If you’d like to make a dessert that captures the feel of July fourth, try these apple muffins from Honest Cooking and Travel. They have a streusel topping reminiscent of some fancy apple pie recipes I’ve seen, but feel free to substitute graham cracker crumbs if you like. Save one for yourself for breakfast tomorrow morning, along with your cup of tea or coffee. Continue reading
Category Archives: Celebrations
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
This recipe made its way into my house in a booklet provided by Vitamix with the purchase of our high-speed blender many years ago. It is really delicious whether all by itself, sprinkled over a circle of warm brie, or tossed onto a tomato salad. Pumpkin seeds are a great substitute for nuts when you are feeding people with nut allergies, but they are also extremely nourishing in and of themselves, and worth the time you spend making them.
Over the years I have collected plenty of recipes for sweet spiced nuts and seeds, but this is the only recipe I have for a savory version. 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: Huevos Haminados (Slow-cooked eggs)
Haminados are one of my all-time favorite Passover recipes! Simple, sublime and delicious, they have been a staple at the Passover tables of Mediterranean Jewish communities for millennia! I’ll be making two big batches in the coming days . Check out this recipe and you’ll see why. Whether you make this dish in your crockpot or oven, it takes just a few minutes to toss together and get cooking. 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
We are Family: A Blessing on Their Heads
Today is a very special day for our family. Today our nephew will marry his beloved, and she happens to be the daughter of old friends of ours. His parents are thrilled, and hers the same. For us, this remarkable and happy coincidence is nothing short of miraculous. So I share this post in honor of the marriage of our nephew, our new niece, and the new home they will create together. Today I want to share — from a medical standpoint — just a few of a great many things I have learned about friends, family, and the magic effects of kindness, love, and support. Continue reading
The Season of our Joy
A brief post on the birth of a new grandchild. It is the season of our joy, and we are indeed celebrating. This note of gratitude is intended specifically for you, dear readers. Continue reading