SarahBerneche's Profile

I've been blanching or roasting and freezing local vegetables now (peppers $.66/lb, broccoli 2/$1.50, etc.) and freezing fresh fruit. More money upfront, but your bill in the winter will be a lot lower and you'll have so much prepped food at your disposal.

I love chickpea piccatta. So good! I love the chickpea parmesan idea -- I'll have to try it.

I think all of the suggestions here are fabulous.

A few of my friends and I get together for bi-weekly, potluck-style dinner parties. We haven't run into problems yet. The host usually puts on the main and everyone else contibutes dessert, salad/appetizer, or wine. We always have plenty of food and wine to go around.

I made this and it was delicious. Maybe a little dry, but tasty nonetheless. I gave some to someone else, who adored it.

I make most sauces (tomato, BBQ, peanut), most baked goods (I'm gluten-free; sometimes I'll purchase from a local bakery), salad dressings, pie fillings, icing, granola, and beans from scratch. I've never purchased prepared polenta because it's easy to make. I want to try making yogurt this year. I suppose I make and/or enjoy making most things from scratch, but no, it isn't for everyone, and yes, it is very time consuming. It's easier for me as a single person to prepare my own foods from scratch...though at the same time you can just double batch it (like granola). I find a lot of home cooking is more about planning and time than energy or resources, about making the hours count. If you start getting too busy (I work a full-time job, a part-time job, and volunteer), planning becomes a lot harder to do.

Using certain spices can help alleviate those symptoms. I believe bay leaf and cumin are two of them...can't remember where I read that unfortunately, but it's worth investigating.

I slow cook all of my beans and no longer have trouble digesting them. But, I also eat legumes just about every day and sometimes twice daily. Some are harder on your system than others.

I've also heard not to eat fruit before or directly after eating legumes because the sugars in the fruit don't mesh well with the starch.

*more elaborate prep time.

I don't have a recipe, but I've had good luck with Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks so I'd recommend starting there.

I'll be visiting NYC for the first time in my life this summer! Any restaurant recommendations or must-have products I should search for?

I'd love to return to France and Italy.

I believe the topic was game-changers, not most liked. I'd definitely expect Rachael Ray to appear on a list like this; in my opinion she's been so influential on television's culinary landscape.

I'm surprised food blogger Shauna James Ahern wasn't included, actually. I mean, Ree Drummond might be popular and her recipes may be well-liked, but Shauna has really done a lot for those with Celiac Disease and their loved ones. Or what about Stephanie O'Dea's 365 Crockpot blog and subsequent book? I think it's helped bring slow cooking back to the forefront. Where's Heidi Swanson??

What about Deborah Madison or Laurie Colwin (whom I adore!)? Also surprised that Melissa Clark or Ruth Reichl herself are not on there (I find Clark's recipes in particular quite innovative).

Also, the list is pretty American-heavy.