Pumpkin Pie, Oh my!

      In late September when pie pumpkins are being harvested, I stock up on pumpkin pie filling pods and freeze them for future use. Two pods make three mini pies. In January these make a delicious dessert for the heartier winter meals. All you need to do is defrost the pod, stir, and pour the contents into the mimi Keebler graham cracker crust, do not overfill. The pies are too small to place directly on the oven rack so I use a cooling rack for a base.

I cook the pies at 350@ for 30 minutes. Every oven cooks differently so, the toothpick test tells you if the pie needs to cook longer. Continue cooking until the toothpick comes out clean and the pie is puffed high. Cool and serve plain or topped with whipped cream. A delicious treat!

Still podding after all these years

 I am fine with the refrigerator being bare when I arrive home from a trip because I have 75-100 pods of food to create a meal in my freezer at all times. Each of these storage containers holds 25 pods of various foods with which I can create a delicious meal. 

Mussels

On a recent luncheon outing,  I ordered one of my favorite appetizers', mussel in a white wine sauce.  My twelve year old granddaughter agreed to try one and did not have the greatest reaction to the texture.

I gave her a lot of credit, at age 12,  to taste this delicacy even though the texture made her spit it out onto her bread dish. I thought they were delicious. An acquired taste I guess! However, too much food for one seating, I asked for a to go container taking each mussel out of it's shell and placing it, with the wine sauce for another meal. This will freeze nicely so I can create a new dinner, because I am not a big fan of leftovers.  

With a pod of my homemade garlic butter and a pod of pasta,  a new mussel creation was really easy. In a sauté pan I melted a tablespoon of garlic butter and another of butter and placed the mussels in to warm. I toasted some fresh sourdough focaccia bread and warmed my pasta in the microwave. Finishing with some fresh parmesan cheese, Voila! dinner.

 

Elements of soup

 It is a cold January day, perfect for a nice warm cup of homemade soup. However, how many times have you gone to make soup and are missing one ingredient? No problem with podding the little extras that make a soup special are all ready to go, one pod at a time. And the best part, when the soup is ready you can enjoy a bowl and freeze the rest in pods or a super cuber, for larger portions, to enjoy at a later date. 

For these two soups, Chicken corn chowder and cream of butternut squash soup the only fresh item I used were the celery and onions, everything else came from the freezer. The chicken, squash, corn, green peppers, carrots, oh well you get the idea. Keep toasty sipping soup in the company of food. 

 

Smoothielicious! In the company of food.

 "Unique gifts for that impossible person on your list.", was my draw to the article listing 20 unique gifts for people who have everything. Me! 

  When I began reading the article I just laughed at the first suggestions until I hit on the Aoozi battery-operated blender. "That sounds interesting," I thought. So I brought myself a present. I love it! 

  Why? I can say with a great degree of confidence no one would have thought to buy this gift for me. I am not known to be a big smoothie fan. I am a really good cook with a well-developed culinary repertoire and a vast array of tools. "Why don't you just put the portioned amount into your regular blender?" my daughter laughed. Let me expound!

In the past, I have tried multiple versions of smoothies in my blender. I always have too much and end up refrigerating the leftovers or eventually throwing them away. I make the smoothie, creatively; some fruit, some yogurt some juice. It always blossoms into a delicious creation but how much can one person consume in one seating? In the Aoozi blender, you can only put enough ingredients for one smoothie. My first favorite feature. No leftovers, no guessing how little an apple will puree into. 

  Like any new culinary toy, it took a few tries to get the portions right and adapt recipes to my taste buds. The good news is I did not have to worry if anyone else liked my choice of ingredients. There was only enough for me. No one in my family could say, " Oh the looks good can I have some?" The Aoozi has its own reusable straw and you drink right from the blender. Less cleanup and they even include tools to clean the blender and straw properly.

 These are some of the smoothies I have tried since getting my blender.

I started out with one for breakfast and after a week tried a fruit smoothie for lunch and a vegetable smoothie for dinner.

1: Handful blueberries, 5 raspberries, T. plain greek yogurt, dash honey, few pecans, 2 oz. orange juice and crushed ice. NOTE: had to add a little water too thick.

2: 2 slices of Apple, frozen corn, 2 dried prunes, dash honey, pecans, 2 oz. of orange juice. 2 oz. water,  crushed ice. Note: prunes did not blend well. For lunch, I tried blending my hot chicken soup. I did not like it pureed and would prefer chunky soup.

