It must be November because, once again, my counter is covered with pumpkins and onions. Here are two relatively simple but unusual (dare I say extraordinary?) recipes to use them up. Both are fantastic not just for any old day of the week, but also as impressive contributions to holiday celebrations. Make the onions the day before you need them, if possible, because no matter how great they turn out, they taste even better the next day! Continue reading
Category Archives: Real Food
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Hot Peppers
A while ago I received a container of hot peppers of various interesting shapes and sizes. One day I selected a smooth, green jalapeno, chopped it into tiny bits, and added it to a stir fry. Another time, I sliced a thin, 4-inch, bright red pepper into 1/2 inch segments, marinated it in some olive oil for an hour or so, and then poured the oil over roasted eggplant sprinkled with curly parsley. That gave the sweet eggplant a pleasant bite. No further inspirations were forthcoming, and the rest of the hot peppers sat on the second shelf in the refrigerator, moving closer to the back with each passing day. Continue reading
Channeling Alice Waters
The secret to eating a nourishing diet is to keep it simple. One of my favorite cookbooks, written by Alice Waters, is called The Art of Simple Food. The title says it all. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Red Pepper Bisque
If you’ve been looking for a way to branch out and eat more different vegetables, this is it. Every color in your diet represents a different phytonutrient, and every phytonutrient is like a building block for your good health. That’s why it’s important to eat the rainbow, to maximize the number of different colors on your plate, to spread your bets. If you have been feeling like you could use a little more on the red side of the spectrum, make this.
It takes just a few minutes to whip up this Red Pepper Bisque and IT IS GOOD. The original version comes from Food Babe, who has been generating terrific buzz on the subject of cleaning up our food supply and putting pressure on BIG COMMODITY FOOD to do the same. She has got it all figured out, and she’s on your side.
2016 Memorial Day Menu
Company’s coming! and I thought it might be nice to share the menu. 🙂
My friends and family inspire me so much every day, and I am grateful beyond words. Chief-cook-and-bottle-washer is making a trip to the grocery store today to gather the necessary provisions. Judith, a fine cook if ever there was one, is bringing her extremely fine baked beans. Lori has a tomato-watermelon salad (feta optional). And there is more, much more. We will raise a toast to the magnificent new garden envisioned and then built by the team of T&J. The new bride and groom will be here. And my parents will celebrate their 60th, yes, sixtieth(!), wedding anniversary. They were actually married (in the middle of the week) on May 30th, 1956, in the years before Memorial Day was moved to Mondays! Continue reading
The Salad Dressing Situation
The last time I stopped at the local supermarket to investigate salad dressings, I learned some very interesting things. Here’s a warning: After you read today’s post, if you haven’t already done so, you’re going to start making your own salad dressing, even if it’s simply olive oil and salt (my fav), or a squeeze of lemon. Continue reading
Let the Growing Season Begin!
The first time I joined a community-supported agriculture (CSA), almost ten years ago, its kickoff late on a Thursday afternoon sent me racing out of the office at the end of the day. The first week’s bounty included lettuce greens, herbs, onions, kohlrabi, radishes. Adults chatted and children hopped around like happy rabbits as we waited for strawberries to arrive. After a long winter, we all hungered for fresh food. Continue reading
A Box of Real Food
What to do next when your body still has a strong tendency to store significant amounts of belly fat? This question was put to me twice this week on behalf of two different people. Both eat a nourishing diet rich in whole foods. One runs marathons. And yet… Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Watercress-Grapefruit Salad
Make yourself this sweet little salad, just for you or just for two. It’s an exotic bunch of ingredients, so it’s unlikely that you will have all these ingredients in your kitchen when you’re ready to put it together. And it will probably help to take the recipe with you when you go to the grocery store to collect your ingredients. But here’s a trick: you can make this salad two different ways, one easier and the other more involved. Buy all the ingredients for the fancier version, or skip over the [bracketed ones] for a simpler version. Either way, it’ll be [simply] delicious. Continue reading
My Mom’s Best Aphorisms
Tomorrow my mom will turn 80! Can you imagine?! Eighty years! In honor of my mighty wise mom, and 80 years walking this wondrous planet, here are some of the marvelous things that she taught me. Continue reading