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
Category Archives: Holidays & Celebrations
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
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
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
Fall at its Finest
This is the time of year when the pomegranates ripen and come to market. While I was growing up, my mom always put pomegranates on the grocery list at this time of year, and we children eagerly volunteered to unpack them when she arrived home. That night, after the dinner dishes were cleared, we would each take a seat at the circular kitchen table. My mom made a ceremony of opening a single perfect pomegranate to reveal its layers of shiny, shimmering red rubies. She separated the pomegranate into sections, saved one for herself, and then distributed the rest among the children. Together, we shared the pomegranate, appreciating the fruits of our table, eating up all the seeds, and counting our blessings. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Sweet New Year Soup
Next week we will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Traditionally, Rosh Hashanah foods 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. At this time of year, we even twist our challahs (egg bread) into rounds instead of the characteristic braided loaf we eat all year long.
We eat lots of fruits, especially apples, prunes, pomegranates, dates and apricots. Chosen vegetables might include sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, and leeks (sliced into rounds of course). Dishes made with black-eyed peas and lentils are a frequent addition to the table. And there is always lots and lots of honey, especially for dipping bread and apple slices. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Roasted Cauliflower & Tahini
In 2020, during the pandemic and lockdown, my newly married daughter and son-in-law discovered that they could reduce their grocery shopping frequency from once a week to once every other week by thinking of their produce as “first week” items, which were likely to go bad quickly (e.g., berries and spinach) and “second week” items, with a longer shelf life (e.g., cabbage and apples). Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Lisa’s Date-Nut-Chocolate Bars
My friend, Lisa, brought these date pecan chocolate bars to book club once and OMG they were pretty wonderful. Technically they are intended for dessert, but honestly there is no reason they wouldn’t be great for breakfast, too. Dates, nuts, dark chocolate. Why not? Frankly, they have a lot more nutrition and a lot less sugar than the standard American breakfast. So, yes, I would go for it. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Chicken with Split-Pea Gravy
This recipe inspires an entirely new approach to gravy. It’s extremely flavorful, the texture is spot-on perfect, and it is impossible to mess up. You should consider it when cooking for company, Friday nights or Sunday dinners, Thanksgiving and other holidays, or any time you want something rich, flavorful, creamy, and cozy, with leftovers guaranteed to keep you satisfied. When my children were elementary school age, it was one of their favorite dinners. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Tofu & Peas on Quinoa
I created this recipe for one of our family celebrations this past December. Of course I used frozen peas. The vegans ate it as their main course, and everyone else was happy to see another dish to try. Enough said.
1/2 large Vidalia onion, diced small
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. chili pepper
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. garam masala
2 tsp. tamari
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cake tofu, diced approx. 1/2-inch
1 cup frozen (or fresh) sweet peas
1. Prepare 1 cup quinoa per directions on the package to yield approximately 2 cups of cooked quinoa. Set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes and make sure all the water has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork.
2. Heat olive oil on med-high heat, and add diced onion, stirring occasionally until the edges are barely beginning to brown. Stir in the diced ginger and garlic. Add diced tofu, continuing to mix occasionally, until the edges are becoming golden.
3. Add salt and pepper, serrano pepper, and cardamom, and stir for 30 seconds until well mixed. Immediately add the sweet peas, turn down the heat to low, and add tamari plus 2 Tbsp. boiling water. Stir to mix well, and cook for a minute or two just until the peas turn bright green.
4. Thickly cover the bottom of a shallow serving bowl with the cooked quinoa. Cover the quinoa with the tofu-pea mixture. Squeeze lemon over dish, and serve with a thin slice of lemon on top. Serves 3-4.