Mediterranean Millet Salad

Tender millet and chopped fresh & preserved vegetables tossed with a lemony herb vinaigrette, this gluten free whole grain salad is satisfyingly flexible.

Are you a millet eater? Millet curious? I developed this recipe because I was the latter, and now I am the former. After reviewing the Whole Grains Council's website with my healthy eating coach, she challenged me to pick a new-to-me grain and try it.
I picked millet, and here we are.

Throughout the winter I've made this salad with a rotating cast of leftover cooked vegetables, fresh vegetables, preserved vegetables, and herbs. My method pretty much goes like this--step 1, put millet and water in the Instant Pot and, step 2, while the Pot is coming up to pressure open the crisper and figure out what's going to be in the salad that day.
It’s hearty enough to keep me satisfied for a while, and I can load it up with plenty of fresh veggies to make it feel like Spring has truly sprung even though the muddy garden doesn’t quite agree. 

Because I've made this so often I've got some tips & tricks for you.

Coconut Chai Rice Pudding

Filled with warming spices, this dairy- and gluten-free dessert is a snap to make in the pressure cooker and a fresh twist on classic comfort food.

Hi Folks! How's it going? I wanted to share this recipe with you because it's been a big hit in some of my recent classes and seemed like a good idea to share with everyone via the website.

Where do you find Instant Pot recipes?

I like to check out cookbooks from my local library. It broadens my knowledge in a subject (pressure cooker recipes, plant-based cooking, bread baking, etc) without having to commit to a cookbook or spend hours searching the internet. Over the years I've done this, certain cookbook authors deliver consistently good recipes, and Coco Morante is one consistently good cookbook author.

I found this recipe in Coco Morante's Essential Instant Pot Cookbook (Amazon affiliate link) while I was looking for a dessert to bring to a family with a new addition, being mindful of the new mom's gluten- and dairy-free preferences.

Sweet & Savory Pecans (air fryer or oven recipe) Plus my Year In Review

Greetings, folks!

This is 615 words, a 2½ minute read.

As the year winds down I wanted to thank you, and send you an update on my year. During 2023 I taught 9 classes, 296 students, and uploaded 15 class recordings. I decided to add Bonus Extra Recipe Videos to supplement in class info (like this video for Instant Pot Chocolate Pots de Creme For Two), and uploaded 17 bonus recipe videos to Youtube for folks to re-watch as needed.

To connect in person with folks, I’ve been doing live cooking demonstrations at Community Education events around the Twin Cities and Wisconsin.

In August during my Stop Food Waste With Your Pressure Cooker class I created a Leftover Cheat Sheet—and resolved to share ideas for how to repurpose the recipes I demonstrate in different ways.

In honor of my birthday I decided I’d donate the profits from this month’s Monthly Meal Planning class to my co-teacher Megan’s charity Lyle’s Lunchbox. I figured I’d round up to $500 if participation fell short of that soft goal, but so many folks registered for class that I ended up donating $1,100.00!

THANKS TO YOU, HUNGRY KIDS AND SENIORS IN MAUSTON WISCONSIN ARE GETTING EXTRA NUTRITIOUS FOOD OVER WINTER BREAK.

You did that. Pat yourself on the back. I appreciate you!

Air Fryer or Oven Crispy Eggplant Chips with Spiced Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Eggplant chips coated in a seasoned rice flour batter and air fried or baked until crisp. Served with a spiced yogurt dipping sauce for a gluten free vegetarian appetizer.

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Crispy baked eggplant chips with spiced yogurt dipping sauce are a perfect vegetable appetizer for early Fall. You're going to coat eggplant slices in seasoned rice flour, dunk them in an egg & milk mixture, then bake in an air fryer or oven. I like to have a vegetable appetizer set out to snack on while I'm fixing dinner and this one is a favorite this time of year. (Want more vegetable appetizers? Check out my Clickable Collage of Vegetable Appetizers or follow my Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks board on Pinterest.)

