Lori, Author at Fake Food Free

Grilled Bone In Chicken Breasts with Garlic Sweet Onion Barbecue Sauce

May 25, 2016

These bone in chicken breasts are glazed in a barbecue sauce made of grilled garlic and sweet onions and cooked over the fire until tender and juicy. This post is sponsored by Petaluma Poultry.

It took me a long time to get comfortable around a grill. I’m not sure if it was the dancing flames or maybe it was our society’s perception that grilling is a guy thing. For whatever reason, I could most often be found on the sidelines watching others flip the patties, chops and legs on the grill.

Then I found myself at a point where I had no choice but to start grilling. More of the recipes I was developing for clients needed to be grilled and I also got some print writing assignments on best grilling practices. This all led to a lot of research about the craft. I also could no longer wait for the weekend or evenings to have my husband around to fire up our kamado-style grill.

I had to jump in, tongs first.

Ceviche Recipe with Cod and Cucumber

May 23, 2016

I’m happy to say that Fake Food Free has transitioned to the Substack Newsletter called Every Corner of the World.

I hope to see you there.

This ceviche recipe is made with cod, colorful bell peppers, cucumber and two kinds of citrus! Serve it in avocado halves as a salad or with tortilla chips.

I’ve been trying to remember the first time I learned about ceviche. I think it was when we were living in Brazil and my husband traveled to Peru for work. He returned from that trip and told me all about it. I’m not certain, but given my food experience at that point, I’m pretty sure I turned my nose up at it.

Smoky Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

May 13, 2016

These salted chocolate chip cookies came about for three very different reasons.

The first is that I’m finally back in a kitchen I can call my own. With a nice stove, I might add. For the first time in my adult life, I’m cooking and baking with gas. So I’ve felt a strong need to create in the kitchen, especially to bake, which is something I haven’t been focused on in the recent past.

Next, do you remember that bourbon smoked sea salt I mentioned in my Four Favorites post from April? Well, I had yet to use the salt in a dessert. That is the perfect kind of excuse for baking a batch of cookies in my book.

The third reason is palm shortening. When I started reducing processed foods way back in 2008, I pretty much swore off vegetable shortening. But there were a couple things I missed, and one was the chocolate chip cookies a friend’s mom used to make every Christmas. The secret ingredient was butter flavored vegetable shortening. Now, I didn’t miss those enough to go back to shortening, even during the holidays. I was hardcore on my decision, but I missed them nonetheless.

Pozole Pork Hominy Soup

May 11, 2016

I feel a bit of urgency to get this post published so I’ll make it quick. I know it’s still spring in most of the country, but around here, it’s starting to heat up. Now, I’m a person who can eat soup any time of year, but I know a lot of people who consider it the kind of comfort food reserved for cooler days. So before you jump both feet into summer salads, there is this quick pozole, or pork hominy soup, that you should definitely try.

Homemade Cherry Tarts with Cardamom and Vanilla Bean

May 6, 2016

There is no better way to celebrate cherry season than with these homemade cherry tarts! In this dessert, a whole grain crust is filled with sweet cherries that have been brightened with cardamom and vanilla bean.

Most often the recipes I develop are based on an ingredient or meal that has inspired me. But on some rare occasions, they come about because of a prop I want to use in the photo.

When my parents visited us earlier this year, my mom accompanied me on some prop shopping at the local vintage shops. I was thrilled to have her along because most of the time this is a solo outing for me. I just can’t seem to find anyone else who cheers over scoring a great deal on a tarnished vintage spoon or a distressed wood surface.

As is usually the case, she insisted on buying me something. That something were these gorgeous little dessert plates. I told her I’d definitely use them in a photo soon. Soon has become 3 months, but I figured Mother’s Day weekend was as good of a time as any, considering the source of the prop for my collection.

Dan Dan Noodles from Everyday Chinese Cookbook

May 5, 2016

These Dan Dan Noodles are simple to make and full of flavor! It’s one of the many great recipes in the newest Chinese cookbook in my collection!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve resolved to cook more Asian-inspired foods. Southeast Asian, Chinese, Japanese – you name it and I’ve wanted to explore the methods, spices and recipes much more.

I repeatedly fall short of that goal, but every now and then something comes along that helps me out. I get back on track and we have a week or so filled with noodles, fried rice and five spice powder.

Four Favorites in April

April 29, 2016

It’s the end of another month and that means it’s time to share some of my favorite things from the past 4 weeks. My four favorites posts are where I tell you about a brand, book, blog and break that made the month a little brighter. This time around you get a peek at my very favorite seasoning, a new food-focused memoir, a spicy blog and why you should celebrate our great National Parks!

Brand

As I was trying to figure out what to feature this month, it hit me mid sprinkle when I was putting the finishing touches on a Caprese salad. I promise that I’m not trying to purposely devote the brands of my Four Favorites to products from Kentucky, but I’m also not quite sure why I haven’t shared this salt with you before. I LOVE this bourbon smoked sea salt. This isn’t one of those ingredients that was sent to me for review. I discovered it about 5 years ago while we were living in Kentucky and I’ve had a desperate need to keep it in my pantry ever since.

Roasted Strawberry and Oat Breakfast Bowl

April 26, 2016

You have no idea how much restraint I’ve been exercising lately. I have held off for as long as I possibly can. I can no longer avoid posting about strawberries!

You see, the season began here about 3 weeks ago. Out of respect for those of you with a lingering winter, I avoided posting about them for as long as I could. I mean, I hate to brag and wave around posts about freshly picked, juicy, sweet strawberries. And about the fact that we have a strawberry patch with a farm stand on just about every corner in town. The kind that allows me to swing in at any point during the week to get baskets of berries like these that were picked that very morning.

Black Lentil and Barley Bowl

April 22, 2016

Hi! Just a note. Fake Food Free is now a Substack called Every Corner of the World. I’d love for you to join me there. I also now teach food photography and styling. Learn more about that at LoriRice.com. You can still find all my old recipes right here.

Back in February, I attended a workshop with the food styling and food photography greats, Adam Pearson and Matt Armendariz. The course taught me so much about the art of working with food, but what was more unexpected was that it gave me some new inspiration for everyday cooking.

For one of the shoots, we prepared grain bowls with all kinds of good stuff like whole grains, lentils, nuts and roasted veggies. It was a build your own kind of thing for photographing. We never actually ate them.

I left that weekend thinking — I am so hungry for a grain bowl!

Pixie Rum Punch

April 12, 2016

If you’d told me a few years ago that soon I’d be a regular visitor to the L.A. area, I would have thought you were crazy. I never could have envisioned myself driving around those interstates at all, let alone 3 times in the past 3 months.

These short road trips have been for both business and recreation. I’m getting to know the area better each time and one sign that always catches my attention is the exit for Ojai.