CK Friday Links--Friday April 29, 2011

Here's yet another selection of interesting links from around the internet. As always, I welcome your thoughts and your feedback.

PS: Follow me on Twitter!
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When an Evil Food Company donates money to Oxfam to reduce global poverty, they're just being more... evil. Right? (Food Politics)

Hmmm.... Wal-Mart's prices aren't as low as people think. (Cockeyed.com)

How to go just a little bit vegetarian. (stonesoup)

Why weight loss plans are totally overrated. (344 Pounds)

Recipe Links:
Easy, delicious... and dangerous. Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie. Make sure you have some vanilla ice cream handy! (Alosha's Kitchen)

My girlfriend Helen shows us exactly how to make Potato (and Sweet Potato!) Gnocchi. (Beyond Salmon)

Next year, when Easter rolls around, try this stunning and all-natural technique for coloring eggs. Amazing. (Bibberche)

Off-Topic Links:
The collected free public domain tales of Sherlock Holmes. If you haven't read these incredible stories, you must. (The Sherlock Holmes Public Library)

If you aren't in a writing group, you should be. Here's why. (Writing Without the Drama)

How to grow from your mistakes--and stop beating yourself up. (Tiny Buddha)


Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!


Help support Casual Kitchen by buying Jules Clancy's exceptional new e-cookbook 5 Ingredients, 10 Minutes (see my rabidly positive review here). Or, support CK by buying Everett Bogue's revolutionary book The Art of Being Minimalist. (These are both affiliate links, so if you decide to make a purchase, you'll help fund all of the free content here at CK!)


How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

Ask CK: The Purpose of Friday Links and Using SEO

If you have a question you'd like to ask Casual Kitchen, send it in!!
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Why do you run your Friday Links posts? It's way too much to read! I don't have that kind of time.

I run my Friday Links for a few reasons. First, to share great posts and thought-provoking ideas from other sites. Second, it's a great way for my readers to scale off of huge amount of personal blog reading I do. Thus I can follow several hundred blogs and share the best stuff I find, while readers can avoid following several hundred blogs and get exposed to content they'd otherwise not see.

But the most important reason I run these posts is to give back. Early on in CK's life, two high-traffic blogs, The Simple Dollar and Cheap Healthy Good linked to some of my articles here, and that simple act basically put CK on the map. I've been trying to pay it forward ever since.

The thing is, there are so many bad blogs out there that it literally pains me to see a good blog go unread. Thus my goal with my Friday links posts is to take good stuff from insightful writers and share it with all of the amazingly insightful readers here.

One final thought. We are all running out of time. Don't waste still more time complaining about not having enough time. Instead, consider the ways you can use my Friday Links to help you manage your time better. For example, you can:

1) Skip it entirely.
2) Read one or two articles that grab you.
3) Or, you can read everything, using CK as your weekly clearinghouse for interesting blog content.

Each of the above methods should save you time, depending on your specific needs and wants as a reader. However, it's up to you to choose your reading needs and wants. Don't give away your power and let the internet, or me, or any other site impose themselves on you without you choosing first.


A question from a fellow blogger: how much SEO [search engine optimization] do you do with your posts?

None. None whatsoever. Partly it's due to my personal laziness, and partly it's due to the fact that text written with SEO in mind reads like, well, text written with SEO in mind:

How do you eat frugally? Eating frugally, or frugal eating, is extremely important, and a frugal diet with frugal recipes can help you spend less money on food, especially on frugal healthy food, which doesn't have to be expensive.

See what I mean? After a lead sentence like that, your readers will run screaming from your site. Time on page: 0:00.

I just can't bring myself to write that badly, even if it might significantly boost my search traffic. I'd rather write for my regular readers with the idea of starting thought-provoking conversations.

Further, I figure that the reason I get any search traffic at all isn't due to SEO optimized posts, it's due to inbound links from lots of other bloggers. That's why if you want to support other bloggers, the best way to do it (beyond directly supporting them by supporting their sponsors, affiliates, or buying Amazon products via their site) is to link to specific posts that you've found valuable. This is an enormous driver of search traffic, and it brings readers to sites that are actually written well--not written for the purpose of gaming Google's search algorithms.

