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Chicken parmesan is a classic, fun and simple Italian dish that I grew up having on the rare occasion my mom felt like going to the effort to make it. It's such great comfort food and conjures nostalgia. The only vegetarian version of this dish that I have had is eggplant parmesan, which IS NOTHING LIKE THE ORIGINAL!!!! Eggplant has its place, but its too wet and slimy to truly replace the (dare I say) moist and tender yet firm texture of chicken. One of my favorite things ab

Lemon Chicken over Pesto Chicken of the woods is perhaps the most novel mushroom because it not only has that umami taste that is associated with meat but it has the actual texture of real chicken meat. Because of this, I like to treat it like chicken--grill it, deep fry it, bake it. This recipe involves brining the mushroom in a preserved lemon and olive oil, as you might with chicken, baking it at 375 for 20 minutes, then shredding it and tossing it with rotini and pesto. I

Milkweed, despite its notoriety as a poisonous plant, can be not only edible but delicious. Monarchs have known this for a long time and some will shun eating monarch food, but as long as you’re only picking in areas where it’s plentiful and not taking too much, those monarchs will do just fine. Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, is safe and delightful in all stages of the plant's life if properly prepared. Any part of the plant (and almost all of it is good to eat) must be

Milkweed, despite its notoriety as a poisonous plant, can be not only edible but delicious. Monarchs have known this for a long time and some will shun eating monarch food, but as long as you’re only picking in areas where it’s plentiful and not taking too much, those monarchs will do just fine. Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, is safe and delightful in all stages of the plant's life if properly prepared. Any part of the plant (and almost all of it is good to eat) must be

Pesto, like its English cousin pestle, both are derived from the latin word for “to crush”. In the case of this sauce or condiment, it is in reference to its traditional preparation. These days, though, most folks just buzz it up in a food processor. Honestly, that’s what I do and it tastes great. Some swear, however, that the best pesto is made in the traditional style. I think it’d be fun to compare two pestos made with the same recipe but differing only by the machine used

These snacks are a showstopper at a party. I just took them to a Mother’s Day/Birthday party get together for my wife’s grandma who just turned 89. People were shouting, “you better tell Uncle Chris to get in there and grab some morels before they’re all gone.” It was the only dish to walk out of that potluck wiped clean. If you want to kiss Minnesota nice goodbye, go ahead and make these. Enjoy. Ingredients 10 large morels, sliced in half 1 c Bacon and Ramp Cream Cheese 4 oz

If you haven’t gotten the chance to get out and look for morels yet, or you have and you haven’t found anything, you might be wondering what the status is of the morel season so far. Facebook will make it appear as if there are piles of morels all over the place out there because a handful of folks post photos of massive hauls (like my picture above...sorry, couldn't resist). Days out in the woods will paint a different picture, however. This is a brief synopsis of what I’ve