A couple of weeks ago we were making plans to a host dinner for a large group, and I got inspired to come up with a couple of new salads to add to our regular lineup. I sat down, started thinking, and before you knew it, I had come up with recipes for two brand new salads. And with a bonus — not only did they use up some of the contents of our pantry, they added only a few items to the shopping list! Continue reading
Tag Archives: olive oil
The Zen of One Fried Egg
This is one of my favorite old posts. Last fall, my sister came to Cleveland for a visit and for the wedding of an old friend’s daughter, and I enjoyed seeing the smile on her face as she mentioned this post from years back. Ever since then, I’ve been thinking about reposting it. In honor of my sister, and in memory of the chickens we used to have before a few raccoons and other wild things destroyed our coop one miserable day a few years back, I repost it here today. We are hoping to get our coop back on line this year so that we can resume telling stories about our chickens. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Pomegranate-Pistachio Salsa
It probably won’t surprise you to discover that I never tire of reading cookbooks and food magazines. I’m always looking for something new and different. I was thumbing through a copy of Food & Wine recently, and came across a really interesting fresh pomegranate salsa that involved charring a red onion and serrano pepper, while simultaneously reducing sherry vinegar in a small saucepan.
In theory it sounded amazing, but in truth it sounded like a lot, even for me. But I love pomegranates, and I love pistachios, and I loved the creative mixture of ingredients. So I decided to try it a different way. It looks like it’s time to up my salsa game. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: White Beans with Roasted Tomatoes
This recipe makes a simple and lovely meal that could not be more delicious or satisfying! Like many recipes whose featured ingredient is one or more types of beans, it still tastes wonderful even if you fiddle with the ingredients a little. The name of the game is flexibility. Continue reading
Most Manufactured Salad Dressing Isn’t Food
I recently decided that it was time to look at the ingredient lists of salad dressings, whatever that means, so I picked four popular brands to examine. You will be very interested to learn what I discovered. The first ingredient in the first product I picked up, Wishbone Italian dressing, was water. Frankly, that seems like a very expensive way to buy water. And surprising, too, given that Italian dressing consists primarily (and traditionally) of olive oil and vinegar. Not Wishbone Italian dressing, though. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Seeded Crackers
Last week I posted an essay to help make sure that you find the nourishing crackers (instead of other ones), and I included a recipe. Here’s a second great recipe if you’re up for making yourself a batch of homemade — These are full of tiny little seeds and absolutely delicious. They are easy to make, and then you can eat a handful without any worries about whether you’re eating a whole bunch of nonsense that isn’t really food. 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: Chickpea (Nahit) Celebration!
Last Saturday our friends welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world and everyone, (especially the two big sisters of this sweet, lucky little boy) is ecstatic. In my family, it is traditional to serve chickpeas to celebrate the birth of a newborn child. The dish is called nahit.
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: The Barefoot Gypsy’s Tabouli
Here is an absolutely fantastic recipe for tabouli from my lucky friend Judith, who got it from her mom, who got it from her mom, who got it from her mom, and so on, which is why my friend Judith is so lucky. Pick up what you need next time you go shopping, so you can make it in time for next weekend’s celebrations! Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Three Delicious Salad Dressings
Have you ever noticed how so many different cuisines include a dish that pairs some type of greens with some type of fat? Whether it’s lettuce and olive oil, cabbage and mayonnaise (cole slaw), sauteed greens + pignola nuts, spinach with bacon dressing, or deep-sea fatty fish and seaweed (sushi), parsley salad with tahini dressing, you are apt to find green leaves combined with fats over and over again. Continue reading