braise [BRAYZ] A cooking method by which food (usually meat or vegetables) is first browned in fat, then cooked, tightly covered, in a small amount of liquid at low heat for a lengthy period of time. The long, slow cooking develops flavor and tenderizes foods by gently breaking down their fibers. Braising can be done on top of the range or in the oven. A tight-fitting lid is very important to prevent the liquid from evaporating. (Thank you, Epicurious.) I must have skipped class the day braising was covered. (This is when my home ec teacher-mother should chime in how I would know ALL about braising had I only taken Foods I in high school -- which I refused to since she was teaching it -- instead of passing out to Foods II. It was a sweet joke between us; according to her, anything I didn't know, and there was and is much, was covered in detail in Foods I.) But I'm catching up! This is the first time I've braised anything and already I'm imagining fennel and leeks and ...

A fresh take on roasted cauliflower, adding Indian-style spices and a touch of heat. Gorgeous! Low Carb, Paleo, very Weight Watchers friendly. Not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". ~recipe & photo updated 2010 & 2015~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ Oh so waaaay back on Day One, I roasted cauliflower and called it yummy. But this version, spiked with Indian-style spices and pepper, is spectacularly yummy. February tomatoes being what they are, I nearly skipped them but am glad I didn't. The tomatoes add moisture, texture contrast and a bit of acid that pairs beautifully with the creamy cauliflower. 2015 UPDATE: Call me pleased when a recipe I loved way-back-when in the first year of A Veggie Venture tastes just as good – better? – again. The tomatoes, the jalapeño, the spices, they all add to the mixture, making it more than the sum of its parts. I've also learned the importance of a touch of oil when roasting vegetables. They will "cook" wit...

Rumors were as thick as cold queso over at Belly-Timber on Friday. For awhile there, it looked like Chopper and Mrs D were asking this weekend's Paper Chef participants to what, cook like babies? to baby the cooks? or somethin' crazy like that. But oh no, it was all just part of the fun. (See resident baby-cook chortle.) In honor of the brand-new (er, what'd she say? infant?) year of 2006, what Belly-Timber really wanted was for everyone to cook with a baby something. Baby food. Baby lambs. Baby forks. Something baby. (New to Paper Chef? It's a monthly food fest where foodies and food bloggers from all over the world head for their respective kitchens to cook with the same four ingredients -- this month the four are quinoa, cashews, yoghurt aka yogurt and the baby-something business. Then we all come together -- online of course -- to drool and compare. It's patterned after Food TV's Iron Chef though without the sweats and frowns. And it's great fun -- ...

This gets high marks for "great color" and likelihood of "on-hand ingredients". But I was hoping for another magical combination like, say, tomatoes and spinach with peanut butter or carrots with chutney or cabbage with apple or beets with red onion or tomatoes with stale bread or tomato with zucchini or broccoli with oyster garlic sauce or green beans with pine nuts or peppers with anchovies or cauliflower with capers or squash and pear or mashed potatoes and carrots . (Wow! When you've been doing this for more than nine months, the magical combinations begin to add up!) And that didn't happen. Still it was 'good enough' and no-fat and high-fiber, low-cal and low-carb too. And I wonder, with the apple-juice sweetener, if it might be a kid favorite? NEXT TIME: I'd skip the apple entirely. GREEN BEAN, CARROT & APPLE MEDLEY Bookmark or print this recipe only Hands-on time: 15 minutes Time to table: 15 minutes Serves 8 1 cu...

Once the holiday ruckus is finished, it's time to ease back into real life again, you know, January. Kitchen Parade continues its quick supper series, this week with the classic and ever-flexible chicken and veggies cooked in tin foil. It's simple. It's spare. And it's featured in this week's Kitchen Parade column .

Tonight I learned a new way to cook broccoli -- just pour boiling water over it! It's not quite as good as broccoli steamed like this but it has one huge redeeming factor: Easy Clean-up. Prep takes only a cover-able bowl and a small bowl for the sauce. It's also low-cal broccoli, low-carb broccoli, high-fiber broccoli and high-antioxidant broccoli. And zero -- that'd be 0 Weight Watchers points! And yes, despite all these many virtues, the broccoli tastes good too! NEXT TIME: The 'sesame sauce' was good but next time I'll add garlic and/or ginger, maybe a touch of hot sauce. I suspect this technique would work well with frozen broccoli, too. MORE BROCCOLI IDEAS: For other broccoli recipes, see here in the Recipe Box . (If you have trouble with the broccoli link, return to the main page and click By Vegetable in the right hand column. And please accept my apologies, the index file has gotten so big that it's acting up on occasion.) QUICK SESAME BROCCOLI B...

Ten minutes from stovetop to tabletop -- no beating that. Plus if you're looking for a fast AND low-carb vegetable, this has your name all over it. It's just simple spinach gussied up with currants and pine nuts and hotted up with a bit of red pepper flake. Next time, I'll take a pass on the currants but the pine nuts added good texture contrast. Given the holiday indulgence that's settled all too comfortably in my waist and regions further south, I virtuously cut the fat from a tablespoon each of olive oil and butter to just a single teaspoon of olive oil. But as the spinach finished cooking, the taste buds cried out for butter flavor so I did succumb and add a teaspoon. It made all the difference, I think, between feeling cheated and satisfied -- especially important when there are still too many post-holiday temptations hanging around. For other recipes quick-quick vegetables, see here in the Recipe Box . QUICK SPINACH with CURRANTS & PINE NUTS Bookmark or...