A classic simple cornbread sweetened with honey or the Midwestern favorite, sorghum. Sweet but not too sweet. Rich but not too rich. Ever so tender. Absolutely delicious! Bake it in the traditional round shape in a cast iron skillet or for great sliced cornbread, a loaf pan. But the recipe has moved to a new location, please see Honey-Sweet Cornbread at Kitchen Parade, my food column. Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Asparagus-to-Zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables . Join " veggie evangelist " Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-common vegetables where recipes range from seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special. © Copyright Kitchen Parade VV 2008, 2011, 2015, 2018 (repub) & 2024 (retire) KP 2024

Finally! The advent of spring may mean cherry blossoms in Washington but for vegetable lovers, it's the return of fresh, local produce that stirs our spoons. So I commissioned some icons to help myself -- and my fellow bloggers -- showcase fresh vegetables and fruits whether from farmers markets, a CSA, a you-pick farm, even our own gardens. (Sound familiar? Who remembers Blush the Sweet Tomato ?) So yes, fellow bloggers, you are invited to use these icons in your own blogs in posts and places that feature fresh and local produce. Together, let's help spread the word about the many sources of fresh and healthful produce. Each icon comes in 400px, 125px and 100px sizes. You're free to use one or more of the icons as you see fit: in posts; in sidebars; to link to a list of your own favorite farmers markets; to link to Local Harvest or your own CSA -- anything creative you come up with that's related to fresh, local produce. Use them once, use them a h...

Today's recipe: Homemade cornbread made supper-substantial with ham, sun-dried tomatoes and cheese. A 'concept' recipe. Who's looking for good ways to use up leftover ham? Me too, it seems, always. Add a bowl of soup and this homemade cornbread makes for a filling supper. [ Note to Vegetarians ] NEXT TIME I'll use bigger chunks of cheese so there are pockets of cheesiness. LEFTOVER REPORT Don't forget to refrigerate any leftovers, there's meat in this cornbread! This cornbread remained fresh and moist for the second day. NEW PRODUCT ALERT I love-love-love what I call 'fresh' sun-dried tomatoes. They're not the dried and dusty sun-dried tomatoes that require reconstituting in boiling water, neither are they the sun-dried tomatoes soaked in oil and calories. 'Fresh' sun-dried tomatoes are fat and plump, more like dried plums/prunes. They last in the fridge for several weeks - except that they're easy to snack on, too. Good news, ...

Today at KitchenParade.com, look for one of my oldest favorite recipes, one for tiapinno, the classic Italian fish stew . It's perfect for meatless Fridays during Lent, also for dieters since a hearty serving has only 3 Weight Watchers points. It's making me hungry, just looking at the photo! Note to Vegetarians Who missed last week's recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Cookies ? If you learn about new Kitchen Parade recipes via an announcement here on A Veggie Venture (which didn't happen last week, by accident), may I suggest a separate subscription? I'm going to phase out making Kitchen Parade announcements on A Veggie Venture since the two sites have increasingly different readers. Just sign up for Kitchen Parade via e-mail or Kitchen Parade via RSS . Many thanks! Don't forget the special event for Pi Day the week of March 10 - 14th at KitchenParade.com. SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my mom started writing for ou...

Tonight, the dog and I walked downtown. It should have been a quiet walk, just footsteps echoing along dark streets. Instead, helicopters throbbed overhead, police cars flashed, television cameras and reporters gathered. The Kirkwood City Hall so many will see on the morning news is just a block from the farmers market where I buy so many of the vegetables you see on this site. The five people who were murdered there tonight, the two police officers, the three city employees, the two who were injured, the mayor critically -- and the gunman, too -- they and their families, they're all from my small town. But aren't we all from some small town, even those in cities where streets and neighborhoods and buildings are the communities in which we live our lives. Countless times I've sobbed to hear of lives lost to suicide bombers, to natural calamities, to inexpressible tragedies. Tonight I spoke with a man from Lebanon who knows that in the morning, his parents will newly worr...

No recipe today -- just an announcement about a food blog event centered around Pi, whoops, make that Pie! See today's Pi Day announcement at KitchenParade.com. Eat more vegetables! A Veggie Venture is the home of Veggie Evangelist Alanna Kellogg and is the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes, quick, easy, and yes, delicious. Start with the Alphabet of Vegetables or dive into all the Weight Watchers vegetable recipes or all the low carb vegetable recipes . © Copyright 2008

What's the best thing about the Superbowl? (Um, who's playing again? Hmm. Let's see. Green Bay isn't , right?) Why, the food, of course! This week's Kitchen Parade column features three favorites: a recipe for Chicken Nachos made with homemade Pickled Jalapeño Rings (they're refrigerator pickles!) plus Game-Day Pretzels, an addictive recipe from family friends in Minnesota. Dig in -- enjoy! Note to Vegetarians SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features ' fresh seasonal recipes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences '. Want to know more? Explore KitchenParade.com , including Kitchen Parade's Recipe Box ! WHY DOESN'T THIS POST ACCEPT COMMENTS? Because I hope that you'll click through to the actual column and comment there! E-MAI...

