Category: Nourishment

Chef Swanky answers some mail

It’s mailbag time! Chef Swanky has some followers with a few questions, and he agreed to take time out from creating delicious food to respond to them.

We picked three for him. Here he is, enlightening us on the mysteries of the culinary world.

What is a disher? It looks like a scoop. Is it the same thing or are they two different utensils?

A disher is a half-spherical kitchen tool with a mechanical leveler inside the bowl in which you either squeeze the handle or push the thumb trigger to release evenly whatever product was contained inside.

It’s an essential tool for making sure the same and equal portions of food, cookies, etc. come out the same size.

An ice cream scoop has a half spherical bowl as well, but is designed specifically to carve and portion in to frozen desserts such as ice cream, gelato, or sorbet.

Yes, you can use a disher for scooping out ice cream, but the reverse of using an ice cream scoop to portion out equally shaped cookies may not be feasible.

You had a recipe (the coconut macaroons) that called for cane syrup. Can I use the same syrup that I put on my pancakes or is cane syrup something different?

Cane syrup comes from evaporated sugarcane juice. (Note: the image here is sugarcane juice.)

It’s sometimes used to replace maple syrup, and it has a rich, robust, almost caramel flavor.

Usually macaroons use corn syrup, which comes from cornstarch and which is used to hold moisture in the product or to prevent crystallization of sugar, but I wanted the macaroons to have a type of caramelized flavor.

What is your favorite dish to make?

My favorite dessert to make is the Banana Foster, hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana.

It is a dessert in which you brown butter and saute a banana with brown sugar and cinnamon, then flambé it using rum, turning the buttery brown sugar rum into a sauce.

It is then topped with Vanilla Ice Cream drizzles with the sauce.

It’s a nice, delightful warming and cooling treat.

Got a question for the great Chef? Drop us a comment below, and we’ll pester Chef Swanky to impart some more wisdom.

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.

(All images from Dreamstime.com. Used with permission.)

A Swanky reminder that the Ides of March goes well with the right Caesar

The Ides of March is almost here, which brings with it a history lesson about Julius Caesar, who was warned about going to the senate and who earlier in his career famously said, “Veni, Vidi, Vici” (meaning: “I came, I saw, I conquered”).

Today, Chef Swanky delves into the history of another Caesar, who takes us from “Veni, Vidi, Vici” to “Veni, Vidi, Edi” (“I came, I saw, I ate”) with this video:

And remember: Stay away from the Senate. No, not those of you in Congress. You congresspersons need to get your butts to work. The rest of us: Go find a restaurant that has a good caesar salad and enjoy!

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.

Get a guided journal for your Lenten journey — free for a few days!

Hey, look everyone! I’ve written a guided journal for Lent 2026 — and it’s FREE for the couple of days before Ash Wednesday (2/13-2/17).

It’s called Where Is God In All This? and it’s designed to be a prompt to get you into the Word and into a conversation with God to explore your relationship with Him more deeply.

Here’s some more info on what it is and how you can use it:

On any given day, we can find ourselves preoccupied with financial or relational challenges, physical or emotional trials, or vocational or social issues – sometimes several at once. Such concerns can sidetrack us and keep us from enjoying a fulfilling relationship with God and with each other.

Each week in this guided journal, the focus is on a different area where we tend to encounter distractions: mental/emotional, relational, physical, financial, vocational, social, and spiritual.

On each day, only the Bible verse is given (rather than the entire passage) so you can get into the Word yourself, read the context, and see what God wants to tell you.

Lent is a time of introspection. Take your thoughts to your journal book and write your heart out. Draw if you’re so inclined. Tell God your story.

Click the link above to get it on Amazon/Kindle. It’s free for the next few days, and after that it’s $2.99. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can get it free any time.

Making some Swanky biscuits

Just in time for Thanksgiving dinner, we’re getting a primer in how to make buttermilk biscuits from the best biscuit-maker in town.

No, not those biscuit-makers. We have a video from the one and only Chef Swanky! Take a look:

Those look delicious! Can’t wait to get in the kitchen and try out this recipe. They’ll make a delicious addition to anyone’s Thanksgiving feast!

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.

A Swanky explanation for the jack-o-lantern

It’s almost Halloween, and that means it’s time for trick-or-treaters and those bite-sized chocolates that I always save for myself, let those dressed-up beggars have all the jolly ranchers and candy corn … ahem, maybe I’ve said too much.