Click here for my How to Make Air Fryer Crispy Eggplant Chips video on Youtube!

Cooking Classes Fundraiser for World Central Kitchen

Hi there!
This post is to announce that I am donating access to one of my cooking classes, either Chili Night with Your Instant Pot or Instant Pot Desserts, to raise money for World Central Kitchen's current efforts helping feed displaced people in Ukraine and surrounding countries.

If you've attended one of my online or in-person cooking classes you may be aware of my work as a cook for Minnesota Central Kitchen at Chowgirls Catering in Minneapolis. Chowgirls Culinary Director Chef Liz Mullen modeled MCK on World Central Kitchen, Chef Jose Andres' amazing organization feeding people in need around the world in immediate response to manmade and natural disasters. Since 2010 WCK has been providing hot meals globally--since 2020 MCK has been providing hot meals locally.

I want to help--in a more global way than cooking 72 pounds of basmati rice or roasting 200 pounds of carrots during a shift in the Chowgirls kitchen (or making Turkey Enchilada Lasagna for 200 food insecure folks). So I'm selling access to the recordings of my Chili Night with Your Instant Pot class and my Instant Pot Desserts class.

If you're interested, you'll purchase access to the class by clicking the Paypal button below. When I get the email from Paypal, I'll send you the recipe handout + a link to the unlisted Youtube recording for that class. Please know that it won't happen immediately--I'm not tech-savvy enough to know how to add the info to the Paypal button below--but within 24 hours of my Paypal notification I'll send you class access.

ALL OF THE MONEY I RECEIVE FROM PAYPAL WILL GO TO WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN!**

I've already earned enough this year to pay for the camera upgrades my spouse/gaffer bought last month. I've got food in the freezer, electricity, and clean water coming out of the tap.

I don't need more.

Therefore, whatever I receive from Paypal--be it the full $15 if you choose the friends & family option, or a bit less if you choose the goods & services option (your choice, whichever you'd rather do)--will go to World Central Kitchen.

Early April Update! 

Last month we raised $210 for World Central Kitchen—through the sales of access to my previously recorded Chili Night With Your Instant Pot and Instant Pot Desserts classes.

 

**I lied. I said in my original post about the fundraiser that I would donate ALL of the money I received from PayPal to World Central Kitchen. I lied. PayPal took a cut of the funds, $1.01 per $15 donation, and I didn’t want WCK to have to pay the fees associated with the donation, so instead of donating $195.86 I rounded up and donated $220.50 to WCK.

 

Let me tell you more about the classes you can choose from! (Here's my main Instant Pot/Air Fryer Class page.)

Chili Night with your Instant Pot: The electric pressure cooker makes a faster and more flavorful Pot of chili compared to stove top or slow cooker—and you can make your sides in the Instant Pot, too! Kirsten will demonstrate Easy Weeknight Chili, Turkey Verde Chili, and vegan Quinoa Chili, along with Instant Pot “Baked” Potatoes and Loaded Cornbread. We’ll also discuss how you can adapt your favorite recipe for pressure cooker use. After I receive your donation, you will receive an extensive handout along with the link to the recording from class. 

Instant Pot Desserts: Creamy Cheesecake, Crème Brûlée, decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake, light Upside Down Summer Berry Cake and more—what do all these treats have in common? They’re made in an electric pressure cooker! Learn how to create your own Instant Pot Desserts--Crème Brûlée, Upside Down Summer Berry Cake, Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake, and Cheesecake--and learn about the different items you can use to create desserts in your electric pressure cooker. After I receive your donation, you will receive an extensive handout along with the link to the recording from class.

Click here to purchase access to Chili Night With Your Instant Pot OR Instant Pot Desserts for $15--I will donate the full amount from Paypal to World Central Kitchen.

I plan to total up the Paypal amounts at the end of the month and then update this post with how much was donated.