Today's vegetable recipe: A quick supper or side dish using a quick-cook technique for low-carb pasta and Trader Joe's 'Greens with Envy' frozen vegetables in a simple sauce. Vegan. Whether this qualifies as cooking, well, is doubtful. But it does qualify as getting supper on the table in a flash. Some nights, well, that's challenge enough, yes? (Even through the internet-wall, I imagine heads nodding ...) This is a fast, tasty supper, just Dreamfields Pasta (that's the low-glycemic pasta that carb counters can eat and the rest of us love the taste of) and my new favorite Trader Joe's product, "Green Envy" (correction: "Greens with Envy", thank you readers!), a bag of frozen vegetables. Any frozen vegetable would work but Greens with Envy is a great mix -- broccoli, asparagus tips, spinach, green beans, even edamame beans. These five green vegetables really work beautifully together and I'm so grateful to the mom at Trader Joe...

"Think of brown rice as the emperor with his clothes on." ~ Keep reading this week's Kitchen Parade column . Today's column shares a long-time favorite recipe with my local St. Louis readers, the recipe for brown rice that's cooked in the oven. (And yes, observant readers, that's wild rice tucked into the brown rice. It's my favorite new variation.) SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features ' fresh seasonal recipes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences '. Want to know more? Explore KitchenParade.com , including Kitchen Parade's Recipe Box ! WHY DOESN'T THIS POST ACCEPT COMMENTS? Because I hope that you'll click through to the actual column and comment there! E-MAIL & RSS SUBSCRIBERS You may subscribe to Kitchen Parade dir...

When I was still on the hunt for my go-to chili recipe, I tried some doozies. Read all about it in a 2002 Kitchen Parade column (published today online for the first time) with my favorite recipe for chili, Chocolate Chili . SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features ' fresh seasonal recipes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences '. Want to know more? Explore KitchenParade.com , including Kitchen Parade's Recipe Box ! WHY DOESN'T THIS POST ACCEPT COMMENTS? Because I hope that you'll click through to the actual column and comment there! E-MAIL & RSS SUBSCRIBERS You may subscribe to Kitchen Parade directly, then you'll receive the complete column and recipe directly in your In Box or RSS reader. Just sign up for Kitchen Parade via e-mail or Kitchen Par...

When it comes to New Year's, it's a quandary. Some years, champagne and lobster, sure! Others? Well, there's nothing like a bowl of rich and creamy soup, one that cooks a long, long time on the stove, as if in remembrance of all things past. This week's Kitchen Parade column introduces my local readers to the slow food movement, including St. Louis' own Slow Food chapter . It's at KitchenParade.com and includes the recipe for Smoked Turkey Chowder . But whatever your New Year's plans, whether bubbly celebrations or morning-after breakfasts or comfort food on New Year's Day, Kitchen Parade's archives has New Year's recipes for inspiration. And for good luck in the new year, don't forget to cook some black-eyed peas . See you on the other side! Happy New Year's, all! SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published...

Tomorrow is my annual cookie swap and for perhaps the 15th time in 15 years, my friend Kathy will bring her M&M cookies. Now why would someone make the same cookies year after year? Because these M&M cookies are oh-so-good and because they're so good, we won't let her bring anything ELSE. But she might be off the hook, because Kathy gave me permission to share her recipe -- it starts with the classic Tollhouse cookie recipe, with M&Ms. But Kathy's been tweaking the recipe for more than a decade, so now they're absolutely perfect mix of crispy chewiness and chocolatey sweetness. So here you go, Kathy's recipe for Perfect M&M Cookies . CHRISTMAS COOKIES from AROUND the WORLD One of my favorite food bloggers is Susan from Food Blogga and she's collecting Christmas cookie recipes from food bloggers all over, it's a great collection of cookie recipes , be sure to check it out! Perfect M&M Cookies are so very American, yes? The reci...

So this week I mixed up some muffins to serve hot from the oven when family visits over the holidays. (What? Mixed muffins now? for serving in three weeks? Yes!) Talk about make-ahead recipes! The batter keeps in the frig for five weeks. Along the way, bake fresh muffins (as many as you want, even just one or two) any time. The recipe is from a 2002 Kitchen Parade column, published today online for the first time. So check it out, it's my recipe for Five-Week Bran Muffins . The recipe is just one in a collection of recipes for Christmas in Kitchen Parade's Recipe Box. ~ how to host a cookie exchange along with my favorite roll-out cookie recipe ~ ~ the cranberry-macadamia nut cookie recipe I'm making for this year's cookie swap ~ ~ the graham cracker toffee that everyone finds so addictive ~ ~ one way to share the true meaning of Christmas with children, Jesus' birthday cake ~ SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column...