What I mean is: It’s time for tales of mischief and mayhem. Including tales about food!

Like this one: Ever wonder about why we scoop out, cut up, and light pumpkins? Chef Swanky does!

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.

Not too crazy about gardening, but I do love gardens

I was going to post a photo of our raised bed garden — correction: our attempt at cultivating a raised bed garden — but the photo has a sad “before” look. By which I mean: We have a lot to do to prep it for next year’s crops. And none of that would be particularly nourishing or inspiring for any of you.

Instead, here’s a photo — with accompanying haiku (because of course) — from when we first started the garden. Enjoy!

p.s. I’ll post lots of photos of our garden after I have some “in progress” ones to go with our “before” photo.

The enduring nourishment of Linus in the pumpkin patch

The weather is turning cooler (mercifully!), the days are getting shorter, the Halloween decorations are up, and that can mean only one thing: It’s time to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Again.

Operative word: again. Because we watch it Every.Single.Year.  We would no more miss the Great Pumpkin than we’d miss buying Halloween candy in September and then having to buy it again a few weeks later because we sampled too many.

Ahem. Anyway.

It’s always the same:

Lucy is as bossy as ever – and dangerous, as she removes the football, causing Charlie Brown to risk spinal cord injury.

Charlie Brown mistakenly gets invited to a Halloween party and gets rocks when he goes trick-or-treating.

Snoopy gets melodramatic crooning at the piano and doing reinactments of World War I aerial dogfights.

Linus sends a warm invitation to the Great Pumpkin to visit him in the pumpkin patch …

… and then he gets questioned and ridiculed by everyone – including Snoopy.

It’s always the same. Year after year.

We love those crazy kids because they never change. Lucy is always bossy, Charlie Brown is always being picked on, Snoopy is always a daredevil, and Linus … oh, Linus, that lovable kid … he never loses his belief that the Great Pumpkin will show up. Even when the Great Pumpkin doesn’t show, Linus picks himself up, dusts himself off, and looks toward the future. “Next year at this same time, I’ll find a pumpkin patch that is real sincere!”

He knows that when you have faith and hope in your heart — and you live with sincerity — anything can happen. (Even his bossy sister, in a surprising and loving moment, goes out to the pumpkin patch and brings him in from the cold.)

With heartfelt appreciation to the Peanuts gang’s creator, Charles M. Schulz, that message is something we can depend on in a world that changes minute by minute. We know Charlie Brown and his friends will continue to be as hope-filled as they are. We never have to worry about a Charlie Brown reboot or a sequel where they turn surly or apathetic.

And that’s a nourishing thought.

(p.s. The Internet Archive has the video online.)

Coming Soon: The easiest Thanksgiving EVER

Want a stress-free holiday? Looking for a way to bring family together for a celebratory meal and not lose your mind? Eager for some planning secrets to make the Thanksgiving food-fest a true joy-filled occasion?

No, I’m not talking about delaying your crazy uncle or batty aunt from arriving on time. What I can offer is my soon-to-be-released booklet, Thanksgiving Primer.

It’s filled with a selection of easy-to-follow tips, tricks, ideas, timelines, and recipes that can help you manage Thanksgiving as stress-free as possible. It’ll be available in ebook and printable PDF form later this month.

In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of a recipe that’s been one of our Thanksgiving staples for years. It’s three ingredients in one pan, and it can be made ahead of time, chilled, and reheated just before serving (or served chilled if that’s your preference).

Cranberry Relish

Ingredients

1 bag of cranberries
1 can of frozen orange juice
1 cup of sugar

Directions

  1. Wash the cranberries and empty into a saucepan.
  2. Add the frozen orange juice and sugar.
  3. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the cranberries are soft and a thick sauce forms (about 15-20 minutes).
  4. Cool to a “slightly warm” temperature and serve with dinner. (If making ahead of time, cool completely and store in a container in the refrigerator. Serve chilled or reheat to desired temperature.)

Serve alongside the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, etc. – and/or (here’s something we love to do) serve a dollop of it (heated) on top of the cheesecake. Delicious!

Easy-peasy, right? Enjoy!

Stay tuned for news about the release of Thanksgiving Primer! It’s loaded with lots of info and lots of photos (each worth 1,000 words, not kidding).