Newsletter Archive
From the ChopChop Family, Seasoned: Inspired Cooking Magazine for Adults is a quarterly printed magazine, please reach out to a member of the SNAP-Ed team to request a copy. Seasoned is offereing biweekly newsletters, please see links below to view a PDF of each topic
Sadly, this is the last Seasoned newsletter, at least for the foreseeable future. Since it’s our finale, we decided it would make sense to give you finales, too, so here are three recipes for desserts. We took our inspiration from the old Italian custom of having just a great piece of fruit for dessert, but in each case, we fancied up the fruit—berries, apples, and pears, respectively—to give it a little more pizzazz but still keep it healthy. Of course we always want to provide you with snack ideas, so we’ve also included four ways to create snacks from leftover rice. And we leave you with a balance exercise, a kitchen trick, and a brain teaser. Stay healthy, stay safe, and keep cooking.
This time, it’s all about snacks. If you’re like me, your desire to snack gets more intense as the weather gets colder. But even if you’re not, healthy snacks are always a good thing. Sometimes, they can even be all you want for a meal, which is just dandy. So here are easy recipes for snacks from light (Cauliflower Popcorn and a killer Feta and Red Pepper Dip) to more substantial (Quesadilla and four uses for nut butters). Plus there’s a trick for peeling lots of garlic, a balance exercise, and a teaser for your brain.
The weather is starting to turn chilly, so we've got a warming Black Bean Soup in this issue. There's also Roasted Carrots and Red Onions, an easy side dish that can be transformed into an entree when served ove rice. Our spicy Roasted Nuts are an excellent snack, but also make a great gift for friends or neighbors. Of course we've got a kitchen trick and a balance exercise for you, along with a recommendation for what is perhaps the single most essential kitchen tool, a chef's knife. This issue's "kitchen how to" shows you how to use that knife to chop and slice most efficiently.
It's still summer, says the calendar, so we've got three recipes that require no active cooking (though you do need leftover chicken for one). The fantastic Double-Melon Salad, in particular, is one you'll want to make right away, while good melons are still around. We've also got a mind stretcher, an exercise to improve balance, and a tool that belongs in the kitchen of every perons with joint issues. Now that we're monthly, we ae going to start including basic kitchen skills, too. This time it's how to cook brown rice, a reliable, healthy, and delicious staple.
Summer is in full swing, so most of us try to avoid turning on the oven. With just a few minutes of stovetop cooking, though, you can make yourself some pasta, which is surely among the most satisfying dinners around. In this issue we give you two easy pastas. One of them is by Mark Bittman, one of America's best-known food writers. He also gives us some super-useful pasta techniques. Of course this issue also has a kitchen trick, a balance exercise, and an ergonomic tool to make cooking easier. As a bonus, you get an uber-summery watermelon drink.
We are huge fans of soups. For one thing, making them is generally a relaxing activity because they are so forgiving: you don’t have to be too exact when adding ingredients or keeping track of cooking time. They are also very comforting, which is a good thing in these times. So in this issue we have recipes for two delicious and healthy soups, along with instructions on how to safely blend hot liquids. And of course we give you a kitchen hack, a balance exercise, and a tool you should have in your kitchen.
This time, we’ve got a couple of salads—because salads are easy to make, very tasty, and of course healthy. One is a “salad as meal,” with two kinds of beans and canned tuna. The other is a side salad that goes with anything and, though it has only a handful of ingredients, delivers tons of flavor. You’ll also find two kitchen tricks, plus our favorite version of a kitchen tool you use all the time but probably don’t think about much. Then, as a bonus, you’ll get two “building block” recipes that you can use in all kinds of ways once you make them.
We figure that once you learn how to make a dish at home, you’ll want to cook it often but without getting bored. So the main-dish recipes in this issue—Scrambled Eggs with a Dozen Variations and Tuna with Chickpeas—are all about options. As usual, we’ve also got an ergonomic tool, an effort-saving kitchen trick, and a balance exercise. Then we’ve got some ideas about how to shop smart at the supermarket. Because these days, when we’re all trying to shop less often, it’s important to make the most of every visit.
In this issue we feature two super-simple recipes for chicken, one for breasts and one for thighs. They are delicious all by themselves, but since the chicken is mostly unadorned, you can also use any leftovers in other dishes, like chicken salad or tacos. (Check out our recipe for Mexican Chicken Salad at seasonedmag.org.) There’s also a kitchen trick involving leftover pasta, plus an ergonomic kitchen tool and stretching exercises for mind and body. Then, since we all love to snack, we give you a dozen ideas for quick, healthy snacks using cucumber slices.
In this issue we feature two recipes using spinach, which is not only delicious and readily available, but of course very good for you. We use it in a main course pasta dish and also in our version of an easy, very flavorful side dish from Japan. Then, because everyone deserves a dessert, we’ve got a quick and delicious Layered Yogurt Parfait. There’s also a kitchentrick, an exercise to improve your balance, and a tool you need in your kitchen when cooking for one or two. Finally, we go over the basics of a skill every cook needs to know: measuring ingredients. Let’s get started!
Since we’re all looking for comfort food, in this issue we feature two recipes for easy, homey soups. And if you’re in the mood for a classic “soup and sandwich” combo, we’ve got an extra-tasty Egg Salad Sandwich. As always, there are a few kitchen tricks, plus an exercise to improve your balance. In this issue, we added an ergonomic tool that every cook needs, along with a teaser to give your brain a little workout. Finally, since so many of us are cooking for just one or two now, we’ve got some ideas about how to make it easier and more efficient.
This issue features recipes for canned chickpeas. They are great because they’re delicious, they’re very healthy, and they can always be on hand in your pantry. Here we combine them with canned tuna for a salad and roast them for a quick, very tasty snack. And speaking of snacks—because we know that spending lots of time at home can create a pretty constant desire to snack—we’ve also thrown in a recipe for another healthy favorite, Cinnamony Pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Plus we’ve got kitchen tricks, balance exercises—and a culinary crossword. (DON’T peek ahead at the last page.)
This issue features recipes for eggs. We love eggs because they’re not only healthy and delicious but they also keep well, which means you can stock up when you go to the store. And speaking of that, on the last page of this issue you’ll find a chart telling you how long many different fresh ingredients will last in the refrigerator or freezer, to help you plan your shopping and cooking in the weeks ahead. And of course, we’ve got more kitchen tricks and a couple of balance exercises.
Right now, due to COVID-19, we are all in our own homes, either alone or with our immediate family. That means there is more need than ever to cook for ourselves. It’s also important that we cook healthy meals to help us stay fit and well. Since it’s safer to avoid shopping at this time, the trick will be using what you’re already got at home. We have ideas about how to do that. We’ve also got kitchen tricks to make cooking easier, exercises to keep us well balanced, and even a game to play.