The Stone Soup Cook

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! Today, I’m going to share a recipe for salt-crusted prime rib roast that is just perfect as a centerpiece for a New Year’s Eve celebration: But first, a meditation and some news: I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas! If your Christmas went anything like mine, not only did it go in a whirlwind, but it also went not quite as …

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! Today, I am continuing my series of posts devoted to the goal of finding time to find joy during this hectic season. In yesterday’s post, I featured a recipe for terrific little baked-potato scrambles for no-fuss, no-muss busy-day breakfasts: Today, I’m featuring spinach and egg casserole that can be made in bulk at the beginning of the week and carved out for …

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! I hope you’re enjoying the holidays and all the joys that accompany this beautiful time of year! I also hope that you’re finding some time to reflect on what makes you happy and what brings you joy. This week, I’m sharing recipe ideas that are festive enough to make for holiday meals, and yet manageable enough to ease the load of some of …

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m glad you’re here! Yesterday, I shared thoughts on finding joy in times of trial. When life feels unrelentingly difficult, it can be hard to find joy, or to even recognize kindnesses shared by others, until one is able to slow down, breathe deeply and listen. Listening is easier said than done. If you’re anything like me, your inner voice tends to be rather loquacious, making quieting …

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–so glad you’re here! The holiday season is in full swing and let’s face it–the holidays can be overwhelming–which is why it’s important to make some time to spend on listening in quiet reflection. This is the third week of Advent. The third candle of the Advent wreath is the Shepherd’s Candle and represents joy–the joy that the angels brought to the shepherds of the birth of …

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! We are wrapping up the second week of Advent. The second candle represents “preparation.” This morning, I asked myself: “what is preparation, exactly?” In terms of cooking, I think of preparation as preservation. Preserving seasonal foodstuffs is a time-honored tradition practiced by most animals, it seems. “Hoarding” or “caching” is done seasonally to store food that is plentiful at the time for …

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m glad you’re here! This morning, I woke up to a thick fog–the kind of fog known as Tule fog. It occurs in the fall and winter after rains that are followed by clear, cold nights. It is common in the San Joaquin Valley, but this year, we had an unusually wet fall, followed now by a persistent high pressure system that has brought the Tule fog …

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! Well, here we are, already in the second week of Advent. This year has simultaneously crept along in a petty pace and flown by in a rush of wings. It’s been a very, very tough year and today, I welcome the opportunity to embrace Advent daily by seizing each new moment of each new day and looking toward what the future will …

Hello! Welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook–I’m so glad you’re here! I hope you enjoyed a peaceful and joyous Thanksgiving with the family you chose, either human or animal, or in quiet reflection. I, myself, have spent the last week in quiet reflection: reflection on the season we are now hurtling headlong into–the serious and sometimes overwhelming throws of the heart of the holidays–that time known as Advent. The weeks leading up to Christmas …

Hello and welcome back to The Stone Soup Cook—so glad you’re here! One of the most comforting smells that can come out of a kitchen after the big meal, is the smell of turkey stock simmering on the stove.  I try to make turkey stock from every turkey I roast. I usually use up the stock right away, but it also freezes beautifully, so you can pull it out on a weeknight for a quick, …