Soup So Easy You (Almost) Don’t Know You’re Cooking

Roasted Carrot Soup with Ginger, Lentils, and Dukkah The resurgence of the Covid-19 virus has kept many people in the kitchen cooking more than they choose. As a friend said last week, “I am so sick of cooking!” Even fanatical cooks like myself need a break from the kitchen on occasion, but local restaurants are […]

Find Foods Right for You

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Bowl with Figs and Seeds What makes you choose one food over another? If your answer is “taste!”, you’re not alone. There are many reasons we choose foods, but taste is number one, according to fifteen years of consumer research conducted by the International Food and Information Council (IFIC) (1). Food package […]

Enjoy the Last of Summer’s Bounty

Rosemary Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Peach Mustard & Grilled Peaches Tomorrow, September 22, 2020 is the fall equinox. While I hate to see summer go, I’ve been pleasantly distracted with late-summer produce- enjoying the best of the season’s bounty and preserving some for eating later in the year. My husband lets nothing get in the […]

Bean Cuisine

Margarita-Style Layered Black Beans with Homemade Tortilla Chips If you’re sold on the benefits of beans, summarized in  The Power of Pulses, but not sure about cooking them yourself, here a quick guide. (Canned beans are convenient, but cooking your own is easy, economical and creates less waste.) Select Fresh Dry Beans Shop for dried […]

The Power of Pulses

A Master Recipe for Marinated Beans There’s no shortage of inspiration for cooking pulses (beans and lentils) – people have been eating and growing them for some 11,000 years (1). Foundational to cuisines around the world, today they’re as popular as ever as folks focus on plant-powered eating and ways to support sustainable agriculture. Pulses, […]

Going Bananas?

Going Bananas? Hazelnut Chocolate Banana Loaf Stay-at-home orders have spawned a resurgence of baking (3). Banana, bread has been called the “unofficial baked good” of the Covid-19 pandemic. In April, banana bread topped the charts as the most googled recipe in the U.S. and worldwide (1,2,3). Who knew I was on-trend when I started tinkering […]

Gardening Therapy

Plant Your Kitchen Scraps – Make Chimichurri Sauce I just read, “When the going gets tough, the tough get growing.” (1) Home vegetable gardening is surging during this pandemic, with people fearing food shortages and taking refuge in the safety of their own backyards (2). Gardening is therapeutic – it gets us out of the […]

Boost Your Immune System

HIBISCUS CITRUS MARGARITA As the novel coronavirus was lighting up Washington State, one of my besties told me, with great relief, that she’d just ordered $1,600 in wine.  Another California-based friend called to let me know that Sonoma wineries were waiving shipping fees – and said she was annoyed that Trader Joe’s limits purchases of […]

Scoop Some Love

Heart-Friendly Chocolate “Ice Cream” Heart-Friendly Chocolate “Ice Cream” Partnered with Valentine’s Day, Heart Month is timed to encourage us to show some love for our hearts and vascular systems. Heart disease remains the #1 cause of mortality for both men and women of most ethnic groups in the USA (1).    According to the Center […]

Super Foods for Super Bowl -Dips with Benefits

In my home, the food served during the Super Bowl LIV will be just as important as the game. My husband, who has a thing all things crunchy and chip-like, insists on what he calls “game food,” which he defines as a variety of finger foods, dips, and dippers to nibble on until halftime, when […]