Cookin' and a'Codin

09/30/2026

09/30/2026

09/29/2026

LOTS OF HOMEMADE GOODNESS AT MAMA'S KITCHEN TABLE IN RONAN
Karen Joslin said that she only bakes gluten free to avoid cross contamination. I didn't realize what a big thing that was until I had to learn how to manage food for my Auntie who had celiac disease.

When I picked out a jar of dilly beans for a friend's get together, Karen said that the beans were from her garden. Were is the right word because the dilly beans didn't stay around very long!

09/17/2026

WHAT 3 HIGH TECH LADY FRIENDS DO FOR FUN.. we also happen to be foodies!

We have had many dinners at restaurants, as well as shared meals where all three of us contributed dishes.

But, this month, we took a pasta making class held in the community room at Lolo Peak Brewery. They had a long table down the middle of the room with wooden worktops on the long conference table. There were about 15 of us. We learned how to make about 5 shapes of pasta. They also send you home with some of the dough you made yourself to try on your own.

One of us remembers everything having to do with names and precision. She will remember all the pasta shape names and will pronounce them correctly. That's not me, but I did remember how to make one of the shapes, see the photo below.

My sauce making process is in a post that is linked below.

The classes are run by a Missoula business called Will's Noods. Will and his fiancé turned learning how to make fresh pasta for themselves into a farmers market business, and then added the classes.

About the classes: https://www.willsnoods.com/

Making the sauce: https://www.facebook.com/CookinAndACodin/posts/pfbid06ybcdkBBhxuTpweBpF9gwFrUQsdWKTQAJNsJWJmiMdHR9DXVYsViBexNXdDpN1bfl

09/16/2026

THE SEARCH FOR A CHUNKY, FRESH VEGETABLE SAUCE RECIPE.. and how my cooking process usually goes

Why is it that recipes for "chunky tomato and bell pepper sauce" always contain the word - blender or food processor?

OK, fine, I will make my own recipe.

WHY I WANTED CHUNKY SAUCE
1. Last week, I realized that I had CSA tomatoes from previous week that needed to be used. So, I peeled them*, chopped them into approx .5 in cubes, that's very approximately, and put them in a container in the fridge.

2. Last week, I realized that I still had 4 bell peppers of different colors that needed to be used. You know, the ones that were on a really good sale at Winco, and you just knew you could make something really good out of them ...
I oven roasted the peppers, peeled them, chopped them like the tomatoes, and put them into 1/2 pint jars in the refrigerator.**

3. My Depression Era Grandmother would haunt me for wasting #1 and #2.

WHAT TO DO WHEN LOOKING FOR RECIPES IS A WASTE OF TIME
1. I chopped half a medium onion to approximately .25 in. chunks. Yes, those are very approximate too. I studied Business and CS, not Culinary.

2. Hmmm, garlic, I chopped a very large garlic clove to not anything like a "fine mince".

3. I chopped 2 stalks of wilted celery that was in the fridge to show my Grandmother what a good user of resources I am.

4. I added a generous amount of olive oil to a smallish saute* pan and heated it on medium low. Note: my Grandmother would NEVER have used something as expensive as olive oil.

5. Somewhere in here I cooked the pasta

6. I sauted the onions, garlic and celery, aka aromatics *, until they were, oooops, slightly past translucent.

7. I added the tomatoes and green peppers to the saute pan, and let them simmer a few minutes.


* Peeling involves putting them into simmering water for a few minutes. Few minutes is when the skins show a sign of wrinkling or splitting.

** Roasting peppers and then letting them sweat produces a lovely liquid. I added it to one of the jars with the chopped peppers. The other jar I added olive oil.

09/09/2026

THE HUNT FOR RED PEARL ONIONS

Fermented Pickles Batch 2 is bubbling nicely. The bright colors of the first two days are gone, which means that the microbes have been working. But, the pickle jar would be nicer if I had been able to find red, pearl onions.

Albertsons on Reserve had both red and white onions in little plastic tubs, but they were rather old and sad.

Pattee Creek Market had Hutterite pickling cucumbers and real dill (dill that is long and gangly and large, not the nonsense in the little plastic containers.) But, no pearl onions.

Super One in Stevensville had white and yellow pearl onions, but no red.

Finally, after it was too late to add them, I found the best brand/packaging so far at Winco. I will pickle them separately and add them to the jars.