restaurants.

    Sliders – small, three-bite burgers – have two personalties, said David Gerard Hogan, a professor of American history at Heidelberg College in  Ohio.  

    According to Hogan, author of “Selling ’em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food,” sliders have become a “bifurcated” food, enjoyed by both the upscale and working class.    

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  • As we break bread – Christmas 2001 in the New Normal: Part 3

    Editor’s note: Cole Waddell is a Lancaster resident who was living in New York City during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. He moved back here in 2005. This is the third part of a three-part series about Southerners who shared Christmas dinner there each year.

     

    Six months after Dec. 25, 2001, finds me cleaning out my Aunt Ellen’s  accumulation of cards and notes.  

    One card is from Mrs. Boyce, a lady she knew.  

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  • Baking on a budget

     

    The holiday season is hectic enough without fretting over what to buy for whom and how much to spend on gifts for coworkers, friends, neighbors and teachers. 

    Homemade cookies can make a lasting impression.

    According to a recent survey, 40 percent of consumers plan to spend less this year on holiday gifts. Holiday baking is a great way to tighten your budget without shrinking your gift list.

    Here are a few tricks and techniques to ensure sweet success this baking season.

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  • One dish breakfasts simplify holiday meals

    When family comes home for holidays, the big meal of the day always gets the brunt of the attention.

    However, by working ahead, you can wake sleepy heads with an aroma from the kitchen and a memorable Christmas breakfast they will remember this time next year.

    Here are a few tips to consider before your house fills up with guests:

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  • Don't get bogged down in a Christmas party quagmire

    You just walked by the bulletin board in the break room and saw a big question mark on the list by your name.

    You’ve been so busy that tomorrow’s Christmas party at work was forgotten. It’s a week earlier this year since there is one less weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

    Now you’re in a cooking quagmire. 

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  • Select the right potato variety

     Potatoes can be a mystery. With many stores now carrying multiple varieties, trying to figure out what potato works best for what can be a guessing game.

    Potatoes usually fall into two categories (baking and boiling). The chief difference between the two types is the starch content. 

    Baking potatoes are relatively high in starch. Boiling potatoes are lower in starch and waxy, which holds them together when boiling or in soup and stews.

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  • Soup of the Devil

    In the late 1860s, chili was frontier food. 

    The mixture of dried beef, suet, chili peppers and salt was pounded together into compact bricks and left to dry in the hot sun was a regional dish enjoyed by those in Texas and neighboring Louisiana.

    Easily transported, these bricks could be dropped into a pot of boiling water on the trail to make a stew-like soup for settlers and cowboys trekking across the Midwest.

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