3: ¼ banana, 2 slices Apples, fresh pineapple, T. yogurt, pecans, honey, leftover acorn squash, [2 oz. orange juice, 2 oz. water, crushed ice.] For dinner I tried, a couple slices of tomato, fresh basil leaves, clove roasted garlic, 6 thin slices of cucumber, leftover roasted carrots, celery with leaves, 2 pc. stewed tomato with juice, 2 oz. water, ground pepper, celery salt, olive oil. Crushed ice. Had to add 2 more oz. water. This concoction gave me bad heartburn, don’t do that again, I laughed.

You get the idea. Have fun creating in the company of food.

Dinner in the day of Covid-19

     We are all quarantined due to the 2020 pandemic and all the restaurants are closed. My pod philosophy has allowed me to eat a nice balanced meal daily. Today I began dinner with a pod of homemade ham and bean soup.  I always love a good bowl of soup on a rainy day but the effort of making a good soup is time-consuming. Once it is made, normally, there is too much to eat in one meal. Anyone agree?
     I am not a big leftover lover. When leftovers sat in my refrigerator they nine times out of ten ended up in the trash. Podding has solved this problem. Podding the leftover soup right after dinner and freezing it assures the freshness remains. Each time I have one of these soup pods it tastes like I just pulled it off the stove, fresh.  One minute in the microwave and it is ready to eat. Note: never microwave in the pod. place in a microwaveable container.  Of course, a pod of fresh parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top doesn't hurt.
      We eat with our eyes as much as our mouths and the presentation of my food is very important. I always put my food on a nice bowl or plate. My dinner tonight was a one-pan meal. I had to cook the pork cutlet. Oh, I'm exhausted! I enjoyed the podded sides of fresh-baked sweet potatoes and broccoli and had a delicious balanced meal, in the company of food.
 

                                                                           

Coming home in the company of food

     Today I came home from a week-long vacation to an empty refrigerator. It was lunchtime, so I was pretty hungry but did not want to go out to the store. I opened my freezer to my stash of pods and found some homemade turkey vegetable soup. I took the frozen pod and ran it under cool water for a few minutes, then put it into a bowl and microwaved it for 30 sec. 
   

     What about dinner? I thought.  So while my soup was defrosting I went through my freezer and found a cod filet, a pod of mashed potatoes, and a pod of fresh asparagus tips. 

     Now the soup was defrosted so I microwaved it for one more minute to heat. I took some podded parmesan cheese and sprinkled the top. Soup with a few crackers was the perfect lunch for a weary traveler. I can worry about stocking the refrigerator tomorrow. It's great to come home to the company of food. 
     

Reuben sandwich made from pods

      Have you ever needed a certain kind of cheese for a recipe and not have it available even though you have all the other ingredients for your meal. Me too! Buy podding has solved this problem. Yes, you can freeze cheese and these airtight pods prevent freezer burn.
     My son in law makes a killer sour kraut that he cans in the summer.  So when  I was in the mood for a Reuben sandwich I but had no Swiss cheese or corned beef I scoured my pods for a solution.
     Although this Reuben may be unconventional it is absolutely delicious. I found pods of carnitas meat and provolone cheese, my favorite dark rye, was in the freezer too.
     When I buy a loaf of one of my favorite bread or rolls I individually wrap each piece and return it to the bag for freezing. This avoids freezer burn and has delicious fresh bread always on hand.
     To make the Reuben I lightly butter the bread and put it butter side down into a skillet. Then I cover the bread with the cheese pieces from the pod. If I have Swiss cheese on hand this would be my first choice but I have used a variety of cheeses and meats to make delicious Reubens.  I turn my skillet on to medium and cover to let the cheese melt. While this is going on I microwave my meat for about 3o seconds, just enough to get it warm. I top one side with the meat and do the same with the sour kraut on the other half. When the cheese is melted I flip the two sides together, carefully, and my Reuben is ready for consumption. I freeze one half because I am a lightweight eater and devour the other half.
     Next time I have a taste for a Reuben there is one in the freezer with my name on it, in the company of food.

Potato pod dilemma

     \
Lemon chicken in the company of food. 

