The Zen of an Orange Leaf in Autumn

In the final hours of the day, between school and dinner, under yesterday afternoon’s cerulean blue sky, two of my grandchildren set out to build “the biggest pile of leaves in the world.” I sat nearby on the slightly damp grass, my arms resting around my bent knees, and watched the children running back and forth across the crunchy, leaf-strewn lawn, screaming in delight, and carrying large bunches of dry, crackly leaves tight against their chests.  Continue reading →


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Winter Dinner with Apples & Sauerkraut

The holidays are over. The days are short. The sun is almost nonexistent. The cloud cover is thick. No one feels much like cooking, and just about everyone feels like they have had enough treats, at least for now. So what’s for dinner? Here’s something perfect for January. It’s a tiny bit sweet, and involves almost no prep, unless you count cutting up one onion, two apples, and a cake of tofu. Most of the actual cooking is accomplished while you go do something else. It’s the ultimate comfort food, but without any grains, which is pretty unusual as comfort foods go. These kinds of recipes fall under the category of post-holiday, recovery, post-celebration, reset meals. It’s not just about going back to work. It’s also about getting back to life.  Continue reading →