Author: Lanie Fioretti

My name is Lanie Fioretti and although I am not a classically trained chef or a degreed nutritionist, I have been studying food and nutrition voraciously since the early seventies. After working in public health and private practice for 22 years, I retired my dental hygiene license. I have taught cooking classes at Whole Foods and Central Market, done product development for a bakery in east Texas, catered, and been a personal chef. I usually think of myself as an improvisational cook!

Cucumbers Too Bitter Too Eat

Posted on by Lanie Fioretti

I’ve grown and thrown a lot of cucumbers too bitter too eat away, and pulled up the plants.  The cukes I grew outside are fine this year.  But the ones in the greenhouse are too bitter to eat.  For the first time, I tried peeling them, and amazingly that’s most of the problem!  Now I’m…

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Smoked Mushrooms

Posted on by Lanie Fioretti

It’s too hot to cook inside today.  So, I lit the smoker to make some smoked beef, and decided to try smoked mushrooms too.  If you’ve never tried these delicious little morsels, go buy some mushrooms!  They are good as an appetizer, snack, or side dish.  The marinade has Dijon in it.  You don’t have…

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Chickpeas / Garbanzos

Posted on by Lanie Fioretti

I found a good supply of dried Chickpeas / Garbanzos in the pantry.  Of course, I started thinking of things to do with them.  For snacks, I can share a super easy and yummy roasted chickpea recipe. Also, I made an orzo, chickpea salad that is delicious.  Since I was using up refrigerator and pantry…

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Mexican Fried Rice

Posted on by Lanie Fioretti

We saw a commercial for Mexican food, when we were participating in one of our favorite “stay at home” pastimes.  We didn’t want to pick up food, or go to the store and buy ingredients, so we had “make-due” Mexican!  Don said enchiladas, refried beans, and rice would be nice.  After raiding the pantry, I…

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