Recipe for Pork Adobo (Pork Cooked in a Pickling Style as in the Phillipines)

This Filipino recipe is pork that's marinated with vinegar and soy sauce, simmered, and then browned.

(This revisited recipe was updated with new photos and better directions in April 2011.)  In the Phillipines, there is a style of cooking commonly called Adobo, in which chicken, pork, or most often a combination of the two are cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, and water, which has been seasoned with lots of garlic, bay leaves, and black pepper. Then the meat is browned or even grilled, and served with the cooking liquid, which is reduced to a tasty thick brown sauce. I've seen recipes for this in many different places, but when this recipe appeared in my local newspaper back in 2005, I decided to give it a try.

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Friday Night Photos: Time to Start Planting Herbs! (2011 Garden Update #1)

The weather in Utah is still pretty cold for veggies, but some herbs are happy!

For years I used to say that the best day of the year is the day you get your garden tilled.  Now I have a garden with raised beds that don't need tilling that often, but I still say the day you get to start planting your garden is a pretty great day.  Every year I take pictures of the garden through the season and post them as Garden Updates on the blog.  Last fall I did some pretty extensive garden improvements, building a shed, replacing an old wooden fence, adding another divided bed for herbs, converting the garden to drip irrigation, and having weed barrier cloth and pea gravel put all around my beds.  I'm thrilled with the new lower-maintenance garden, but the project involved me tearing out most of my perennial herbs, so I was anxious to start planting them again this spring.

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Recipe for Grandma Denny's Ranch-Style Vegetable Dip (plus Kalyn's Updated Version)

My Grandma Denny was making this Vegetable Dip long before I heard of Ranch Dressing!

(This favorite recipe was revisited and updated with photos and Kalyn's healthier version of Grandma Denny's dip in April 2011.)  When I was a kid, my Grandma Denny made a fantastic dip that she served with carrots and celery as an appetizer at family dinners. In those days we called it "Vegetable Dip" as if there was only one kind of dip that could possibly be served with veggies. This was long before the introduction of Ranch Dressing to the American culinary scene, and obviously my Grandma Denny was ahead of her time, because  now people all over the country are eating Ranch Dip with veggies.

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Kalyn's Kitchen is Six Years Old and Six Life Lessons I'm Learning from Food Blogging

I believe life is an ongoing process of lessons presented from the universe; things that can help us to grow as human beings if we pay attention to them.  When I started my blog with this simple little post six years ago, I never guessed what a life-changing adventure I was beginning.  Food blogging has been an intense learning process for me, and although I appreciate the things I've learned about technology, writing, photography, writing recipes, and how the internet works, it's the life lessons reinforced through blogging that I'm reflecting on today.  Here are some things I've learned (or re-learned) from six years of  food blogging.  (And after you read  my list, I'd love to hear in the comments about what life lessons you've been working on over the past six years.)

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Friday Favorites: Five Favorite Recipes with Asparagus for Easter Brunch or Lunch (plus more Easter Ideas)

This Roasted Asparagus Wrapped in Ham is perfect for Easter Brunch

I was on the phone with my sister Val talking about Easter foods, and eggs, ham, asparagus, and strawberries were the things we both mentioned as being "must haves" for Easter.  I like all the things on that list, but for me asparagus is one of the foods that define this time of year more than any other.  Val is cooking Easter lunch for her family, but I'm actually going out of town for Easter.  Before I leave I thought I'd share five of my favorite asparagus recipes that I think would be perfect for Easter brunch or lunch.  I hope everyone who celebrates will have a lovely Easter holiday!

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Karyn's Breakfast Casserole Recipe with Artichokes, Goat Cheese, and Canadian Bacon

This elegant breakfast casserole would be great for Easter Brunch.

