Vacation house beans and cornbread
I went to a mountain cabin in the Pacific Northwest, and I made… beans and cornbread? Yes I did. No regrets. Too good for regrets.
Author Archives: Mike Bierschenk
Citrus & soy pasta salad
A different sort of pasta salad, with a sweet-salty dressing made from soy sauce and citrus juices. A sure fix to the hot summertime doldrums.
Strawberry-snap pea salad with quinoa and tofu
A hodge-podge of some of my very favorite things: sweet, vibrant early-summer strawberries and sugar snap peas; salty marinated tofu; fluffy, chewy quinoa. Definitely more than the sum of its parts.
The Unexpected Treat (a mocktail for whisky drinkers)
This drink combines a number of strong herbal flavors and complex natural sweeteners to make a drink that hits all the sensory buttons my whisky-lovin’ tastebuds are looking for in a mixed drink, without the alcohol.
Double-chicken salad
A meal-sized spring salad topped with tender marinated chicken and dressed with a chicken-infused vinaigrette, because why go halfway?
Rhubarb buttermilk scones
For breakfast, tea, or midnight snack, these treats pair spring’s earliest fruit with buttery, biscuitlike scone. Quick, easy, and delightful.
Bacon and lentil shepherd’s pie
A riff on shepherd’s pie, subbing lentils for the minced lamb. Savory, buttery, rich, and altogether satisfying.
Roasted vegetables and sausage with herbed yogurt sauce
Fresh spring asparagus roasted with wintery potatoes, cabbage, and sausage, all ready to be dipped in cool, herb-flecked yogurt: it’s a meal for the ever-changing early spring.
Collards with coconut and peanut butter
Soft, tender collard greens, braised in a flavorful sauce of coconut milk and peanut butter, served over warm white rice. If that doesn’t excite you, I’m not sure we speak the same culinary language.
Pinto beans stewed with cilantro and bay
If you’re used to a bold, spicy pot of beans, do yourself a favor and give these subtle, aromatic beans a try for a different take that lets the pintos shine.
Optional Kitchen 