Readers, what are your thoughts?


How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

Retro Sundays

I created the Retro Sundays series to help newer readers easily navigate the very best of this blog's enormous back catalog of content. Each Retro Sundays column serves up a selection of the best articles from this week in history here at Casual Kitchen. As always, please feel free to explore CK's Recipe Index, the Best Of Casual Kitchen page and my full Index of Posts. You can also receive my updates at Twitter.
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This Week in History at Casual Kitchen:

Applying the 80/20 Rule to Diet, Food and Cooking (April 2008)
One of my most powerful posts, where I help readers apply 80/20 thinking across almost every aspect of food. It's quite frankly shocking at times how a couple of seemingly small habit changes can yield substantial results in your life.

Your Heart is Only Good for So Many Beats (April 2008)
Looking back, I should have been more clear with readers that this post was facetious.

How to Fight Back Against Overpriced Cereal (April 2009)
Part 2 of my anti-branded boxed cereal screed. In this post you'll see how stealth price hikes, unpronounceable ingredients and aggressive marketing (especially to children) covertly encourage us to build unhealthy consumption and eating habits. Fight back.

Li Hing Mui (April 2009)
You'd never guess that something that tastes so nasty the first time you try it could become such an addictive snack.

Mujadarrah: Vegetarian Comfort Food From the Middle East (April 2010)
An easily modifiable, flexible, and hilariously cheap recipe that you can make in under 30 minutes. And yet people still try to convince me that eating healthy is too expensive.

Who Really Holds the Power in Our Food Industry? (April 2010)
It doesn't take all that much to start genuinely useful and healthy food trends. Why you as a food blog reader--and all of us out there writing food blogs--have an obligation to help spread good food ideas.


How can I support Casual Kitchen? If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

CK Friday Links--Friday April 22, 2011

Here's yet another selection of interesting links from around the internet. As always, I welcome your thoughts and your feedback.

PS: Follow me on Twitter!
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On the battle between frugality and simplicity, simplicity often wins. Or does it? (Oil and Garlic)

Reflections on eating alone in a restaurant. PS: I've never conquered my discomfort with this--what about you? (Well Preserved)

One of Kris' most useful posts ever: 26 Common Food Labels, Explained. (Cheap Healthy Good)

The idea that certain meats taste "gamey" is a total myth. (A Mindful Carnivore)

Recipe Links:
Gluten-free and amazingly good: Divine Chocolate Muffins, along with some great tips on coping with food allergies. (stonesoup)

An incredibly delicious Greek-style Meatless Stuffed Peppers recipe--plus a list of history's most famous vegetarians. (Kalofagas)

Hilariously easy Potato Latkes. (Christie's Corner)

Off-Topic Links:
When something upsets you, that something is trying to tell you something. (Sideways Soul)

Why no witness can ever be 100% trusted, from the authors of The Invisible Gorilla. (Youtube)

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions. (A Country Doctor Writes)




Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!


Help support Casual Kitchen by buying Jules Clancy's exceptional new e-cookbook 5 Ingredients, 10 Minutes (see my rabidly positive review here). Or, support CK by buying Everett Bogue's revolutionary book The Art of Being Minimalist. (These are both affiliate links, so if you decide to make a purchase, you'll help fund all of the free content here at CK!)


How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

Garlic Sauteed Cauliflower

"This is the only way you'll ever get me to eat cauliflower."

I improvised this recipe recently when I found myself with a head of cauliflower, some garlic and a highly intransigent wife.

Preparing cauliflower this way takes no more time and effort than simply steaming it, yet it scores several grades higher in style, flavor and class.

And hey, you may get a cauliflower-hater in your household to come around too.
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Sauteed Cauliflower with Garlic

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly into slivers
2 Tablespoons olive oil
a few dashes of salt and/or black pepper, optional

Directions:
1) Steam cauliflower until about half-cooked.