(This revisited recipe was updated with photos and added to Easter Recipes April 2011.)   In 2005 when my blog was brand new I visited my step-sister Karyn in California and one morning for breakfast she made this elegant breakfast casserole with artichokes, goat cheese, and Canadian bacon.  I wrote down the recipe and posted it on my blog, where it's been for all these years without a photo.  Now that I'm trying to update all those old posts, it struck me that this would make a great recipe for Easter brunch, so I'm featuring it as  the first in a series of posts with some suggestion for your Easter menu.

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Asian Chopped Salad with Broccoli Stems, Sugar Snap Peas, Radishes, Red Cabbage, and Almonds

You might want to save some broccoli stems just so you can make this tasty salad!

A few weeks ago I made Crunchy Napa Cabbage Asian Slaw and I fell in love with the creamy and slightly spicy soy sauce and mayo dressing.  Then a few days later I had a huge bunch of broccoli stems in the fridge and started to think about how to use them.  I like broccoli stems almost more than I like broccoli, and especially when they're raw, so I decided to make a salad using them with same dressing I'd enjoyed so much on the Crunchy Napa Cabbage Asian Slaw.  If you look through my Salads section, it's not hard to tell that I love salads with crunch, and this salad has some of my favorite crunchy ingredients like red cabbage, radishes, sugar snap peas and almonds.  Next time you have broccoli stems I hope you'll think of this salad instead of just throwing them in the trash.

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Recipe for White Bean Soup with Ham and Rosemary

We're still having those snowy spring days, so I recently made this soup again.

(This recipe from 2005 was updated with new photos and better instructions and added to Recipe Favorites in April 2011.)  No matter how much we long for warm weather, Utah always gets some cold snowy days in April (and sometimes even in May.)  When that happens I make soup,  wondering it if will be the last pot of soup before summer changes the menu to salads and grilled foods.  Last weekend when I woke up to snow on the ground I decided it was a good day to update this favorite soup recipe from 2005 (and see the original photo below if you want proof that it was due for an update!)  I don't even dare to say out loud that I hope this is the last snow for this spring, but the soup did taste great on a cold spring day.

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Five Fun Things on Friday (4-15-11)

This is just a corner of my spice drawer, and I definitely don't replace them every 6 months!

Today is Friday, April 15, and not only is it traditional income tax day for the U.S., but April 15 is the birthday of two of my sisters and one of my best friends.  Happy Birthday to Susan, Val, and Vida!  Friday is also the day when I sometimes share fun things I've been finding on the internet, and lately I've found so many fun things that I'm overdue to share a few of them.

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Recipe for Mushroom, White Bean, and Tomato Stew with Parmesan

This Mushroom, White Bean, and Tomato Stew makes a great meatless meal.

Lately I've noticed a lot of food blogs talking about Meatless Mondays.  When I researched it a little, I was surprised to find out that this slogan encouraging Americans to eat less meat was actually created in 2003, as part of a marketing campaign designed to get people to start out the week with healthy habits.  For several years now I've noticed I'm eating less meat myself, and although I'll never be a vegetarian, when I find a meatless recipe like this with lots of flavor I'm always happy.  I was never good at following rules, so of course today is not Monday, but no matter what day of the week you made this, it would make a great lunch or dinner.  

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Recipe for Jicama and Carrot Slaw with Radishes, Cilantro, and Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette

I was pleasantly surprised when this Jicama and Carrot Slaw stayed good in the fridge for several days!

Lately I've been buying a big jicama nearly every time I go to the store.  I slice it in sticks and use it to scoop up hummus or Grandma Denny's Vegetable Dip, or chop it up to add crunch to salad.  I'm not sure how the idea popped into my head to use it in a slaw with carrots, but I absolutely loved this combination.  I experimented a few times with the Jicama and Carrot slaw to get just what I wanted, and for this final version I used a mandoline to slice the jicama into very thin matchstick pieces, which I thought had great symmetry of cut with the carrots that I bought already shredded.  You could still make this if you had to chop the jicama by hand, but using a mandoline (like this one I got as a gift from a student) makes the job very quick.

