I’ve come across a really good and relatively simple recipe for lentil soup, and thought I’d share it right away before I misplace it! I wish I knew where I got it from, but that information will sadly have to wait until I figure it out and can add it to this post. I made this recipe for the first time on a rainy day in early spring a few weeks back, and was so pleased with the results that I decided to write a post about it. Lentils are a special food, a special type of legume, with all kinds of important benefits for your health. And they taste good. Continue reading
Category Archives: Aromatics
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Grains and Greens
This is a recipe that features the grain you feel like eating today*, the greens that are in season, and whatever vegetables you are in the mood to sautè. For this particular version, I chose quinoa, red peppers, and spinach, but you can saunter through your kitchen, gather up your choices, and start chopping. If you get your veggies organized, and do your chopping early in the day, you’ll be able to throw this meal together quickly. And if you make the grains the evening or weekend before, you’ll feel like a pro when everything comes together in just a few minutes. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Tsimmes
Preparing for the holidays with my mom was a major highlight of my childhood. Although my father was the main cook in our family, my mother took over the kitchen on the holidays, and dad’s primary responsibility was to make the brisket.
Like many other special dishes that we ate on dedicated holidays throughout the calendar, my mother made tsimmes twice a year, in the fall for Rosh Hashanah (it is traditional to eat sweet foods on Rosh Hashanah), and in the spring, for Passover. She never used recipes, preferring instead to combine ingredients as her grandmother and mother-in-law did. Truthfully, though, tsimmes is one of those dishes that probably doesn’t really need much of a recipe anyway. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Mediterranean Roasted Onions
Generally speaking, I read a lot about Mediterranean cooking, but lately I’ve been focusing on its emphasis on simplicity. I keep seeing one particular idea, that you need only a short list of ingredients in a small kitchen to make spectacularly flavorful dishes. No need for 40 herbs and spices. Maybe five or ten. Here’s what I mean. Today I have in mind an exceedingly simple recipe: roasted onions. These onions are really, really gooooood, and they add a special something to every meal you can imagine. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Orange Soup
One of our family’s favorites, Orange Soup (mah-RAHK kah-TOME), is a recipe that I have shared in the past. I have found that no matter how large a pot you make, it is always gone within a couple of days. In other words, this recipe makes a lot of soup, but it still won’t last very long. It’s quintessential comfort food. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Yellow Eye Heirloom Bean Soup
Today was a lovely day, temperatures notwithstanding. School was cancelled, of course, because no one in their right mind could require children to stand outside in these temperatures waiting for school busses. This is why, having received the text from my daughter late yesterday, family camp was in session today.
The children unrolled our many yoga mats end-to-end all over the living room, and then raided the pantry to build a long winding row of mostly dry and canned beans that they subsequently climbed over and among for close to an hour. In the meanwhile, I put up a pot of soup in my beloved 5.5-quart Staub Dutch oven (cocotte). Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Butternut-Peanut Soup
Make this one cold evening with a couple of friends, light some candles, and sit back with a glass of wine while you wait for the soup to cook. Then ladle the soup into mugs and pass them around. This soup will warm you from the inside out. Remember that peanuts are a legume, so that makes it nourishing and a good source of protein. Also, be forewarned: the peanut butter and coconut milk make it quite rich, so one cup goes a long way. If you’re up for it, you can add a simple green salad, and call it a meal. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Red Lentils & Sweet Potatoes
I think that it might be exactly the right time of year to have this recipe in the refrigerator. You can make this recipe over the weekend, and then have it ready to eat on the days between the endless holiday parties, celebrations, after-work stopovers, and other seasonal social events. It’s incredibly flavorful, it’ll give your mind and belly a well-deserved rest, and you’ll be glad not to have to think too much about what to make for dinner. Or lunch. Continue reading
The Introverted Vegetable
This is a post about pale vegetables, the ones that don’t have much color. They may not be the stars, but when it comes to nutrition they — like costume and scenery professionals — provide essential support. You might say that sometimes they win the Oscar for outstanding contributions in the field. Continue reading
Planning Ahead for the Holidays
This is a very good time of year to begin thinking about what you’d like to make for the upcoming holidays. Especially if you are planning to host vegetarians and/or vegans, but not only. These recipes are amazing no matter what your style.
My kitchen counter is once again covered with pumpkins and onions, and here are two extraordinarily delicious and unusual recipes for your pumpkins and onions. If you have the time, try to get the onion recipe made the day before, because as good as they are, they taste even better the next day! These two recipes are keepers, and they are special enough for holiday celebrations, too, so keep them in mind for the weeks ahead. The pumpkin (in particular) makes a beautiful presentation, and slicing it at the table is a nice and memorable touch. Continue reading