A Novel Way to Help Control Blood Sugar

Jump on the Cottage Cheese Revival: Peanut Butter Mousse and Whipped Feta Cream Protein-packed cottage cheese is having a moment (1) and blitzing it into something irresistibly creamy is the move. It was top-of-mind for recipes featuring California dried figs when the Valley Fig Growers asked me to write a website article on health research […]

Is Turkey to Blame for the “I Need a Nap” Feeling After a Thanksgiving Feast?

Marinated Fig Relish with Olives and Peppers Thanksgiving plans and prep are underway. My inbox is flooded with messages such as “time to order your turkey,” “plan the best friendsgiving ever,” and links to recipes for pies, sides and more.  My family isn’t the only one who celebrates with a table overflowing with “must-have” dishes, […]

For a Sweet September…

Apple Spice Doughnuts I’m never ready for the end of summer. I love all it offers – sun-ripened berries, peaches and tomatoes, long days, water play, grilling and dining outdoors. I could whine, but I headed to the kitchen instead. Summer always transitions to fall, and to ease the way, I cooked up a recipe […]

Fuel Up For Winter Sports

Chocolate Oat Breakfast Sundae I don’t typically make much of breakfast, but there’s nothing like a series of snow storms to work up an appetite for a hearty start to the morning. An upcoming snow shoe adventure got me cooking. Warm oatmeal is a winter classic. Chocolate, berries and nuts make it even better. Steel […]

Food Bridges the Seasons

Butternut, Blue Cheese & Fig Galette   August seems like long ago. That’s when we made what has become an annual visit to Krueger Pepper Farm, loading up on end-of summer produce – a variety of tomatoes, including fresh San Marzanos, peppers, tomatillos, eggplant, corn and melons. First, we go into the fields to do […]

The New “Wedge Salad”

Dare to EAT Different Just this week my daughter, Allegra, asked if I wanted to have a container of her “overnight oats” for breakfast. After eating the same breakfast for a few months – she’d had enough. Good timing – I’d just read a Harvard Health Letter article, Dietary Rut? 5 Ways to Snap Out […]

Sweet Traditions

Mediterranean Granola with Pistachios, Hazelnuts and Orange   The holidays are full of cherished traditions and many revolve around food treats. My second cousin Joanie called yesterday and we reminisced about Auntie’s (her mom’s) English toffee, her rich, buttery refrigerator rolls and Swedish snowball cookies (what I call Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cakes). […]

Riding the Sweet Potato Moment

Moroccan-Spiced Roasted Sweet Potato Salad The sweet potato moment has stretched into an hour. No longer the stuff of Thanksgiving casseroles and sweet potato pie, sweet potatoes are the new French fry and the new breakfast toast. Nudging out white spuds, they’re baked, tucked into burritos and noodled through spiralizers. For fall, I created a […]

Summer is Pickling Season

Summer Salad with Pickled Figs, Farro, Nuts and Seeds People are pickling – and it’s not just cucumbers. I’ve seen pickled seeds, fruits and all kinds of vegetables. It goes hand-in-hand with taste trends leaning to bolder, sour, sweet and spicy combos. It’s nothing new.  My great-grandma pickled out of necessity, to preserve the summer […]

Dessert First on the Fourth – Why Not?

Chocolate Shortcakes Except for apple pie, no dessert is more American and more appropriate for the Fourth of July than shortcake, dressed up with red and blue berries and a billow of cream. No matter that (according to Wikipedia) an early recipe strawberry shortcake was found in an English cookbook dating back to 1588.  Shortcake […]