How long will I keep this fundraiser going? Well, I'd love to say until the people of Ukraine are free from suffering but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'll keep this fundraiser going through the end of June at any rate.

Instant Pot Banana Bundt Bread

Got ripe bananas? Bake Instant Pot Banana Bundt Bread! This sweet treat comes together easily from kitchen staples and makes a nice accompaniment to a coffee break, or an easy breakfast, or a fruity dessert.

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Last summer I had nearly 2 dozen Instant Pot cookbooks from the library quarantined with me for several months. I thoroughly enjoyed reading them and was filled with so many ideas for future classes (Instant Pot Bowls! Instant Pot Pasta! Instant Pot Brunch!) as well as loads of recipes to try. This recipe is one of the keepers. It's from The Instant Pot Bible by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough (I really like this book--it breaks down recipes by size & type of machine, so if you've got an Instant Pot Max especially be sure to check it out!)


I've included this recipe as a bonus one in several of my classes primarily because it's an excellent use of leftover ripe bananas. I'm notorious for buying a bunch (or getting some in my food share) and failing to eat them all before they're too ripe to eat. ((That sounds so silly--food is too ripe to eat? Crazy. Too ripe to enjoy out of hand, but perfect for baking with.) 

Salmon in the Company of Good Oranges (Fruit Fundraiser #2)

Salmon and fresh oranges in a poppy seed vinaigrette, served over hot pasta. The bright and fresh flavors of this dish lighten up the dark winter days.

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New photos from the 2015 Band Fruit Fundraiser!

After you've had your Band Fundraiser Tangerines for breakfast in this dish, it's time to think about what to do with your Band Fundraiser Oranges! Here's a recipe round up for ya.

This is one of those 'so crazy it must be good' combinations--salmon, with oranges, green onions, and poppy seed in a vinaigrette.  Served over noodles.  Sounds weird, right?

It did to me.

I was sick of eating fruit fundraiser oranges just out of hand, and my friend Debbie told me about her sister Chrissy's recipe from a magazine (Cooking Light maybe?).  The combination sounded so weird that I had to try it.  Debbie brought it over and we enjoyed it while watching Love, Actually.  So in my mind, the holiday season, the fruit fundraiser season, and this recipe all roll together.

(You can make it at other times, as well.)

I normally make this recipe with a salmon fillet, but in the interests of trying to be more frugal, I decided to try it with canned salmon.  I've never used canned salmon before.  If you eat blindfolded, the dish is about the same (slight textural difference).  But I eat with my eyes first, so to me the dish is better with a salmon fillet.

What do you think?

Canned salmon.

Hearty Cassoulet in the Instant Pot

A hearty bowl of tender beans studded with chunks of sausage and vegetables in a simple broth. This comforting recipe is an excellent use of pressure cooking to create a warm nutritious meal without having to remember to pre-soak beans.

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I buy dry beans because I know they're good for us, but I rarely remember to pre-soak them prior to using. (I can easily remember to set the eggs and cream cheese out to come to room temperature before making a cheesecake so I suspect it's a matter of priorities, not organizational skills.)

I teach Instant Pot classes, and for my All-in-One-Instant-Pot class I want recipes that can cook all together and create a full meal with a single cooking session. This one fits the bill. Add some bread and a salad if you like, or just dig in to a bowl. Other recipes on this site from that class are my Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs or my Turkey and Wild Rice Meatloaf with Sweet Potatoes.

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When I saw this recipe* (more on that in a bit) I noticed that it called for BOTH pre-soaking the dried beans AND a relatively long cook time. I wondered if it was truly necessary to pre-soak when the cooking time should be sufficient to fully cook the dry beans.

I decided to experiment and do half a bag of beans with a quick soak and leave half a bag of beans dry, then make two batches of this recipe--one with each kind of bean. Full disclosure--my daughter suggested this and she's a smart cookie (as well as my Producer for my online cooking classes). Having my college kids home "at school" instead of away at school is mostly a very nice situation.