If you're from St. Louis, you'll likely love this post filled with gift ideas from/for our area. If you're not, don't worry, tomorrow there will be a great recipe that works worldwide! The St. Louis food bloggers are exploding in number and today some of us are posting about our best ideas for St. Louis food gifts. What do we mean? Well, we'll see! Maybe local somethings, maybe local sources, I haven't seen the other lists yet but am dying to know what we come up with collectively. Here's who is participating -- Kitchen Conservatory , St. Louis Eats & Drinks , Iron Stef , The Cupcake Project and Stl Bites -- check out their ideas for food gifts, too. And now, here you are, my own ideas for St. Louis Food Gifts. American Visions - American Visions is the lovely gift shop at 9854 Manchester Road in Rock Hill, filled with pieces from American artists and craftsmen. My favorite food items are the beautiful-but-useable measuring cups and measuring spoons ...

Who else is itching to get into the kitchen for fruitcake, Christmas cookies, holiday candies, all the wonders of holiday baking? I can hardly wait! This recipe for caramel corn (and corn is a even vegetable, yes?!) is great in the interim, satisfying both a sweet tooth and a baking binge. The caramel corn is made in the microwave with nothing more than a few ingredients and a paper bag -- and some shake-it-up fun! It's from a 2002 Kitchen Parade column, published today online for the first time. So here it is, my recipe for homemade caramel corn . And because I'm expecting a houseful, already I'm planning menus and stocking the freezer, some times testing new recipes, other times turning to long-time family favorite recipes already published at KitchenParade.com , especially all the soup recipes and wintry comfort food recipes . SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a...

Hello from cold and snowy (and glorious) northern Minnesota where on Thanksgiving Day, the dawn temperature was about zero (yes, Fahrenheit) and ice diamonds fell from clearwater blue skies much of the day. Today, soft snow began to fall about noon, especially magical as people gathered to sing carols and light the town Christmas tree. It's no wonder I've got winter on the mind, you'll see the evidence in this week's recipe in Kitchen Parade for Cranberry Apple Crisp which also makes up in 'diet', 'topping' and 'crumb pie' versions. It's a lovely combination of sweet and tart, a wintry take on fall's favorite. SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features ' fresh seasonal recipes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences '. Want to ...

"How are you?" Yesterday, at church in my hometown in northern Minnesota, Pastor Rosanna suggested that this is a good week to answer something other than the customary "Fine", suggesting "Grateful". Today, I'm sitting in a small coffee shop (thank you to Linda from the Smiling Moon, to whom I'm much grateful for WiFi!) to post this and just heard someone just-arrived for Thanksgiving give a local a big hug. I didn't hear his question, but did hear her laughing answer, "Grateful." And so I am, and so, I hope, are you. Only a few more days, now, til Thanksgiving. I love imagining your kitchens all abustle, giblets simmering on the stove, the frig spilling over with pre-Thanksgiving ingredients, busy-busy-busy. Today I republish my Thanksgiving column from 2005. There's a recipe, yes, for squash puff, a long-time family favorite. But I hope the accompanying essay creates a moment of quiet reflection, of gratitude, in your busy-n...

A small Bundt cake packed with all our favorite fall flavors like pumpkin, apple, cranberry, pecans and fresh ginger plus fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. But the recipe has moved to a new location, please see Thanksgiving Cake at Kitchen Parade, my food column. Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Asparagus-to-Zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables . Join " veggie evangelist " Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-common vegetables where recipes range from seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special. © Copyright Kitchen Parade 2007 & 2023 (retired) & KP 2023

[We could perhaps live by Thanksgiving vegetables alone, but why would we, really when there's pie, especially apple pie?] From this week's Kitchen Parade column: "When my pastry prowess went missing for far too long, I consulted the Pastry Whisperer, Anne Cori of Kitchen Conservatory, the cooking school and kitchen store in St. Louis. In an hour, she shared a treasure of pie crust tips and tricks. ..." It's been quite a month since Anne showed up in my kitchen for a pastry lesson. Back up just a minute -- you see, I've made good pie crust since I was 16, in some circles (hi Rass!) I'm even a little famous for pie. But then, whack, I lost the knack and turned out one tough crust after another. In vain, I sought out new recipes, new tools, new techniques. I studied up, I took notes. I tried lard, egg, vinegar, sour cream and even the latest, vodka. (Yes, the vodka went into the pastry, though given my frustration, a stiff drink was warranted.) I fuss...

Well hello, retro, rustic fare, you oh-so-familiar baked potatoes, your mealy flesh scraped out to mix with so much creaminess (butter, cottage cheese or sour cream, cream cheese, sharp cheddar) then stuffed back into your skins to bake again. More good news? Russet potatoes are indeed traditional and make great twice-bakeds but ooo la la, Yukon gold potatoes are smaller and turn out an even creamier filling . If you've ever found a twice-baked daunting in size, try using Yukon golds. PS I can't help but call these 2X Potatoes. Does anyone else?! But the recipe has moved to a new location, please see Twice-Baked Potatoes at Kitchen Parade, my food column. Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Asparagus-to-Zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables . Join " veggie evangelist " Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-c...