2) Meanwhile, saute the garlic in oil over medium heat until light golden brown

3) Raise heat to medium-high, add the partially cooked cauliflower, season with optional salt or black pepper, and saute everything until the cauliflower begins to brown in places. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-5 as a side dish.


Related Posts:
Cooking Up Advantages Out of Disadvantages
How to Get the Benefits of Organic Foods Without Paying Through the Nose
Quick Scalloped Potatoes
Eight Myths About Vegetarians and Vegetarian Food


How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

Retro Sundays

I created the Retro Sundays series to help newer readers easily navigate the very best of this blog's enormous back catalog of content. Each Retro Sundays column serves up a selection of the best articles from this week in history here at Casual Kitchen. As always, please feel free to explore CK's Recipe Index, the Best Of Casual Kitchen page and my full Index of Posts. You can also receive my updates at Twitter.
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This Week in History at Casual Kitchen:

Let Them Eat Cake! Thoughts About Wealth, Power and the Food Industry (April 2010)
A few centuries ago it was nearly impossible for the average person to get enough food. Why is it, then, that today the average person gets too much?

Just Say No to Overpriced Boxed Cereal (April 2009)
Where I expose some of the noxious marketing methods practiced in the cereal industry, and explain why we've banned these pernicious salt and sugar laden quasi-foods from our home.

Almost Meatless: Cookbook Review (April 2009)
By far--and I mean really far--the best cookbook of 2009. Here's my rabidly positive review.

Austrian Cuisine: Viennese Potato Soup (Wiener Kartoffelsuppe) (April 2008)
It's funny, sometimes you forget about your own posts on your own blog. And as soon as I saw this recipe, not only did I know I had to feature it in a Retro Sundays post... I also wanted to cook it ASAP. An easy, comforting and absolutely delicious recipe.

Bad Vision: The Four Worst Diet Habits for Eye Health (April 2008)
The foods you eat--and how well you take care of your body--can have a meaningful impact on your vision. Here are four key things to avoid.

The French Press (April 2007)
Ironically, I had my first cup of French press coffee in England of all places, and my entire universe changed irrevocably. PS: Try and overlook my tasteless humour about English dental care.



How can I support Casual Kitchen? If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

CK Friday Links--Friday April 15, 2011

Here's yet another selection of interesting links from around the internet. As always, I welcome your thoughts and your feedback.

PS: Follow me on Twitter!
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Fifteen things our grandparents lived without--that everybody now believes are necessities. (Frugal Dad)

Intriguing thoughts on protein needs and sources for vegans. (Choosing Raw)

Five things I never thought I'd have in my pantry. (Christie's Corner)

Yet another blogger (with 10x my traffic by the way) comes clean and tells the truth: don't go into blogging for the money. (Scary Mommy)

Think you can't go three or four hours without eating? Read this post and think again. (Cheap Healthy Good)

Recipe Links:
Easy and really intriguing: Caraway Spiced Carrots. (64 Sq Ft Kitchen)

Impossible to mess up, these Easy Pickles are a great first project for someone new to canning. (Coconut & Lime)

I wish I had the courage to try this myself: Raw Egg Yolk with Honey, or Huevo con Miel. (A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa)

Off-Topic Links:
How to stay out of the "outside the box" box. (Less Wrong)

When it comes to wealth, social class and success, things are rarely as they seem. (The Simple Dollar)

At what point does giving it away for free become a devaluation of your work? (Forbes via The Future is Red)


Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!


Help support Casual Kitchen by buying Jules Clancy's exceptional new e-cookbook 5 Ingredients, 10 Minutes (see my rabidly positive review here). Or, support CK by buying Everett Bogue's revolutionary book The Art of Being Minimalist. (These are both affiliate links, so if you decide to make a purchase, you'll help fund all of the free content here at CK!)


How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

On Spice Fade, And the Utter Insanity of Throwing Spices Out After Six Months

The spice industry--as well as many misguided cooks, chefs and food bloggers--will tell you that if you have any spices in your cupboard that are more than six months old, you should throw them out.

