The DIY Diet

Steaming is my favorite way to prepare certain vegetables. That’s the way I like to prepare cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, peas pods, and carrots. I often fix cabbage and corn that way, too. When I steam my vegetables, I use a bamboo steamer. I own a metal steamer basket but I’ve never used it. In fact, I have no idea where it is - probably stored in my garage. I love the very slight bamboo fragrance it seems to impart to the air as the vegetables cook. It reminds me of living in the Orient. I find that one of the big advantages to cooking with a bamboo steamer is that I can quickly stop cooking when the vegetables are al dente or still a bit firm when you bite into them (used typically to describe pasta).

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I make wild rice as a side dish all through the year whenever my family and I get together to celebrate something special.

We love it. During the holiday season, I make it with dried cranberries instead of dried apricots. Wild rice pairs well with roasted turkey, roasted chicken, grilled pork, and, of course, walleye pike, Minnesota’s favorite fish.

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I’ve never tried making stuffing from scratch when it is so easy to grab a bag of Pepperidge Farm Cubed Country Style Stuffing mix that is pre-seasoned for me.

I generally doctor-up the recipe a little. Here’s the instructions from Pepperidge Farm’s Country Style Stuffing mix with optional additions and my calorie calculations to make life easy for you and me.

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