By Julie Powell. An essay/memoir capturing Julie’s mission to create all 524 recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume One by Julia Child, all in one year. Through this process, Julie learns not only how to cook but how to live – with gusto. This book was the inspiration for projects like Gingerama, Paprika-thon, and Turmeric-mania.

As any cook worth her salt knows, spices can be expensive. The folks at Wise Bread know this and published this article in the Frugal Living section: Reducing the Cost of a Good Spice Rack.

The tips are pretty straight-forward: buy in bulk, dry your own, grow your own, or buy online. The author adds some suggestions and websites for reference, plus there are some great comments and tips from readers at the bottom. Another related article on Ethnic Markets offers advice on great finds at speciality stores, including spices (especially at Indian markets), various meats and seafood, and vodka (from Russian markets, of course). These are all great tips if you live in a multi-cultural neighborhood or large city.

From personal experience, and I’ve said this before, I’ve found the best deals on spices at places like the World Market. Many of the new gourmet markets that are cropping up all over town also have great selections of cheap spices. Many of these deals do not come with containers, so you may have to make an initial purchase and invest in some nice glass or plastic spice jars.

Want more tips on saving some money? Read Pining for a Penny Market.

Is it Spring yet? I’ve decided that it is. So, to celebrate the beginning of Spring (albeit a week or so early), I made a yummy, fruity, crispy dessert to enjoy the first tastes of the season. Last week, my local paper ran a great article on Cobblers, Crisps and Crumbles, the easy alternative to pies and tarts. Last summer, I made a Rhubarb Crisp that turned out awesome, so this time I modified a recipe from Simply in Season to make this Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp.

While I used fresh fruit, you could certainly use frozen fruits and berries of nearly any variety. What is great about these desserts is the versatility and ability to swap flavors and spices so readily to make a completely personalized dessert. Rhubarb is just now available, and will be until early to mid-summer, and pairs wonderfully with fresh strawberries. Serve this dessert warm and bubbly with vanilla ice cream.

10 stalks rhubarb, roughly chopped
1 pint strawberries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened  
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F and coat a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine chopped rhubarb and strawberries in a large saucepan. Stir in sugar, orange zest and juice, and vanilla extract. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil and stir frequently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, rolled oats, sugar, butter, salt and cinnamon. Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat until crumbly and moist. Press half of the flour mixture into the bottom pan to create a crust. Pour fruit mixture over crust and spread into an even layer.

Mix walnuts into remaining half of flour mixture. Sprinkle mixture over fruit filling. Bake for 25-35 minutes until topping is golden brown and fruit mixture is bubbly. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes, then serve.

I search the Internet to find Cool Food Blogs so you don’t have to, and today I bring you Orangette. According to this blog, an orangette is a candied orange rind dipped in chocolate or a cool word for a food blog with autobiographical tales and groovy recipes.

Orangette has won praise from USA Weekend, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe and more. Check out this humorous post on D-e-s-s-e-r-t with a recipe for Chewy Cocoa Cookies with Chocolate Chips (cocoa and chocolate? that’s my kind of cookie). Also check out this great post with an adapted recipe for Daily Granola.

Another reason I’m a fan of this blog: my new obsession with candied orange rind. Look for a new recipe soon!