Today I found a pod of sliced, pre-cooked potatoes in my collection. I have a habit of trying to save lids so I do not mark all the contents unless they would be too hard to identify, like a ratatouille. So the white sliced contents of this pod were a bit of a mystery. They could have been cauliflower or potatoes. Either way, they would go with the lemon chicken I was planning for dinner. When I dumped them into my prep bowl they were definitely potatoes. However, they felt water sogged and I was hesitant to use them. What do I have to lose? A pod of potatoes. 

Potatoes

     I always keep cooked frozen bacon in a ziplock bag in my freezer and so I took a slice and cut it into bite-size pieces and put it in my 350@ oven for ten minutes, in a small cast-iron skillet. I then placed the soggy potatoes slices on top of the bacon and returned it to the oven for five more minutes, while I prepared my chicken. I also chose a pod of asparagus tips for my vegetable.  When I took the potatoes out of the oven the water had disappeared and they had begun to brown on the bottom. I carefully turned over the potatoes and set the pan on top of the stove, sprinkled with some podded grated cheddar, then I sauteed my lemon chicken. 

Chicken breast

     Lemon chicken is so easy. A four-ounce chicken breast, which was wrapped and frozen easily defrosted in some cool water. I lightly tossed it in flour and sauteed one side on a high flame in butter until brown. Then I turned off the stove and squeezed fresh lemon juice over the breast. I do not always have fresh lemon in the house but I do always keep fresh lemon juice in the fridge. 
     Now I place the chicken and potatoes in the oven and cook for another 20 minutes. When the timer goes off  I turn off the oven and place my asparagus pod on my dinner plate and microwave for one minute. Then I place my potatoes and chicken on the plate and enjoy my dinner, lemon chicken, in the company of food. 

Podding leftovers

     There is nothing more fun, for me than going out to dinner with friends who enjoy a variety of foods, like yourself. The unfortunate part is that restaurant meals are so big the average person cannot finish their meal; let alone share tastings with their friends. That is where podding is a great resource.
     My meal of choice was linguine and white clam sauce. There were six people in our party and each ordered something different.  So after sampling the mussels for an appetizer, calamari, and chicken Vesuvio entrees, I barely made a dent in my linguine with white clam sauce. I returned home with my meal and immediately podded three four-ounce portions carefully adding equal clams to each. I still had another serving to make for my dinner the following evening.
    The next day I purchased a pound of fresh shrimp and podded and froze three servings, setting aside the rest for my dinner. I always have homemade garlic butter in my freezer and white or red mini bottles of wine for cooking. I lightly sauteed the shrimp in garlic butter adding some wine for flavor then added my leftover linguine with white clam sauce.  Not having any crusty warm Italian bread for dipping in the sauce was a problem. I solved it with some leftover pesto pizza bread. Creating another delicious entree and podding, in the company of food.
 

Pod crazy in the company of food

     

     How many times have you gone out to dinner and bought home leftovers only to throw them out a week later because they spoiled in the refrigerator? You're not alone! But podding is an excellent solution. Next time you go out to dinner and bring home a to go container consider podding and freezing the food, especially if it is something you really enjoyed. 
     This is Shrimp Al Fredo and it podded into three containers. I have some great ideas for them as another meal paired with different vegetables or a nice fresh tossed salad.

     If I am really lazy one day I can just take out all the pods and have dinner. However, podding is also great for portion control. Imagine, I left the restaurant full. I bought home leftovers which filled three 4oz. pods. My plan, I will take out one pod and add some bigger shrimp and a bit of rue to moisten. This will be plenty of food for a meal with fewer calories than the original entree. 
      One of the things my children mentioned with all my podding of food is the environmental impact of all those pods.
Not to worry. I do not recycle I reuse. Sure I could just throw the plastic in my recycling bin and forget about them. 

But I can't even throw away the to go containers in which my leftovers came home. All my pods and lids, that I did not have to label for recognition, are thrown into a plastic wash tub and washed for reuse when it gets full. 

     I know podding is not for everyone. I too am just learning all the benefits. I am sharing my journey in podding in the company of food as I tweak and experiment.  
     
     
     
     

Polenta pods

     Polenta is one of my favorite side dishes but I do not eat it often enough because of the prep time

and the mess it makes of my pan. To have a frozen pod of polenta available has changed all that and I want to share with you some of the wonderful meal variety this affords. My first creation was super simple because I also have frozen pods of ratatouille. I love making ratatouille with an ever-changing variety of in-season vegetables. In the past, I would eventually get bored eating ratatouille because making a small amount is not an option. But since I started podding my culinary creations, all that has changed.  I make a reasonable batch of ratatouille, have it for dinner and pod the leftovers for another day. Now my dinner is so simple to prepare. I take a pod of ratatouille and a pod of polenta out of the freezer.

