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Stirring the Pot 26 results
(clockwise from top left) Ruthie Cohen's beef stew, carrot salad with dried cherries, and macaroni and cheese. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: Guiltless and Often Tastier Shortcuts
Ruthie Cohen
Sometimes, taking a shortcut will reveal something new and wonderful; sometimes it just gets the job done faster. In the kitchen, as Ruthie Cohen has discovered several times, something as simple as a jar of salsa could be your eureka moment. Click here to read the full story.
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Ruthie Cohen says Jewish soul food "tastes like home." Foods pictured here include (clockwise from top left) bagels, cream cheese, lox, tomatoes, kugel, and a hearty sandwich. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: Jewish Soul Food ‘Tastes Like Home’
Ruthie Cohen
Stirring the Pot columnist Ruthie Cohen and Limestone Post invite you to share the foods and stories that make your family recipes “taste like home.” We start with kugel — and Ruthie’s memory of how she grew to appreciate the taste and texture of “Jewish soul food” — and how now, she says, they “taste like home.” Click here to read the full story.
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Ruthie Cohen's daughters, (l-r) Arianna and Eve, lather the uncooked turkey with mustard in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: At Thanksgiving, Let ‘the Absurdities’ Creep In
Ruthie Cohen
Ruthie Cohen shares her wisdom about what’s most important at Thanksgiving dinner. People often get distracted by the bird, the side dishes, or the presentation. In this edition of Stirring the Pot, she advises not to suppress “the absurdities and silliness that creep in” — and enjoy not knowing how it will all turn out. Click here to read the full story.
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Ruthie Cohen reflects on her childhood whenever she cuts into her cheese blintzes, a recipe much like her Aunt Lilly used to make. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: Ode to an Auntie — The Blintz and the Brat
Ruthie Cohen
In this edition of Stirring the Pot, Ruthie Cohen recalls her childhood when great-aunt Lilly, “a contemporary of George Washington,” would visit from Florida. Although Aunt Lilly spoke in fractured English with a Yiddish accent, when she stepped in the kitchen she spoke through her cooking — eloquently and with love. Click here to read the full story.
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Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: Playing Favorites
Ruthie Cohen
Before every visit from her children, Ruthie Cohen receives “The Rider,” which contains all the dishes they want her to prepare during their stay. She joyfully complies with their requests — sometimes including a new dish or two — with dessert as the meal's finale. Click here to read the full story.
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The often-ignored zucchini gets center stage in Ruthie Cohen's Zucchini and Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs recipe. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: Consider the Zucchini
Ruthie Cohen
Ruthie Cohen tells us to look at the familiar, the routine, the same old road, with a sense of wonder. “The surprise of rediscovery can be sweet and surprising,” she says. Consider the zucchini. Usually overlooked as a secondary ingredient or a side dish, this commonplace veggie has the makings of a star. Click here to read the full story.
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Ruthie Cohen's deconstructed salad highlights each ingredient. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: Spring — Such Bounty, Such Joy
Ruthie Cohen
Spring brings such a fresh bounty of veggies and greens, the recipes are bound only by your mood and temperament, says Ruthie Cohen. “In food, in fashion, in life, we are always making choices, assembling, reassembling, collecting, discarding.” Making the everyday unique, making the timeless your own, she says, creates loveliness in the world. Click here to read the full story.
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Twenty years ago, Ruthie Cohen's granola recipe included everything but "the proverbial kitchen sink." Since then, she's simplified the recipe — and oats are the star. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: Granola, Where More Is Often Less — How Lifelike
Ruthie Cohen
Ruthie Cohen has learned that you don’t mess with certain things in life. Her chicken soup, for instance. Or her mother’s meatball recipe. But, usually, as with Ruthie's granola, the recipe changes: Ingredients are added and deleted until, ultimately, the dish is stripped to its delicious essence. How lifelike. Click here to read the full story.
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Ruthie Cohen's Chicken Marrakesh is cooked with dried cherries, other dried fruit, olives, and pecans. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: A Bowl of (Dried) Cherries
Ruthie Cohen
Being a friend is a privilege, says Ruthie Cohen. With some friends, talking about cooking and cherries can lead to talk of restaurants, yoga poses, children, grandchildren, and former husbands. For her, friendship is a hallowed institution — a lifeline in stormy seas and a place where we can be our best selves. Click here to read the full story.
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Ruthie Cohen's son named this dish "Swamp" almost 20 years ago, and the name has allowed her to claim the recipe in a way that is singular to her family. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: Swamped!
Ruthie Cohen
A dish doesn’t have to look pretty, or even sound pretty, to be delicious. And Ruthie Cohen’s souplike, stewlike “Swamp” is more than either of those. It’s her own version of Proust’s madeleine, a tasty delight that brings back fond memories of the time a smart-aleck teenager gave the dish its name. Click here to read the full story.
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Clockwise from left: Ruthie Cohen's White Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Cookies, Chocolate Chip Medley Cookies, and Toffee Bars make great treats. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: A Trio of Treats
Ruthie Cohen
Ruthie Cohen says volunteering at Habitat for Humanity is both humbling and empowering. But her biggest contribution isn’t hanging doors or framing sheds — although she has learned such skills (more or less). Rather, the skill she brings to the worksite has helped her find a home among her fellow volunteers. Click here to read the full story.
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Ruthie Cohen's Stuffing Loaf, an alternative to stuffing made from the bird's cavity. | Photo by Ruthie Cohen

Stirring the Pot: A Journey to the 7 Minute Thanksgiving Meal
Ruthie Cohen
After realizing her Thanksgiving dinners were not so Norman Rockwellian, Ruthie Cohen shed the expectation of “how things ought to be” and embraced the way things are. Preparing for Thanksgiving dinner has now become an ongoing celebration — and her utilitarian Stuffing Loaf, a means to an end. Click here to read the full story.
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