Homemade sauerkraut is easy to make and much better than store bought.

Sauerkraut

Homemade sauerkraut is super easy and so much better than store bought. I first made it in glass jars with a weight, but after a while I bought a stone crock and really prefer this method. If your’re just starting to ferment, I would recommend using glass jars until you confirm that a crock is worth…

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Easy Baked Beans

These easy baked beans came together quickly. This can be made with almost any white bean. I commonly use navy, great northern or small white beans (used great northern). I made minor adjustments to Madeline’s original handwritten recipe.

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Twice Baked Potatoes picture

Twice Baked Potatoes

I’ve updated Madeline’s 1979 recipe for Stuffed Potatoes Gratine from Gourmet magazine (featured below). My family loved these, and they make a great side dish for many dinners or could be served as an appetizer.

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Bowl of Dungeness crab risotto.

Crab Risotto

This is a great side dish, which we sometimes serve alongside beef. I like to make alarger batch with fresh crab and freeze for a quick side dish, appetizer or light meal. We’ve been vacuum packing our frozen foods so that everything has a longer self-life in the freezer.

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Deviled eggs made with Easter leftover eggs.

Deviled Eggs

We color a large batch of Easter eggs each year. After the festivities, I like to make some into deviled eggs. You can eat only so many plain hard boiled eggs! This is my favorite recipe.

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Cuban black beans and rice.

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

I love Cuban rice and beans, and it makes a yummy side dish to many Latin inspired meals. Isometimes add one seeded and diced jalapeño pepper to give this dish a little extra kick.

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Date Walnut Soda Bread

Date Walnut Soda Bread

This is an easy soda bread that’s great with honey butter. You can try different variations by substituting figs (1/2 cup chopped) for the dates. For a whole wheat variation, substitute 1 to 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour for a portion of the all-purpose flour.

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hummus recipe

Hummus

We prefer homemade hummus over store bought and it’s really easy to prepare. You may adjust the amount of garlic and lemon to your taste. I prefer Joyva Sesame Tahini, which is also recommend by America’s Test Kitchen. We use the KitchenAid 3.5 cup food chopper. This small food processor is just the right size…

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CafeRouge Empanadas

Pork and Potato Empanadas

These Mexican inspired empanadas go great with a variety of Mexican style dips. We served with an avocado dip and chipotle aioli. You can also use leftover mashed potatoes and/or Chorizo out of the casings (instead of the meat mixture/spices) to make the process a bit easier.

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