It’s been decades since my parents, Chef Ira and The Gardener, first coined a name for the way they eat. They called it the wrinkle-free diet. Though it started as a joke, an answer to the fact that they didn’t seem to be aging as quickly as their friends, it did not stay a joke for long. The magic of their wrinkle-free diet, it turns out, happens not on the surface, nor in the words themselves, but deep inside, through changes to the section of chromosomes called telomeres. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Chef Ira
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: ButterNutmeg Squash Soup
A long time ago, Chef Ira (my dad) came to visit and brought with him a large bag of ginger. This wonderful recipe is what I decided to make with that ginger. The color of autumn, this recipe is made with butternut squash and nutmeg, which is why I call it “butternutmeg” squash soup. Continue reading
Sulphur Springs: Memories of my Father
When my father was alive we liked to pick up breakfast at his favorite local bakery, Luna, and then drive to Sulphur Springs, a secluded area in the South Chagrin reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks that was accessible by car. I would lift his walker from the back of the car, and he would make his way to the closest picnic table, where we would sit, eat, read the paper. After a while I would walk down to the creek to take a photograph. Sulphur Springs is a moment in time. We could sit for an hour or more, and hear nothing but bird calls, the sound of water burbling over the stones, and the occasional car. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Chef Ira’s Fresh Strawberries
My dad had a long and successful career in the perfume business, but he once confided to me that if he had it all to do over again, he would have become a cook. To tell the truth, I think that’s exactly what he did. Continue reading