I can either remember to take them out early and let them defrost in the refrigerator or take off the lids and zap them in the microwave, just to defrost. Then I take the pod of polenta and break it onto my serving dish.
     For me, presentation is as important a part of making a meal delicious, as the food itself. So for this meal, I chose one of my bright blue shallow bowls.
     I place a pod of ratatouille on top and microwave the meal for two minutes. To finish I sprinkle a generous amount of parmesan cheese, and dinner is ready.

   

Pod meal with pork

     Today pork tenderloin was on sale. So much meat but such a treat. So, of course, I brought the pork and divided it, wrapped and froze the portions.

My first pork meal was breaded pork cutlet. I took one of my pork portions out and tenderized it, breading it with flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs. I threw that in an oven @350 and baked it for twenty minutes. While I was cooking the pork I checked out the freezer for my pod sides. I picked out sweet potatoes and asparagus taking them out of the freezer when I put the pork in the oven. 

Honey might be a good dipping sauce, right? 

       I defrosted my sweet potato, in the pod, for 30sec in the microwave and just put the asparagus on the plate. When the pork was ready I microwaved the entree plate for one minute, added the pork cutlet, and dinner was ready. The honey dip was a great choice. 

     Sometimes even this size portion of meat is too much. In those cases, I eat around the outside and save the center section for a mini sandwich, for another day.

   This minimalist eating is not only convenient

but is great for calorie counting if you are on a diet, and who isn't? Unfortunately, I like variety in my food selections. Sometimes that variety can be as simple as how I cook my protein. Sweet potatoes seem to compliment pork and the vegetable is whichever one I grab first. 

     This time I merely pan fried my pork cutlet with seasonings in one of my cast iron skillets. I paired it with honey bbq sauce and it was delicious. 

I also have a marsala sauce in a pod that would be a nice topping for a cutlet. I might go with mashed potato, rice or pasta pod with this protein choice. So you get the picture. I am having fun podding in the company of food and will have some more fun ideas for you in the post to follow. Pod On!

 

Pod meal with chicken

     Tonight for dinner I enjoyed Chicken Marsala with minimal cooking time. 

It was delicious.

The only thing I had to cook for this wonderful meal was the fresh, frozen chicken tenders. The potatoes, fresh broccoli, and marsala sauce were in frozen Pods. 
      Pods are my newest cooking companion for a balanced meal. Like many people I found myself throwing food away because I cooked too much. How can anyone make marsala sauce for one? I am one person and it has been a journey to learn how to cook to eat healthy, without waste. Pods are my solution.
     I love fresh vegetables. But even buying fresh frozen they sit in my freezer for too long. My solution, buy fresh,

blanch and freeze in four-ounce pods to use as a side dish, in soups or other recipes, like a frittata.  
     Pretty soon I was podding all sorts of things for an awesome dinner choice variety. I made ratatouille. I cooked linguine. I made smoothies. I podded sweet potatoes and barley. I went pod crazy!  So much so that they were falling all over my freezer. Then I tried putting them in one of my office organizers. Brillant! I can fit twenty-five pods in each. 
     When it is time for dinner I just decide what I want for my main entree, fish, chicken, pork or pasta and take out appropriate pods to create my meal.  The pods are easy to defrost and I just need to cook my protein.  Or if the meal consists of two pods like pasta ratatouille, I only need to defrost the pods and enjoy a delicious meal.

My favorite part of the whole process is no leftovers. I get to enjoy a full, balanced dinner.  Pod cooking allows me to cook a pot of soup from scratch and never throw any away. I just pod it up for another day.

Cast Iron Quicky

      

   Today I made a couple of quick meals in my favorite cast iron skillets using leftovers and a four-ounce frozen experiment. They both turned out awesome. 
At breakfast Sunday after church I took home from the restaurant two slices of bacon and all my hash browned potatoes. Not because there was anything wrong, I was full.