How do you Quick Soak dry beans in an Instant Pot?

Instant Pot Fruited Wild Rice Salad with Sweet Potato

This vegan and grain free Instant Pot salad combines chewy wild rice and tender sweet potato with grapes and clementines in a lemony herb dressing. Perfect for summer alongside grilled meats or for fall alongside baked meatloaf.  

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I have meaningful work and it's an amazing thing to be able to write that statement.
What does this have to do with the Instant Pot Fruited Wild Rice and Sweet Potato Salad recipe I'm sharing today? 
The short version is that I discovered the dressing I'm using in this salad (I've got a DIY version, too, see the Note below) via my work with Minnesota Central Kitchen turning rescued/donated ingredients into meals for hungry people in the Twin Cities area.
If that's enough for you please feel free to scroll on down to the recipe.

Garlic Scape Herbed Cream Cheese

A fast and flavorful spread for appetizers or snacks, this zesty cream cheese marries fresh herbs with garlic scapes for a Spring treat. Spread this on crackers or tortillas, pipe it into peppers, or dunk a carrot for a fresh from the farm share appetizer.

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To make a more useful website for my fellow farm share eating folks, I periodically ask food bloggers for recipes so I can add their photos (and links back to their sites) to my Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient.

It's mean, rude, poor form, and illegal to take recipes and photos someone else has created and publish them on another website. Want to print off a recipe to hang on your fridge and refer to? Rock on! Here's how to print from my site. Want to copy and paste this post to publish somewhere else? No, you do not have my permission to steal my work. You're most welcome to link to this page instead.

When I was gathering garlic scape recipes I came across this Grilled Crostini with Garlic Scape Cream Cheese and Tomatoes from Kim of Kiss My Smoke. Her recipe reminded me that I hadn't tried making a savory cheese spread using farm share ingredients.

Pin For Later!

This is not that spread that my kids keep asking me to make--I think I need to use some ricotta and more pepper to make it a bit drier/firm it up, to come closer to Boursin, but much more testing is needed. Rule #3, something to look forward to. 

[What are Rules #1 and #2? Rule #1--you need someone to love. Rule #2--you need something to do. Rule #3--you need something to look forward to. I learned these from my spouse shortly after we met.]

Wild Violet Muffins with Wild Violet Sugar #MuffinMonday

Tender light muffins sweetened with wild violet syrup and sprinkled with wild violet sugar. Edible flowers baked into a Spring floral treat.

I'm reposting this recipe because the violets have appeared in the yard. Enjoy!

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About the only thing worth foraging in my yard these days are violets.

The garlic has woken up from it's deep winter slumber though it's nowhere near harvesting. The chives and raspberry canes are just beginning to stir. Some red leaf lettuce and celery from the compost miraculously survived the winter and is peeping up from a raised bed--though I suspect bunnies might nibble it off.

My spouse took this bug's view of a violet in our front yard yesterday.

I'm pretty much over playing with the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve, and I'm sick of eating down the put up vegetables in the freezer and pantry before we move. I want to forage with something fresh.

Wild violets it is.

A Recipe for Compost

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): Use a mulching mower or reversible leaf blower to shred Fall leaves, save them in bags or bins, add them to your kitchen scraps to create nutritious soil.

Please enjoy this post from several years ago--relevant now more than ever!

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I've added a gardening tip here and there over the past few years, but I've always included a recipe for a food that uses whatever vegetable or herb I've been discussing.


Today's post is a little different. I feel strongly that an appreciation of fresh food leads invariably, inevitably, inexorably back to the source: where your food comes from.

More folks getting interested in fresh local food means more folks trying their hands at growing some portion of it.

Maybe it's a windowsill with some herb pots in an apartment, or maybe it's rotation planting of your annual garlic and basil crops in raised beds.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to make your gardening efforts succeed is to make compost. 

