Plant-Based in 2024

“Faux” Gras Plan to put more plants on your plate in 2024? It’s a thing. More and more people are catching on to the nutritional benefits and gastronomic diversity of veggies, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Esteemed New York Times food writer Melissa Clark writes that she “wants to become as fluent in tofu as she […]

Trending Now – Less Sugar and More Plant Protein

Honeynut Squash with Black Lentils, Black Rice, Hazelnuts and Pomegranate Food and diet resolutions reign in January. Slashing added sugars and boosting plant protein are trending now. I address both in this recipe. If you like winter squash you’ll love honeynut squash. They look like baby butternut squash but are sweeter and roasting concentrates that […]

Earth and Ocean

Sea Scallops with Herbed Lentils, Champagne-Butter Sauce and Roasted Walnuts Many dishes are enhanced with contrast – elements of hot and cold, sweet and sour or bitter. A well-known example pairs foods from the land and sea- surf and turf, lobster and steak. My expression of a the land and sea idea came about when […]

Lentil Pasta Sauce

Lentil Pasta Sauce With or Without Meat   Pasta with tomato sauce is a classic comfort food.  There’s almost always a container of it tucked in my freezer for times when we need a cozy, home-cooked meal in a hurry.  This version is particularly easy and economical.  Lentils and umami-rich mushrooms stand in for meat […]

What does “Diet” Mean?

Indian-Spiced Shrimp En Papillote   This is an excerpt from a “Fresh Bites” guest blog posted January 11, 2013, I wrote for Allrecipes.com at the request of Senior Communications Director Judith Dern.  Allrecipes.com is the  largest digital food brand in the world, averaging more than 30 million unique visitors each month and posting double-digit growth […]

Slimmed-Down Pork Carnitas – Hearty and Easy

Carnitas-Style Slow Cooked Pork and Mexican-Spiced Sprouted Beans   It’s time to bring out the slow cooker.  Temperatures have dropped and the hectic holiday season is here, calling for hearty, healthful and easy-prep meals to balance the fancy party food on the way.    The slow cooker is a device I shunned until a client […]

Super-Squash for Fall Cooking

Red Lentil Dal with Winter Squash and Tarka Winter squash is often called a “super food” because of its excellent nutrient profile.  A cup of butternut squash cubes, baked, has a mere 56 calories, 4.5 grams of dietary fiber, over 300% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin A, 35% of the DV for vitamin […]

Lentils for Luck

 Lentils with Rosemary and Red Wine I often start January with a series of “good luck” foods.  The Christmas cookies, champagne and caviar are long gone and it’s time to get down to the business of resolutions and a fresh, healthy start to the year.  Since a trip to Umbria in 1990 where I sampled the […]