YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: End-of-Vacation Salad

This recipe reminds me of a tiny little funky restaurant that I once stopped in on my way home from southern Florida, headed home to the Great Lakes.

It was so refreshing and delicious to feel the different textures and flavors of this inspired salad in my mouth after having taken the trouble to uncurl myself from the back of an SUV where I’d sat, folded and crumpled, in a tiny little corner under an ever-shifting pile of boxes, suitcases and children, all of us trying hard not to think about the fact that we had come to the end of a long and happy vacation.

We had been driving all day. Maybe we were in Tennessee, or it might have been West Virginia. A college town clearly on break. It was almost sundown and the streets were mostly empty. Continue reading






YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Zucchini & Dill Soup

This is such a good project for the abundance of zucchini in your friends’, neighbors’ and coworkers’ gardens! You can make the soup now, with fresh zucchini, or you can make it in a few more months with frozen zucchini. Then again you can make soup now, and freeze that instead of raw cubes of zucchini. If you use frozen zucchini, remember to saute it a little bit longer. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Best Gazpacho I’ve Ever Made

August means it’s –YES — gazpacho time! I think of gazpacho as soup and salad, both at the same time. Chief Cook-and-Bottle-Washer brought home a tray of golden, acid-free tomatoes last Friday, and (I admit it) I had my coveting eye on them from the minute they entered the house. We ate a few on Friday night, and more on Saturday. Couldn’t resist, so I swooped in on Sunday morning to pulverize the rest! Chief C&BW said it was okay, he would go buy more. Thank you, Chief. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Adzuki Sprouts Salad

Why is it that the likelihood of requests for a recipe is usually in direct proportion to the rapidity with which you threw it together!? Last week we had a potluck at work, and I threw together a little “early morning salad.” Don’t judge me!! for having this spectacular constellation of ingredients at hand, just in case, you know, I had to throw together an impressive, last-minute salad! Sometimes the stars just line up. Sometimes, on the other hand, Mercury is in retrograde. Okay, let’s give it a shot. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Jason’s Kale Chips

This recipe for kale chips is a little treat from a friend down the street. He says that he doesn’t actually measure, but just eyeballs everything. Other than the first two ingredients, therefore, you should consider the amounts listed below as suggestions only, and feel free to make it your own. Kale chips are a really great option with a sandwich, or instead of a bowl of popcorn, or for an afternoon snack.

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