YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Judith’s Avocado-Chickpea Dip

My friend Judith, a number of whose remarkable, inspired recipes have appeared in these pages, has brought us yet another! She calls this one her “newest obsession.” It comes to her from a beloved family member who made it for her on the occasion of a recent visit. She described it to me over breakfast last week, and I could practically taste it as her words came rolling across the table —  Continue reading


First Trimester Ideas for My New Friend at Verizon

This week at the Verizon store I got a new phone and made a new friend. She was endlessly patient and kind through four interminable visits over the course of two weeks, and I appreciated her even more once I learned that she was also in the process of struggling through her first trimester.  When she told me that she’d been having a hard time figuring out what to eat that she could keep down, I promised to write a post about nourishing foods that would — hopefully — include something easy to digest. So here we go. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Lemon-Chickpea Soup

I found this recipe recently, and decided to make it for dear friends who were coming to dinner to celebrate the completion of our new kitchen. And was I happy I did! I had no idea how fabulous this soup would turn out to be. So much more than the sum of its humble parts. Yes it looked good on paper, but you never know, do you? Lucky us.

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Fire Food & Drink – A Memory from 2013

This post is a reprise of a delicious memory from many years ago, when my husband and I were celebrating the 36th anniversary of our meeting, and Fire Food & Drink in Shaker Heights, Ohio, my favorite restaurant, was still open. You might think of this entry as a tribute: To a man, a marriage, and a memory. 

I met my husband-to-be on a snowy, romantic February 18th many, many years ago. And it may sound corny, but it was, in fact, love at first sight. Or at least first weekend. So when I heard that Doug Katz was making a “Meatless Monday vegan dinner” the same week as our “meet-iversary,” my sweet husband cleared his schedule and I made a reservation right away!

You may or may not know that I am not a vegan. I’m not even a vegetarian. But I love real food, and I love creative cooking, so that’s why I wanted to spend an evening at Fire food & drink. It was going to be a special night. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Greens-and-Grains Winter Salad

I love eating food in season, and many of the ingredients for this recipe have winter written all over them. Leftover nuts and dried fruit from the holidays. Quinoa, a staple in the cabinet. Some fall apples and a few leftover stalks of celery in the fridge. And a sweet memory of the large box of oranges sent every year to my parents by friends who used to spend their winters in Florida. Continue reading



YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Red Lentil Soup for the New Year

This coming Monday evening, as the sun slips below the horizon, we will begin our celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah dishes traditionally tend toward the sweet and the circular: sweet for a sweet new year, and circular to represent the seasons that run one into the next, year after year, around and around. Instead of the usual braid, even challah is twisted into rounds at this time of year.  Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Canned Soup

Let’s say you have no get-up-and-go. Let’s say you did, but you used it all up dealing with your boss, your kids, your spouse, your self, your neighbor, your coworker, or your pandemic. Then let’s say that it’s dinnertime and you wish you had it in you to throw together something more nourishing than breakfast cereal or potato chips, but you don’t. What follows is a great recipe for when that day comes. Continue reading



YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: A Week of Menus and Recipes

I suppose it was inevitable, but last week I entered quarantine in a small apartment in Jerusalem for up to two weeks. Purely a precaution, no worries. Plus, there’s a balcony. And sunshine and wifi, so I am totally fine. Continue reading