Pure hogwash. This is just another example of how the food industry tries to get you to spend unnecessarily. Worse, it makes cooking at home more expensive than it needs to be.

However, by now every savvy Casual Kitchen reader should have a sixth sense that starts to tingle whenever companies "recommend" doing something that is both in their interest and costs us more money. Most likely it's not in our interest to obey.

That's why you should verify--with a high standard of proof--claims like "throw out your spices after six months." For example, have you ever done a side-by-side recipe taste test of a spice you bought a year ago compared to a brand new jar of that spice? If you did so, would there be a perceptible change in the context of your typical use? Can you actually perceive this alleged "spice fade" in a recipe?

I'd bet against it. Very, very few of us have palates that are that finely tuned, and those of us who think we do still probably don't.

But even if you actually can tell the difference, I have good news: You still shouldn't throw out your spices. Instead, keep reading. I've got a solution for you.

Half Lives
Here's another way to think about spices--think of them as radioactive isotopes, with a half life. (Seriously--stay with me here).

Spices will fade slightly with time. Remember, I'm not arguing that, I just saying that the degree of fade is tiny and barely perceptible. So let's take a hypothetical example of say, cinnamon, and let's pretend cinnamon has a half life of three years (hmmm, kind of like Rhodium 101).

What does "a half life of three years" mean? It means that in three years or so, your cinnamon should lose about half of its flavor and smell. After six years, it should lose another half, which means your cinnamon would be roughly one-fourth as strong.

Using this framework, then, what's going to happen in six months--when that all-important spice industry drop-dead date passes? Well, in six months, your cinnamon is going to be, oh, about 8% less flavorful.

Whoa. Better throw that puppy right out, right?

Again, these numbers are totally hypothetical and made up--although if you think about it, it's probably not unreasonable to think that three-year-old cinnamon might be half as flavorful as newish cinnamon. But just keep in mind that this is just an example to illustrate a point.

So, getting back to those unlucky souls who think they can detect an 8% decline in spice efficacy, here's your solution: use 8% more of that spice.

If your spice has a smell/taste factor that is 92% of what it was, then to bring it back to 100%, all you have to do is add another 8% more. (It's actually 8.7%, but nobody likes a math geek).

The point: if you detect a modest fade in the spices you use, you can always just use slightly more to compensate. Either way, even if you actually can tell whether a spice has a experienced any meaningful decline in flavor, you still should not automatically throw out your old spices.

Don't throw them out after six months. Don't throw them out after a year. Verify for yourself when your spices are truly past their prime. And even then, you can still embrace the solutions in this post to save yourself quite a bit of extra money.

Don't mindlessly take some expert's word for something--especially when those "experts" may have an agenda to get you to needlessly buy more of what they're selling.

Retro Sundays

I created the Retro Sundays series to help newer readers easily navigate the very best of this blog's enormous back catalog of content. Each Retro Sundays column serves up a selection of the best articles from this week in history here at Casual Kitchen. As always, please feel free to explore CK's Recipe Index, the Best Of Casual Kitchen page and my full Index of Posts. You can also receive my updates at Twitter.
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This Week in History at Casual Kitchen:

How to Make Risotto (April 2007)
A risotto recipe that will satisfy real live Italians with its authenticity, yet still satisfy CK readers with its simplicity and low cost.

Eat Right to See Right: Foods for Better Eye Health (April 2008)
Read this post to learn about four types of foods that will maintain--and in some cases even improve--the health of your eyes.

Attention Vegetarians and Vegans! Fresh Corn and Tomato Soup (April 2008)
In this post, not only will you learn an amazing and healthy recipe, you'll also learn a key unknown secret of vegan and vegetarian cuisine.

How to Prepare and Eat a Rambutan Fruit (April 2009)
We had the good fortune of spending four months in Honolulu in 2009, and this post was part of a series I wrote on weird fruits of the Asia-Pacific region. Believe me, this one is perhaps the weirdest (and most delicious) fruit you'll find anywhere.

Six Good Things About the Awful Economy (April 2009)
The unexpected benefit of an economic downturn is that it can help us to recognize what our real priorities are. And in the months during and after the recent credit crisis, many CK readers changed how they eat, what foods they buy, and how much of their food they decided to prepare at home.


