This week i had a conversation with a patient, a math tutor, about the difficulty she was having measuring up to her impossibly difficult personal standard. Why “impossibly” difficult? Because I’m sure that she was doing the best she could. And to ask more of herself, at least right now, was impossible. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Red Lentil Soup for the New Year
This coming Monday evening, as the sun slips below the horizon, we will begin our celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah dishes traditionally 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. Instead of the usual braid, even challah is twisted into rounds at this time of year. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Gazpacho!
If your counter looks anything like mine, it’s probably that time of year when you gather up your haul of tomatoes and turn them into soup. Tomatoes are best stored and eaten warm, so you’ll probably be starting with tomatoes at room temperature. Plan on making this recipe early enough in the day that it has time to cool thoroughly. It will be worth it, especially on these hot, humid, late summer days. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Watermelon Gazpacho
Beautiful color, beautiful flavor, beautiful summer food. Something different and delicious…
8 cups watermelon (peeled from rind, seeded, and chopped)
3 pickling cucumbers (approx 6 inches long), diced
1 red bell pepper (cored, seeded, and diced)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. green onions, chopped
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Measure two cups of the ingredients into a blender or food processor, and pulse until chunky (not smooth). Collect the blended ingredients in a pitcher.
Continue to blend one small batch at a time until just 1/2 cup of the unblended mixture remains. Add this to the pitcher without processing, and stir. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs, and serve chilled. Garnish as desired with more basil or parsley.
Yield: 6+ cups
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: The Very Best Gazpacho Recipe
It’s August, and I’m posting a gazpacho recipe every week for the entire month! Gazpacho is soup and salad, both at the same time. This one is made with golden tomatoes, and it looks as good as it tastes.
Chief Cook-and-Bottle-Washer brought home a tray of golden, acid-free tomatoes one Friday, and I had my eye on them from the minute they entered the house. We ate a few on Friday night, and more on Saturday. Then I couldn’t resist, and 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: Cucumber Gazpacho
This is the time of year for gazpacho, so get ready! I’m going to post some of my favorite traditional tomato gazpacho recipes in the coming weeks, but we’re starting with something a little different — cucumber gazpacho. Salad in a soup. I made a slightly different version of this gazpacho last night, and the avocado gave it a super creamy texture. Such a great way to get your veggies, to start your day with leftover gazpacho for a slightly unorthodox breakfast, and to fill your waiting belly with a pile of phytonutrients! Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Pecan Bread (vegan, gf)
My family gets together for dinner every Friday night, and it’s always like a touchstone. It’s the end of the week, and the start of the weekend. It’s a chance to catch up with everyone, and a chance to kick back. It’s a time to share ideas, and to find out who’s heard from our son and daughter-in-law overseas. It’s an opportunity to drink a glass of wine, to eat my husband’s delicious cooking, including his homemade challah, and to mark and celebrate special events from the week, including birthdays and anniversaries. We are a noisy group, and we range in age from 6 weeks to 88 years, so it takes a while for everyone to get situated around the table. When we can, we eat around the massive picnic table that my parents brought from New Jersey when they moved next door. Otherwise we gather in the living room. And then, finally, it’s time for a taste of Lisa’s pecan bread.
Breast Cancer: My Passion for Prevention
I would like to share with you that I have recently made a big change at work. After many years in general internal medicine, wellness, and prevention-based care, I will now be applying my passion for prevention to the community of patients at increased risk of breast cancer. Lest you think this is not such a big deal, it turns out that breast cancer affects approximately 12% of women, or 1 in 8, over their lifetime. In other words, it’s a public health emergency. And the research has clearly demonstrated that obesity is a significant risk factor for breast cancer. Continue reading
Celebrating the Fourth of July
Below is one of my favorite posts, posted originally on July 4, 2010:
It’s the fourth of July today, and my family has converged on the family farm for the great annual bash. On and off since yesterday evening, strapping grandsons have been carrying cartons of beer, wine, soda, water, and iced tea up to the deck, where great drums of ice stand ready to receive them all. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Tofu Crackers
A couple weeks ago I was doing some cooking at my daughter and son in law’s house while they were learning to change diapers and care for our newborn granddaughter (!!) I pulled a container of tofu from the refrigerator and made something really yummy and totally new with it. Basically, I cut the tofu into approximately 20 squares and roasted them until most of the water had evaporated and they looked more like crackers than tofu. Continue reading