How to Make Chai Tea Concentrate for Homemade Iced Chai

Make your own DIY Chai concentrate and treat yourself to a fancy iced sipper while giving your wallet--and your stovetop--a break! This recipe uses the sun and then the Instant Pot to create 6 quarts of chai concentrate from only 16 tea bags.

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I first shared this recipe nearly 5 years ago. I make it multiple times a week, year round, because I can guzzle iced chai during a polar vortex as well as during a heat wave. I thought I was being pretty frugal by making my own drink--then I took it to another level.

Last summer, after reading about making tea in an Instant Pot in one of my pressure cooker cookbooks from the library, I decided to experiment.

Instead of throwing the teabags from my half gallon of sun chai directly into the compost bucket or worm bin, I put them in my Instant Pot then added a gallon of water and made an additional batch of Chai concentrate.

It was delicious! Out of used tea bags I got twice the volume of chai tea concentrate with a smooth, rich flavor and intense color. That experiment worked so well that it became the most frequent recipe I make in my Instant Pot--and the simplest!

Peanut Butter, Spinach and Banana Smoothie--an Allergen Friendly Recipe

Creamy, satisfying, and green--this peanut butter, spinach and banana smoothie has it all. A smoothie you drink because you want to AND because you want to feel good about what you're eating.

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Ready for a fresh meal in a glass? One that you can meal prep, too?

I've got a yummy green smoothie for you--it's what I've been living on the past few weeks. I figured it's a good time to republish this recipe post.

Pin for later!

If you are already a green smoothie person skip this paragraph. If you're not, why not? I used to drink green smoothies (spinach or kale combined with fruits in an attempt to make the greens palatable) and feel virtuous, not satiated, so I understand the lukewarm feeling towards the green smoothie. But I would like you to try this one, if you've got spinach and banana lying around and feel so inclined.

Instant Pot Breakfast Bowl Meal Prep Recipe

How to Meal Prep a Week's Worth of Breakfast Bowls in your Instant Pot

Make a week's worth of breakfast bowls containing cheesy eggs, sausage, and potatoes in one meal prep pressure cooker session.

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Meal preparation and the Instant Pot is a match made in heaven. In this recipe we'll use the IP to simultaneously cook the components of a meaty breakfast bowl. With just 15 minutes of pressure cooking + natural pressure release time, you'll make enough to enjoy a hearty home-cooked breakfast every day!

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This recipe came about because my son moved into a campus apartment with his Instant Pot, because I'd stocked his freezer with a Costco box of Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls, and because one of his roommates does meal prepping.


He developed the basic idea on his own during the fall semester. I thought of ways to streamline the process. Over winter break we put our ideas together and came up with this recipe. This recipe is a copycat version of Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls and Jimmy Dean Meat Lover's Breakfast Bowls.

Instant Pot Greek Wild Rice Salad

Colorful and flavorful with a wonderful assortment of textures, this Instant Pot Greek Wild Rice Salad is great for a holiday gathering or a simple supper. Use the Instant Pot to quickly and easily cook your wild rice for this filling grain free side dish or, if you want, add some additional protein and make it a complete meal.

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This Greek wild rice salad starts with pressure-cooked tender wild rice marinated in Greek salad dressing tossed with spinach, feta, and a rotating cast of preserved and fresh vegetables.

While developing this recipe I made this salad three or four times in slightly different ways, and each time my spouse said, "wow, this is a great salad". Before I decided to put it on the website I figured I should ask a wider audience, so I made it for one of my Instant Pot cooking classes.

It was a hit--from the students to the building monitor and custodian who helped me 'deal' with the leftovers!  Next I served it to my extended family members, twice, and I think it's about as good as it's going to get.

One of the reasons I like to use my electric pressure cooker is that, once programmed, I just walk away from the kitchen and go do my own thing. You can see my Top 5 Reasons I Love My Instant Pot here.

