I meant to include this with yesterday’s post…and now its just in time for the holiday. Fresh strawberry ice cream in the middle of summer? Sign me up. And this one is dairy free. HUH? That’s right - it uses our favorite ‘cream’ coconut milk. It is easy as pie to make (I never thought pie was easy…) but speaking of pie, you certainly could top it with the ice cream! So let’s get churning…
Imagine my utter delight when I opened up an email from my sister today sharing a big sense of ‘food accomplishment.’ Colleen, husband Charlie, and their three incredible kids - Jane, Chase, and Mary - have just returned from a nine-month sojourn from Europe to South America. While they indulged in fresh flavors from native lands, they now totally embrace the bounty from local farmers and health food stores back home. I just had to share…
We have the best fish vendor at the farmers’ market. They offer local, sustainable catches at extremely reasonable prices. I am hooked on wild salmon (excuse the pun) but every now and then I’ll cross the double yellow line and try something different. This week it was scallops. Tender, plump pillows of seafood goodness. Since I was already playing outside my comfort zone, I decided to get creative with the preparation, too…
I have been on a kale kick lately. Sounds pretty strange, doesn’t it? Ah, but the reward is how good I’m feeling! So while I may preach ‘all things in moderation’…I’m actually OK with indulging in a bit of healthy greens for a spell. And truth be told, the dishes I’ve been making are uber delicious.
There is much to celebrate this week. Summer solstice, Father’s Day, and the end of school (not for me yet.) Even though the days are now getting shorter, summer solstice is a wonderful transition of seasons. My herb garden is loving the switch from spring to summer, especially the basil and chives. And herbs provide so much more than just wonderful flavors. They offer a full array of health benefits and act as ‘booster foods’ when combined with butter or olive oil as vibrant summer toppings…
One of my loyal readers suggested I take a recipe, convert it to ‘healthy,’ and report the before and after. Truth be told, unless I specify that it was newly created, most recipes I send are adapted to use whole grains, etc. - especially in baked goods. This week in the San Francisco Chronicle, they published several recipes using coffee. Of course I went right to the dessert, and found a decadent cookie which made my mouth water. While I am not a regular consumer of the beverage, I absolutely love its flavor. And Jay whips up a cappuccino each morning so we always have espresso at the ready. Click to continue reading »
Everything around us is bursting with energy and color. Are you? If there is hesitation in that answer, I have a healthful hint that will put a little ’spring’ in your step.
You’ve probably noticed that sprouts aren’t just for granola crunchers from the old days when so called ‘health food’ tasted like cardboard. (I should invite them over to persuade them otherwise, and why is poor granola picked on? That is a staple around here…) ANYway, the process to grow your own sprouts is SO easy, SO healthy and SO economical. It just takes a few minutes and maybe one trip to the health food store. Click to continue reading »
Guacamole is one of those foods that doesn’t photograph well, but then it doesn’t last long, either. This dish came about as I was playing with different flavors while trying to expand a classic favorite. The extra ingredients offer more fiber, protein and texture. Scoop out an avocado and save the shell as a serving dish. Mix together as follows…
The first of the apricot crop is coming into our farmers’ markets…and you can bet they will be a primary staple in our house during their brief season. In addition to being a wonderful dessert item, apricots are fun to play with in salsas and chutneys and rice dishes. They are tastiest fresh, but also used dried in a variety of baked goods such as these scones for breakfast…
For our midterms in chef class, we were given a bag of mystery ingredients and tasked to produce magic with one dish in ninety minutes. (Note to self: withdraw any requests to be on “Iron Chef.”) Actually, there’s another show on the Food Network called “Chopped“ which challenges chefs to do something similar in much less time. They compete amongst each other and whoever doesn’t pass muster with the judges, goes on the ‘chopping block.’ Thankfully, we all ‘made the grade’ and produced some pretty tasty dishes… Click to continue reading »