A frittata was the perfect dish to enhance those leftovers.  I had some other fresh vegetables in the fridge, anything could work. I used fresh mushrooms and spinach for this dish. I combined the chopped spinach, hashbrowns, and some grated cheddar cheese with four eggs in a bowl seasoning with fresh ground pepper and a pinch of salt. I sauteed the bacon and sliced mushroom in some melted butter in the skillet and when the mushrooms were tender I mixed in the egg mixture. Into the oven for twenty minutes @350 degrees. A frittata is so flexible a meal. I enjoy a slice for breakfast or lunch with a side of fruit and even for dinner with a nice side salad. Leftovers in the company of food. 

   At the same time, the oven was on after all, so I made a pizza. 

 I purchase a sleeve of pizza dough and made a pizza with some of the dough.

I portioned and froze 4 oz. portions of the leftover dough in lidded souflee cups, as an experiment. I took one of the cups out and it defrosted in five minutes and was ready to roll.  Perfect. Once again, I raid my fridge for any vegetables or toppings that sound good. This time I found some frozen slices of pepperoni. A little sauce, spices, cheese, and pepperoni topped the dough in the cast iron skillet. I had turned the oven up to 450@ and it cooked in a mere twenty minutes. 

   Now the only problem was which one do I eat for dinner? Delicious choices in the company of food. 

   

An apple a day

   You know the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!", right? But how many of us reach for an apple snack instead of a cookie or bag of chips.
                            Guilty!
In an effort to consume more of these healthy treats I had to get creative. First and foremost,  I never did like sinking my teeth into a whole, hard apple. It almost seemed barbaric. In addition, if you do not eat the whole apple in one seating the rest turns an unappetizing brown color.
                            Wasteful!

   My first idea came about purely by accident.  My granddaughter, who loved eating fresh cut up apples, lost too many of her front teeth to bite into the skin of an apple. I thickly cut the skins off her apple and gave her thin slices of the apple meat. On a lark, I cut the apple skins into bite-size chunks and threw them in the freezer. Much to my surprise, they were a delicious, refreshing treat that I always have in the freezer now for a healthy snack. 

   My favorite apples are Honey Crisp. They are a bit more expensive so using all the apple tickles my frugal bones.
    The frozen apple skins have just enough meat on them to taste delicious and do not have to be treated with any lemon or lime juice to retain their color. 

   Many times an apple will be my dessert for lunch and I always freeze the skins and then cut slices off the bare apple. The other day, my apple was so big, I was too full to finish the meat closest to the core. What to do?

What to do? Make a mini apple crisp appetizer, was the answer.  I cut all the meat off as close to the core as possible and cut the pieces into thick squares. Then I spread them with peanut butter and dipped the peanut butter side into honey nut granola. Lastly, I sprinkled them with honey. They were a delicious dessert served cold and even better when warmed in the microwave. 

   Now I can get the benefits of eating an apple a day without boredom. I think my favorite is the frozen apple chips, however. All the nutrients and a refreshing treat on a hot summer day. This is how to enjoy apples in the company of food. 

Nibble meals

       I enjoy eating a variety of foods throughout the day instead of stuffing myself with one meal so I decided to investigate mini portions. Mini portions came about as much by desire as by necessity, cooking for one. Some prep work is required to accomplish my variety mini meals but I find it worth the effort and delectably delightful. 

Each time I think of one creation invariably it leads to another discovery. It is helpful that I work as a chef and have certain things available to me you would not necessarily find in a grocery store. For example, the four-ounce souffle cups and lids for mini parfaits. 
Mini parfaits are one of my new favorite breakfast items. They can be prepped ahead of time and chilled. Simply layer your favorite granola on the bottom, cover with a layer of yogurt. Next top the yogurt with fresh berries and then one more layer of yogurt. This is the perfect treat for breakfast and very nutritious. 
This breakfast was paired with a slice of lemon cream bread, fresh ground honey roasted peanut butter and sliced apples.

Leading to my next discovery frozen apple skin chips. You heard me right!
I can not eat a whole Honey Crisp Apple, my favorite, in one nibble meal. Many times I cut one in half and refrigerate the second half for another meal. This time I decided to peel the apple skins off with a bit of pulp and freeze the chips. That gave me just enough apple left for my breakfast. 
When dinner time came I had a taste for a bit of something sweet after my meal and decided to test the frozen apple chips. Delightful!

      

     

     

Pamper me meals

    The delight of a balanced meal is sometimes lost on a single diner. Is it the effort it takes, lack of time, or just not the right ingredients? Probably, all of the above. It does not have to be a chore, or costly to eat like a royal, just a little planning and creativity. Tonight was one of those cold winter evenings that my body craved some comfort food. I had a fresh butt steak in the fridge, half of a baked potato from last night's dinner, some blanched broccoli and half tomato. In the crisper were the last five fresh mushrooms.