How can I support Casual Kitchen? If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

CK Friday Links--Friday April 8, 2011

Here's yet another selection of interesting links from around the internet. As always, I welcome your thoughts and your feedback. PS: Follow me on Twitter!
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How much extra will you pay for meat that's ethically raised? A former vegetarian draws the line in her supermarket aisle. (Cheap Healthy Good)

Don't ever settle for the someday speech. (A Life of Spice)

Foodies on the left and libertarians on the right both think farm subsidies have made unhealthy food cheaper. Both are wrong. (Good Food)

Really understanding the difference between wants, needs... and snotty comments from readers. (The Simple Dollar)

Recipe Links:
Here's a fascinating and flavorful new way to cook pasta: Pastato. (A Taste of Beirut)

These incredible Double Chocolate Coconut Slice and Bake Cookies will definitely hit your sweet spot. (5 Second Rule)

Stop smacking yourself and make this laughably easy and delicious dish: Chicken in Tarragon Mustard Cream Sauce. (Alosha's Kitchen)

Off-Topic Links:
Harsh, but true: Five things they never told you. (Cracked)

How to set effective intentions. (Rosine Caplot's Blog)

Why everybody hates Rebecca Black. Hint: it's not why you think. (The Last Psychiatrist)

Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!


Help support Casual Kitchen by buying Jules Clancy's exceptional new e-cookbook 5 Ingredients, 10 Minutes (see my rabidly positive review here). Or, support CK by buying Everett Bogue's revolutionary book The Art of Being Minimalist. (These are both affiliate links, so if you decide to make a purchase, you'll help fund all of the free content here at CK!)


How can I support Casual Kitchen? If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

Tomato Lentil Soup with Orzo

Here's another absolutely awesome soup that's easy to put together, makes a ginormous pot of leftovers, and at a per-serving cost of only 60-70c, it might just be one of the most laughably cheap recipes in all of Casual Kitchen's history.

Oh, and it's one more nail in the coffin of the ridiculous notion that healthy food has to be expensive.

This is yet another triumphant recipe that I've adapted from Jay Solomon's Vegetarian Soup Cuisine, a book that we use so heavily here that, sadly, it's practically falling apart. I guess that's the definition of a truly good cookbook, isn't it? I hope you enjoy this healthy and hearty recipe as much as we do.

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Tomato Lentil Soup with Orzo
(modified from Jay Solomon's Vegetarian Soup Cuisine)

Ingredients:
1 cup lentils
10-12 cups water

3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped coarsely
4-6 celery stalks, chopped coarsely
6 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
2 Tablespoons oregano
4 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (optional)

4 cups potatoes, unpeeled and cubed coarsely
2 15-ounce cans stewed tomatoes
2 6-ounce cans tomato paste
1/2 cup orzo pasta
1/2 pound green beans, fresh or frozen

Directions:
1) In a medium-sized pot, combine lentils and water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 40 minutes until cooked. Drain, but reserve 8 cups of the water (if there's less than 8 cups, don't worry about it, you can just add some additional plain water to the soup)

2) While the lentils are cooking, in a separate pot (you'll most likely need to use the largest pot in your kitchen), saute the onions, celery, garlic in the oil, over high heat, for about 3-4 minutes. Then reduce heat, add the spices, and saute for another 5 minutes, until the vegetables are beginning to soften, brown and stick to the bottom of the pan.

3) Then add 2 cups of the reserved lentil water. Deglaze the bottom of the pot. Then add the drained lentils, reserved lentil water/added water, and also add the stewed tomatoes, tomato paste and potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

4) Add the orzo and green beans and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente.

Serves 12-14. Feel free to cut this recipe in half if you don't want to be buried in soup.
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A few recipe notes:
1) A minor caution with this soup: there's a bit of "stick to the bottom" risk you should be aware of--specifically, the orzo has a knack for sinking straight to the bottom of the pot and gluing itself there. Just be forewarned, and when you get to step #4 of this recipe, be sure to give everything a good stir every minute or two until the orzo is done. Don't say I didn't warn you.