Finnish Oven Pancake

A Finnish Oven Pancake is a rich morning treat made from pantry staples. Try this recipe with eggnog for a festive holiday breakfast. It's also perfect for a lazy Snow day.

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I love a good snow day. 

It's Mother Nature giving you an opportunity to pause, 

catch your breath, and take in the beauty of the world.

What's the best breakfast to make on a snow day?

To me, this Finnish Oven Pancake is the perfect Snow Day breakfast. It's made with common ingredients (eggs/flour/butter/milk) and it takes a while to bake--something I wouldn't normally do on a busy weekday morning.

Do you need a recipe to use up some eggnog?

During the holiday season I have eggnog on hand so I'll switch things up and make this using eggnog for a special treat. Try it with any flavor of eggnog you've got!

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While living in Virginia I started our family tradition of the Finnish Oven Pancake Snow Day Breakfast.


You may know this as a Dutch Baby, but I've seen many Dutch babies (Thomas and Emily come immediately to mind) and while I'd love to nibble on chunky baby thighs, they didn't look a thing like this.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup in the Instant Pot

Smooth and creamy with warming Thai spices, this vegan sweet potato soup cooks up quickly in the Instant Pot for an easy first course or light meal.

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I like to use my Instant Pot to prepare meal components--not just meals. In the summertime that means cooking--and freezing--endless ears of freshly shucked corn, or steaming potatoes for potato salad or my Grilled Garlic Scape Pesto Smashed Potatoes recipe. In the fall and winter that means preparing winter squash and root vegetables.

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If you find yourself with an abundance of oddly-shaped sweet potatoes from your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, the farmer's market, an ugly produce subscription service or your own garden--try this recipe! It's a terrific way to use cooked sweet potatoes in a simple and satisfying soup.

Dairy Free Corn Casserole (Small Batch Thanksgiving)

This recipe makes a light (and dairy free) corn casserole. Skip the boxed mix and control your own ingredients!

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I am all about inclusion. Is that because I have a disabled kid? Because I love people who are LGBTQ? Because I share meals with folks who have different eating styles? Because I have lived in a country where I was a minority? I dunno. The result is that I strive to make everyone feel welcome at my table.

That doesn't mean I choose the lowest common denominator. My octogenarian house is accessible for my son but not for his sled hockey teammates. I won't plan an entirely meatless Thanksgiving meal for the lone vegetarian at the table--but I will choose vegetable stock over chicken stock in stuffing or in my Silken Turnip and Potato Soup so that more of the dishes on offer are appropriate for the folks who come together to share the meal.

This recipe came about because of two things:  my conflicting desires to have a lot of side dishes and a small batch Thanksgiving, coupled with my neighbor hosting her extended family for the holiday and having less control over the food on her table. Her son has a severe dairy and nut allergy, and even well-meaning relatives don't always think it through.

"There's no milk or nuts in these Rice Krispie Treats!"  "Did you butter the pan?"

"Yes! Oh . . . I didn't think of that." 

Since I was thinking it through, and wanted the challenge of re-imagining a corn pudding without using a box of corn muffin mix, I offered to bring over a dairy free corn casserole for her table.


I figured I could divvy the mixture between 2 dishes so that we'd get variety in our side dishes while she'd get another dish that she knew was safe for her son.

Green Eggs No Ham with the Instant Pot for #MuffinMonday

Egg bites flavored with parmesan cheese and peppers, brightly colored thanks to fresh spinach. These vegetarian snacks pack a protein punch--straight from the Instant Pot!

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Green Eggs No Ham! Use the electric pressure cooker to make these colorful tasty protein bites any time of year--not just for Dr Seuss' birthday breakfast!


I like to offer recipes for a variety of eaters, so after I developed my Sous Vide Sausage Egg Bites I was thinking about vegetarian options. I tried a couple of recipes and methods before settling on this one. First I used mozzarella, and then feta, but I wanted a stronger flavor so I ended up with parmesan.