     Let me make one thing clear. I hate leftovers unless they are in the form of stew or chili, which seem to get more flavorful the next day. I do love recreating leftovers into a new delicious meal. I always keep freshly blanched vegetables in the fridge. On a recent vacation, I discovered an electric teapot. I love tea, only Lipton, black tea. I am a tea snob in this respect. What I discovered it this teapot is the bomb for blanching fresh vegetables. I get a deep bowl and strainer filled with fresh vegetables and pour the boiling water on the vegetables until the bowl is full. Done! Perfectly blanched vegetables to use in any meal.
     Another thing I love is cooking in cast iron. The great thing about this method is you keep your food nice and warm by eating right out of the skillet when cooking for one.

For dinner this evening I cleaned and sliced my five fresh mushrooms and seasoned my butt steak. I sliced my leftover baked potato into wedges, seasoned with olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper and placed in the oven to brown.
      Then I heated my single-serving cast iron skillet, put a little olive oil in the pan. When the pan was really hot I placed the steak in the pan to sear until browned. Flipping the steak it is topped with the fresh mushrooms and put it in the oven to finish.  Then I slice one thick slice off my fresh tomato, cut into wedges, and topped it with cold, blanched florets of fresh broccoli.
     My table is set with a cute placemat. The cold tomato and broccoli salad are sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. Time to eat like a royal.!

Can I freeze that?

     Today I went grocery shopping, which for me is no easy task. I make a list. It is not just an 'I am going shopping today' list of what I need. It is a cumulative list of my minds menu wandering. Oh sure, when I run out of the basics I, like everyone else, has a list on my fridge or on my phone for reminders. But meal planning is a' passion quest'.

     I hate leftovers and I live alone. That in itself is an oxymoron. 

     The ' I hate leftovers' problem consumes my food choices and keeps my freezer barron, to a point. The things that are in my freezer are thoughtful components of the next meal. The leftovers, which are inevitable, are shared with grateful recipients. 

     I have a craving for split pea soup and go shopping with this desire in mind. One bag of dried peas, one carrot, one onion, one potato, check. Celery is wrapped in foil in the fridge, check. The magic freezer item ham bone soup base, check. 

     The items I do freeze, either have a purpose or are going to be a part of another scratch meal. For example, pitas.They come in a package of five and I only need one for this meal. I take the one I need out of the bag and individually wrap the other four in saran and put them back in the bag to be frozen. This way I can take them out one at a time without them being frozen to each other. The ham base was leftover from a ham dinner I hosted. I cut the extra ham from the bone chopping it into bitesize pieces. Then I boiled the bone to make the soup base and froze in containers with the pieces of ham for soups, as needed. 
     The secret to any good soup is timing and patience. I first boil the peas until tender and then add the frozen chunk of homemade soup base. When that has melded I add my onions, carrots, and celery simmering until the carrots are blanched. I season with fresh ground pepper and add the chopped potatoes last so they do not become mushy. 
     I pair my soup with hummus and pitas and enjoy a delicious fall meal, in the company of food.

Upper Crust coleslaw

     My sister-in-law is a microbiologist and my brother is a trained chef, so it always amazes me when my favorite dish at their home is one prepared by the microbiologist?  Usually, the recipes are on the healthy side, easy to prepare, limited ingredients, and visually pleasing. And so was born what I call Upper Crust cole slaw, discovered on my recent visit to California.
     The purpose of the visit was my nephew's graduation party. The menu was extensive. As my brother manned the grill searing large slabs of sirloin tips and whole marinated fresh salmon, my sister-in-law was busy in their gourmet kitchen preparing the side dishes for the meal. With all the delicious food I devoured that evening the one leftover I craved was the coleslaw. To my delight, it was still very crisp and the flavor was even better than the day it was made. Here is the simple recipe, enjoy!

                                   Bag of broccoli slaw
                                   Smokehouse almonds
                                   Poppyseed dressing

     Place the broccoli slaw in a mixing bowl, add chopped nuts, toss with poppyseed dressing and season to taste. I just use some fresh ground pepper. My only hint is to cut the nuts on a chopping board instead of a nut chopper because you want the pieces to be random sizes.
     Serve. "Simple cooking science."