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Friday Night Photos: Two Lunches at Mazza Middle Eastern Cuisine in Salt Lake City

Start your meal at Mazza Middle Eastern Cuisine with Hummus, Baba Ganooj, and Muhamara.

For many years I've been a fan of Mazza Middle Eastern Cuisine in Salt Lake City.  They started with a small self-serve cafe in the 15th and 15th neighborhood, close to fun destinations like The King's English Bookshop and Fresco Italian Cafe.  Then a few years ago the second location opened in a beautiful space in the 9th and 9th shopping district.  Mazza is one of my favorite places  for lunch with friends, and I had lunch there months ago with Dara from Cookin' Canuck and took a few photos.  Then this week I went there again with Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod and took a few more photos.  You'd think I now have a wide variety of dishes to show you, wouldn't you?

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Recipe for Saffron Chicken with Parsley and Lemon

If you like the distinctive flavor of saffron, this Saffron Chicken is a traditional way to use it.

(This recipe from November 2005 was revisited and updated April 2011.)   Have you ever cooked with saffron?  It's widely acknowledged to be the most expensive spice in the world, but you only need a tiny pinch to add delicious flavor to a dish like Paella, Saffron Rice, and this delicious Saffron Chicken which I first tasted when my Iranian friend Massoud made it for me.  When I made this recipe for the blog in 2005 I consulted Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World and tried to remember how Massoud had done it.  For this updated version I did a little more online research and ended up revising my original instructions just a bit.  And if you'd like to see why the recipe needed updating, scroll down right before the recipe and you can see the one and only (lousy!) photo from the original post!

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Recipe for Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Feta and Sumac

These Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Feta and Sumac were a perfect flavor combination!

I can't wait to tell you about these Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Feta and Sumac, because I gobbled one down as soon as I had taken photos, and the next day I couldn't wait to eat the second one for lunch.  But first I want to let readers know about some behind the scenes tinkering that's going to happen on the blog late tonight.  For years I've owned the domain KalynsKitchen.com and had it pointing to my blogspot address.  Now my favorite web designer is going to switch them so the domain that shows will be KalynsKitchen.com, but the old blogspot links will forward to that.  It should go smoothly but thanks in advance for your patience if the site is unavailable for a short time or you have trouble with links or the search bar while the internet catches up with the changes.  (And if you're a food blogger who has a link to my blog  on your blogroll and wouldn't mind changing to the new url, it would be greatly appreciated!)

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Recipe for Barley Minestrone with Canadian Bacon, Savoy Cabbage, and Rosemary

If you wake up with snow on the ground in April, this Barley Minestrone can help.

I realize there are people who actually like snow, but let me make it 100% clear that I will never be one of them.  Every year when the weather starts to feel like spring I brace myself, because this is Utah and I know there will still be a few more snowstorms before hot weather comes.  Today when I woke up and saw about 4 inches of snow on the roof of my new shed, I was not happy.  But then I remembered this soup recipe.

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How to Cook Artichokes in a Pressure Cooker

If you have a pressure cooker, you really should try using it to cook artichokes!

(I've noticed artichokes are starting to go on sale, so I'm revisiting this recipe detailing my favorite way to cook them.  This was added to Recipe Favorites April 2011.)  If you didn't grow up eating artichokes, they can look pretty unapproachable. Luckily I had a mother who loved artichokes, and we had them as often as the budget would permit. Some people cook them whole and cut the choke out after, but I learned from my mom to cut the artichokes in half and cut out the choke before cooking. This may have been due to having ten kids in the family, since each family member got half an artichoke. Whatever the reason I've been doing it that way ever since, even now that I'm buying my own artichokes and can eat as many as I want. I used to cook my artichokes in a pan with a few inches of boiling water, but when CookieCrumb shared the idea of using the pressure cooker, I thought it was brilliant. I followed CookieCrumb's idea of adding some aromatics to the water and checked Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure to help with the timing.

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