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cookeryandrhetoric

I am a retired college English Professor and Writing Center Director, who is passionate about cooking and communicating. Food and cooking probably generate more conversation and support more relationships than any other activity. James Beard said, "Food is our common ground, a universal experience." It is the place to start building. Make food, not war!
cookeryandrhetoric has written 103 posts for Cookery & Rhetoric

Zucchini Walnut Bread (gluten-free)

Before I learned that I was sensitive to gluten, I made zucchini bread.  It’s a good solution for what to do with too many and too big zucchinis.  I experimented with brown rice flour and oat flour and came up with the following recipe, which is an adaptation of my original flour recipe.  Makes 2 … Continue reading

Spanokopita

Spanikopita is a sort of spinach pie made with filo dough.  Although the recipe is somewhat time consuming, the result is worth it.  Here is my version, which is a combination of recipes I’ve used, my own tweaking, and instruction from a former sister-in-law. Spanikopita travels well.  I’ve brought it to parties and packed it for … Continue reading

Gussie’s Enduring Mashed Potatoes

A few years ago, my sister, Gussie, offered to contribute mashed potatoes to Thanksgiving dinner at my house.  She was going to make them ahead of time and then transport them 1 1/2 hours to my house.  I was skeptical, knowing from experience that old cold mashed potatoes just ain’t that great.  She said not to … Continue reading

Potato, Pepper, and Zucchini Hash Browns

This dish gives you something else to do with your zucchini, the bountiful vegetable everyone gives away this time of year.  The friend, who originally passed the recipe on to me, uses store-bought frozen hash browns.  Great with eggs or steak.  Also stands alone as a side dish with other foods.  If you don’t eat meat, … Continue reading

Pumpkin Butter

In the late 70’s, Dan and I lived on a 160 acre farm in Floodwood with another couple and their baby.  Dan and I were longshoremen at the time and commuted an hour to and from the port of Duluth to work.  In the summers, we grew a huge garden and experimented with a number … Continue reading

Watergate Cake with Cover-up Frosting (Mom’s recipe)

Imagine, a cake name that ridicules a political snafu.  I’ve never heard of pastry sarcasm before or after.  During the same period of time (the 70’s) she made this cake, mom also made a dessert bar called “Better than Robert Redford Bars.”  Mom loved Redford; hated Nixon. I found this recipe stuffed in an old cookbook inherited from … Continue reading

Genovese Style Pesto

I learned about pesto in Genoa.  Genoa is an old seaport, where men still swagger like sailors.  The Genovese (or at least, my friend Giacomo) claim, and I agree, that their pesto is best.  What is cool about pesto is that if you make a large batch ahead, it makes assembling an entree quick and easy.  Cook … Continue reading

Homemade Mustard

I was about 15 the first time I made mustard, and, like a lot of my cooking experience, it was invention born out of desperation and poverty.  We were out of mustard, and I was babysitting my brother and sisters (my last brother wasn’t born until I was 20), and I needed the condiment for … Continue reading

1-Crust Raspberry Pie

When our romantic relationship was still new, I occasionally hung out with Dan at the little house that he shared with his friend, Larry, in the Proctor, Minnesota countryside .  On one particular day,I was bored because Dan and Larry were working on a car.  The afternoon was sunny and warm, filled with the scent of wild roses … Continue reading

High-Protein, Nectarine-Vanilla Smoothie (sugar-free)

Dan and I have made versions of the following recipe for years.  We generally make them for breakfast with frozen blueberries and strawberries.  However, this concoction is especially good, and at this moment, the nectarines are in season in the U.S.  You can eat have this smoothie for breakfast or lunch.  It benefits from extra … Continue reading

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