2) This soup makes a lot. Let me repeat: this soup makes a lot. Seriously, you will need your very largest pot to make this recipe. And if you happen to be one of those odd readers who, bizarrely, doesn't enjoy the sweet rewards of days and days of laughably easy-to-reheat leftovers, feel free to cut this recipe in half.

3) Also, you may find this soup thickens quite a bit after it cools off in your fridge. Feel free to add extra water before reheating to bring it to the consistency you like.

4) Did anybody notice that this soup is vegetarian? And yet it's so hearty and filling that even the most militant carnivores probably won't even notice. To me that's the definition of good vegetarian cuisine. It's so good, you don't miss the meat.




How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

Retro Sundays

I created the Retro Sundays series to help newer readers easily navigate the very best of this blog's enormous back catalog of content. As always, please feel free to explore CK's Recipe Index, the Best Of Casual Kitchen page and my full Index of Posts. You can also receive my updates at Twitter.
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This Week in History at Casual Kitchen:

Food Absolutism (April 2010)
If you enjoy raw food, you're against fire. If you don't buy organic produce, you are poisoning yourself and the people you love. If you enjoy vegetarian cuisine, you're some kind of a crunchy weirdo. I tackle these and several other insanely absolutist notions about food in this popular post from last year.

Peanut Pineapple Stew (April 2010)
An extremely popular and laughably easy recipe that combines easy-to-find ingredients in a highly creative way. Better still, it costs just 80c a serving. A classic example of the kind of recipes we love to feature here at CK.

Make Your Diet Into a Flexible Tool (April 2009)
There are times in your life when you need to bias your diet towards healthy foods, and there are times when you need to bias your diet towards energy-dense foods. Don't think of your diet as a rigid set of rules that can never be broken--rather, think of it as a license to meet your body's current needs.

Green Bean Salad: Another Ridiculously Easy Side Dish (April 2008)
When I say ridiculously easy, I mean it. You can put this delicious and distinctive side dish together in minutes and you will literally wow your dinner guests. An exceptional recipe from the exceptional cookbook The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weill.

Wheat and Lime Muffins: In Search of the Perfect Commuter Food (April 2007)
This post was borne out of my frustrations paying $1.75 (now probably more like $2.50) for a greasy and sugary muffin at a local corner deli down the street from my old Wall Street job. This healthy, delicious and intriguing muffin recipe was the result.






How can I support Casual Kitchen? If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!

CK Friday Links--Friday April 1, 2011

Here's yet another selection of interesting links from around the internet. As always, I welcome your thoughts and your feedback. PS: Follow me on Twitter!
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What, exactly, is expected of a food blogger? (Tastes Better With Friends)

Most of us in the food media live in a bubble, and the James Beard Awards are worse than the Grammys. (Accidental Hedonist)

Excellent tips (and a really bad pun) on handling asparagus. (Cafe Johnsonia)

Little habits keep me from changing my life. (Spoon Matters)

Recipe Links:
Delicious, and way easier than it looks: Cod Wrapped in Crispy Potatoes. (Kalofagas)

Laughably cheap and preposterously easy: Homemade Yogurt. (Addicted to Canning)

Healthier than takeout Chinese and nearly as easy: Sweet & Sour Chile Chicken. (Butcher, Baker)

Off-Topic Links:
How not to get tricked on April Fool's Day. (Quick Writing Tips)

Excellent insights on how to avoid getting robbed when traveling. (Matador Network)

Another type of robbery: You should know about these five types of fees that devour your retirement savings. (Squawkfox)


Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!


Help support Casual Kitchen by buying Jules Clancy's exceptional new e-cookbook 5 Ingredients, 10 Minutes (see my rabidly positive review here). Or, support CK by buying Everett Bogue's revolutionary book The Art of Being Minimalist. (These are both affiliate links, so if you decide to make a purchase, you'll help fund all of the free content here at CK!)

How can I support Casual Kitchen? If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!