This recipe has it all. It’s comfort food, it’s sweet, it’s spicy, it’s bright, it’s smooth, and it’s caffeinated. Medjool dates are incredibly rich and moist, and they provide all the sweetness this latte recipe needs. The cinnamon is cozy, the citrus oils are bright, the cayenne provides a bit of heat, the almond butter is soothing and satisfying, and the vanilla offers a final kiss to bring it all home. If you’re living through a pandemic, and let’s be honest here — who isn’t? — then this latte is exactly what the doctor is ordering. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dr. Sukol
YOUR HEALTHY PANDEMIC: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Brownies
You may have noticed that I posted another brownie recipe a couple of months ago. The truth is that these brownie recipes keep calling me, and I’m listening. So, yes, I’m on a bit of a brownie kick, at least as long as we continue trying our best to make our way through a pandemic with our sanity intact. I mean, if all that stands between you and regular personal hygiene is a brownie for breakfast, it seems like a no-brainer to me. Anyway, this brownie recipe in particular is so packed with nourishing ingredients that it’s really not necessary to think about it for very long; just go bake some brownies. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Orange Soup (Marak Katom)
In the past week I received a lot of requests for Orange Soup (marak katom), which I mentioned as having been my inspiration for last week’s Purple Soup (marak segol) recipe. So I checked out a whole lot of recipes, and I used those plus the large pot of Orange Soup I made two weeks ago to come up with a version to share here. Please note that you will need an immersion blender to make Orange Soup. And, in case you like words and their derivations, Marak Katom is named for its orange color, which happens, in Hebrew, to be a completely different word (kah-tome) than the fruit (tah-pooz). Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Purple Soup
In Jerusalem, “Orange Soup” (Marak Katom, or מרק כתום), made with a mixture of sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash, is very popular at this time of year. When I was at the market last week buying ingredients for orange soup, I also noticed some beautiful purple potatoes and, nearby, packages of carrots like jewels, ranging from butter yellow to crimson to dark purple. Prior to the vendor realizing I was buying the ingredients for orange soup, he tried to convince me to buy the purple potatoes instead of the sweet potatoes. He had a recipe in mind, too, and suggested that I consider making mashed purple potatoes. A nearby customer even joined in to say that they are delicious with a little bit of thyme and date syrup. “You won’t regret it!” she said. Once the vendor realized my intention for the sweet potatoes, however, he raised his palms toward me, tipped his head slightly, and said something to the effect of “Oh, well, okay, in that case!” Orange soup is the kind of recipe that everyone makes in their own slightly different way but, at the end of the day, orange soup is orange soup and it’s not to be messed with. Continue reading
Garlic Scapes
Since I’ve been hanging out in Jerusalem with my kids, I’ve had a chance to enjoy the huge CSA (community supported agriculture) boxes that arrive regularly to their front door. This past week they received what Israelis call “green garlic,” and they enjoyed using it in salads like they use green onions, but otherwise weren’t sure what it was or where it came from. So I thought it might be nice to talk about green garlic, also known as “garlic scapes.” Garlic and the entire family of Allium relatives (leeks, chives, scallions, onions) begin their underground lives as soft bulbs. As the bulbs begin to harden, a shoot rises up, breaks through the soil to the air, and curls above ground. This shoot, or flower stalk, is called the scape, and it supposedly appears on only the finest hardneck varieties of garlic. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Date-Nut “Cookies”
Looking for something inspired for snacks, dessert, or breakfast? Consider these date-nut “cookies.” I called them cookies only because they are round. If you have children at home, they will probably enjoy helping. If you have any vegan and/or gluten-free family members in the high school or college-age range, they will probably thank you, and then volunteer to make them next time around. Under ordinary circumstances I would consider these a special treat for holidays or company, with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. But nowadays, being absolutely anything but ordinary, I would make them any time at all. I think you’ll like these very much. Sweet and nourishing. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: White Bean + Celery Salad with Bonus Recipe for Potato-Celery Soup
You know that feeling when you have no idea what to make, and you look in the refrigerator hoping to be inspired by what you see? This past week I found a huge bunch of celery* from my kids’ weekly CSA (community supported agriculture) box, which they receive year-round in Jerusalem. Celery is in season right now, so I decided that this salad would be a good choice. Notice all the colors and textures that make this dish so pretty and so crunchy. 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
The View from You
It’s a conversation that has lasted for more than twenty years, one book at a time, one month at a time. On this particular evening, long before the coronavirus, two members of our book group, Suze and Lynda, have folded themselves, side by side, into two big chairs separated by a small table. Dee, our host this month, lies nearby on the floor, her head on a large, soft cushion. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Avocado Soup
In honor of the new Vitamix recently delivered to the home of my son-in-law and daughter, I decided to post one of the most inspired and creative cold soup recipes that I’ve ever seen. I’ve been holding onto this one for a long while for just such an occasion as this.
If you’re bummed because you have most, but not all, of the ingredients in this recipe, as long as you have a ripe avocado I would just go for it. And the garnishes are strictly optional. Avocado soup is total delicious goodness. And if, after recent months, you’re looking for something really satisfying in a cozy, winter lockdown kind of way, but that doesn’t include sugar in the ingredient list, this is a great choice. Maybe it’s the nourishing fats from the avocado, or the heat from the jalapeño, but it’s gonna warm you from the inside out and you’ll be really glad you made it.