Cooking during late March can be particularly challenging due to the cold weather and lack of fresh produce. The desire for spring recipes clashes with the reality of winter ingredients still dominating the market.
If you're not prepared, you aren't doomed to sit in darkness until the power is restored. You can easily make an emergency candle to use temporarily during a power outage, either until your lights are turned back on or just to help you find your flashlights and batteries. All you need is two pantry staples: rice and olive oil. One of olive oil's many uses throughout history was for ancient oil lamps.
I can't help but think of this time a year ago when I was looking forward to a party we'd planned. I didn't know it was the last one we'd host for so long. When I look back at what I cherish and miss the most about what we did during pre-pandemic life, gatherings small and large are high on the list.
Moisture is your best bet for keeping green garlic fresh and crisp long enough to elevate your dishes throughout the week. Just wrap it in a damp paper towel before placing it in a plastic bag for fridge storage (the crisper drawer should work). These steps should last it for about five to seven days.
If you want to eat more plants in 2026, these vegan meal prep ideas are for you! They include our best grab-and-go breakfasts, packable lunches, and make-ahead dinners-all healthy, delicious, and entirely plant-based. After weeks of holiday treats, I always start January in the mood for fresh, feel-good food. The easiest way to ensure I actually eat the nourishing meals I'm craving is by meal prepping.
Making homemade stock isn't just a sustainable exercise in zero-waste cooking; it's also (basically) free. By stashing stray vegetable odds and ends in a resealable gallon bag in the freezer, when stock o'clock strikes, home cooks will already have everything they need on hand. From onion scraps to bits of shallots, celery, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, herb stems, and even peels and roots, you can toss it all in the bag, and (later) into the stock pot.
Back in the summer, on a particularly sunny day, I boarded a ferry to visit a friend on Nantucket Island. Upon arrival, while sifting through the many vacationers to find my friend, I crossed paths with a bluefin tuna. It was perched on the nearest dock and weighed 750 pounds. A crowd of local fishermen circled the fish, taking photos, slicing into the belly, and even sneaking small bites.
Lentils are an inexpensive source of protein, and they can take on many flavor profiles easily and without much effort. The tiny legumes are great in salads, but they really come alive when simmered with alliums, vegetables, spices, and a flavorful broth. Lentil soups and stews can be simple or extravagant, depending on how you garnish the soup, but they always make for a hearty, satisfying meal.
Barley, the grain that is featured in this dish, is one of our most nutritious grains; it contributes protein, thiamine and niacin. Barley also is a rich source of dietary fiber. For a vegan rendition, use vegan yogurt and maple syrup instead of honey in the dressing and use olive oil instead of butter when sauteing the mushrooms. The dish is a main course salad and should be served at room temperature.
As soon as the weather takes on a chilly edge, and until the heat of summer is in full effect, nothing hits the spot quite like a pot of soup. Soup also happens to be one of the easiest things to cook, especially if you have a flavor-building shortcut so that you don't have to start quite from scratch. All it takes to really jump-start a warming pot of soup is a jar of Aldi's Specially Selected Vodka Pasta Sauce.
Plastic food containers are both cheap and convenient these days, offering cheap and simple storage solutions for leftovers in your fridge or dry items in the pantry. But they're not without their problems. Apart from figuring out how to organize those pesky plastic lids, the containers themselves may end up holding onto old food odors that make them unappealing to keep using.
