Vegetarian

My featured Changemaker this month is Robert Surles, more commonly referred to as Chef Bobo. Bobo is a New York City chef leading the charge in helping make and keep kids healthy. In 2002, The Calhoun School, my alma mater, hired Chef Bobo–previously the personal chef to NY Yankee legend Derek Jeter— from the French Culinary Institute […]

Let’s discuss millet. Millet is an ancient seed originating from Africa and Northern China. Millet has been around for centuries and remains a “staple” in the diets of about 1/3 of the world’s population. With a milk-sweet corn-like flavor, this grain is naturally gluten-free–making it a go-to for Celiac sufferers. Millet is a whole grain, […]

This is my spinach Stromboli, and it is tasty. To clarify some confusion, Stromboli and calzones are not the same thing. Both Stromboli and calzones are pizza derivatives. Both use either pizza dough or Italian bread dough (which involve similar ingredients) to achieve a similar goal: a small handhold pizza roll.  The differences come from […]

I have not been shy about my love of salads. I am, however, an admitted salad snob. My husband agrees. I like my salads to taste good and to look good. Appearance matters. Making a salad look appetizing should not be that complicated: vegetables in their natural states are inherently pretty, given the variety of […]

Nothing says summer to me like chilled soup. As I mentioned in a post last year, my family lives on gazpacho. I make my quick gazpacho year-round, as it is a family go-to even when the weather turns California cold.  In the summer, I make double batches. Any time of year, it is a wonderful, healthy go-to snack […]

I don’t typically crave jam. But in the summer, with delicious ripe fruit and berries, it’s more appealing. Right before traveling to Europe, our entire apricot tree ripened at once. Totally serious, the whole tree! I made some coconut-apricot bars using my raspberry-coconut oatmeal bar recipe if you check out my Instagram feed you will see […]

Everyone needs a go-to, easy salad. This is my new one. I love tofu almost as much as I love salads, so I feature it prominently in this one for this easy and tasty tofu cabbage salad. Tofu, also known as bean curd, is cultivated by curdling soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into […]

Jesse Ziff Cool is my featured Changemaker this month. For my non-local readers, Cool is a well-known Silicon Valley chef who has been dedicated to sustainable agriculture and cuisine for more than four decades–long before “farm-to-table” was a catchphrase. To be clear, despite many comparisons, she is not Alice Waters. Nor is she trying to be. […]

Fresh blueberries always remind me of summer.  Well, that and the well-known children’s book “Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey, which I must have read to my boys 1,000 times when they were little.  Blueberries are a wonderful, tasty summer fruit.  Loaded with fiber, potassium, iron, vitamin C, and vitamin B6, they are believed to […]

This is a fun dish and a great seasonal one for warmer weather. I love to serve it with Noah’s cod cakes. I’m a big quinoa fan. I have basically stopped eating rice, and I do watch my carbs–so quinoa and riced cauliflower have become my go-to’s.  Quinoa is a gluten-free, high-protein plant food containing […]

My older son believes that he could live on mozzarella sticks—they are his guilty pleasure.  When I was his age, I loved them as well.  For lunch, my friends and I would often head to Mama’s Pizza on Broadway on the Upper West Side, right around the corner from our school.  We would munch on […]

My family loves Japanese food. Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup based on a stock called dashi. It is believed miso was first introduced to Japan in the 7th century by Buddhist monks.  According to Japanese mythology, miso is a gift to mankind from the gods to assure health, longevity, and happiness. In Japan, […]

I honestly have no idea when I first had couscous, but I love the stuff.  I think my boys were eating couscous before they had rice.  Pearl (or Israeli) couscous is similar to regular couscous in that is it also a whole-grain food made from semolina or wheat flour.  Known as “ptitim“, Israel, pearl couscous, […]

Not surprisingly, I know a few chefs.  Most are in NYC.  One I met almost 20 years ago when we began working together as culinary instructors.  We became instant friends and despite the distance between us, we have remained close.  Rian has a lovable Southern background with a great New York attitude. He is quick, […]

A New Year and, with it, new ideas. This is my first post in what will be my special featured series this year titled “Changemakers.” Our country, our world actually, is a bit of a mess. The news these days seems to be riddled with political chaos, hatred, violence, and discrimination as well as a […]