I don’t believe I had ever heard of agua fresca until I came to California. Popular in both Mexico and the United States, “agua fresca” is Spanish for “cool water” and is just that–a cool, water-based drink with various flavor combinations. You can blend fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds with sugar and water and serve […]

My sheet pan chicken recipe was well received, so I am adding another easy sheet pan meal to my recipe arsenal.  I love shrimp, including shrimp ceviche.  To me, shrimp is a neutral shellfish.  You can do almost anything with shrimp, provided you don’t overcook them.  They are also a quick-meal option, which I love. Three out of […]

A horned melon is not your typical-looking fruit. Also called a kiwano melon, African horned cucumber, jelly melon, hedged gourde, melano, and blowfish fruit, the horned melon is native to Southern Africa and grows mainly in dry semi-arid places such as the Kalahari Desert. This fruit was later introduced to other areas of Africa, Australia, New Zealand more recently, the US. The […]

Let’s talk about pop-tarts. Chances are, if you were a kid growing up in the ’70s and 80’s, you not only knew what Kellogg’s pop-tarts were, you loved them.  I know I loved them; not for breakfast per se, but for a snack. I was unlike most kids in that I did not like mine […]

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 […]

July 4th is a beloved American holiday. For some, that means watching fireworks; for others simply hanging out with family and friends in the backyard or by the pool.  No matter what you do, you’re looking for fun, simple foods that work well with groups. A patriotic nod is a bonus. With that in mind, […]

I love Summer! Summer is the season for abundant fruit selection. From grocery stores to farm stands, gorgeous, flavorful enticing fruit surrounds us. Just looking at the bountiful selections makes me feel healthier. I have blogged about how to make an irresistible winter fruit platter. Here, some of the same principles apply: focus on fruit that is in […]

Sweet, tangy, sticky goodness: that is what BBQ sauce is to me. BBQ sauce is synonymous with summertime, backyard barbecues, and easy cooking.  Seriously, who does not love this American favorite slathered-on ribs, chicken, or brisket?  My older son has never really been a BBQ sauce fan, but then I made him taste my sauce. […]

I could live on tuna tartare. Seriously, straight up or on a cracker, I love the stuff.  If you know me at all, you know I order tuna tartare–or any kind of variation of it–almost everywhere I go no matter what the season. In all honestly, I prefer fresh raw tuna over the cooked stuff. […]

Cinnamon rolls are a true weakness of mine. I don’t have them often. But boy, if I could, I would. My earliest memory of cinnamon rolls relates to my parent’s divorce when my sister and I were very young. My mom moved to NYC, and my dad Arizona. My sister and I traveled between the […]

Hello Summer! Is it just me, or have you been waiting for it as much as I have?  Long sunny carefree days and no school lunches are something to celebrate in my house. After living in California for 11 years now, I need warm temperatures and lots of sunlight. Summer delivers both in abundance.  Summertime […]

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 […]

Gravlax is a huge favorite of both mine and my husband. Honestly, I prefer to eat salmon like this or sashimi-style rather than cooked. The most common question I’ve heard about gravlax is how it is different from smoked salmon.  Being a New Yorker (yes, even after living on the West Coast all these years […]

My whole family is obsessed with Mexican food. It’s recently become a thing. My husband has made it a practice to take the boys to various local Mexican taquerias for either breakfast or lunch in search of the “best taco“. My boys were hooked after the second outing. Their love of tacos and tortas is […]