Holidays
Try Sushi for Thanksgiving-With Wild Rice, Sweet Potatoes, and Apple!
Try Thanksgiving Sushi, Really Last week, I posted an updated Shepherd's Pie, with a few delicious tweaks that made it oh so delicious. This week, I'm giving you a Thanksgiving option that might seem a little bit radical. Are you ready for Thanksgiving Sushi? Before...
Try Roasted Garlic Parsnip Spinach Pie With Your Holiday Sides
Thanksgiving is all about Thanksgiving Sides Has your search for the perfect Thanksgiving menu started yet? I won't decide on the final picks until it's time to shop, but I like to let some ideas percolate in my mind for a few weeks prior. The days fly by, and it's...
Make a Mindful Moment with Homemade Chai
Get Mindful with Hot Chai Are you busy? Do you feel a little stressed? You're never too busy to find a moment to be mindful. I promise. We're all busy. Any time I ask someone how she is, invariably, she's a little overwhelmed, a little stretched, and just plain...
Spread Some Spice with Squash Butter
Oh yes, It's full on squash season. I'm teaching squash cookery classes, gawking at the gorgeous displays of squash at the market, and of course, cooking with squash. Like you, though, I am pressed for time. That's why I made this spiced squash butter. I just threw it...
Warm, Savory Stuffed Sweet Potatoes for Fall
Fall is Sweet Potato Time Maybe it's the falling leaves, or the chill creeping into the morning air, but for some reason, I'm craving sweetness. The Halloween candy displays have been up in stores for weeks, promising sugary oblivion. This is a good time to bake up a...
Matcha Pistachio Halvah “Eggs” For Easter or Anytime
My Halvah Surprise The last thing that I thought I would rediscover in Amsterdam would have to be halvah. On my recent trip to the city of Canals and VanGogh, I was wandering from shop to shop, just checking things out, when I happened into a place called Sum Sum....
A Valentine’s Treat With Aphrodisiac Magic
Valentine's Day Meets Aquafaba Perhaps Valentine's Day comes along in February for good reason. Winter has been with us a little past its welcome, and we need a little motivation to get convivial. Give the sweatpants and hoodie a rest and at least make an effort to...
Hoppin’ Happy New Year with Black-Eyed Peas for New Years Day
Happy New Year 2017! The passing of the year is seen as a moment when change is possible. Around the world, people are throwing New Years Eve parties, and marking the moment that the calendar rolls over with toasts and revelry. But don't dismiss January first as just...
Party with Smoky Almond Butter Popcorn and Mandarin Chocolate “Shots”
Holiday entertaining is so fun, so necessary, and too often, so stressful. I know, I know, you have enough to do without having to clean the house and make food for a bunch of people. But I promise you, it's worth it. This is the end of the year, the big holiday...
Blender Baking? Yes You Can Make Holiday Cupcakes in The Vitamix
Jazz Up Your Holiday with Lemony Pear Cupcakes It's holiday time, and we are all rushing to find some fast and easy treats to serve our guests. Preferably something a little different from the standard sugar cookie. This is not the time to push anything too healthy,...
Holiday Entertaining with My Lemon Thyme Vodka Slushy from 300 Best Blender Recipes
Your Holiday Shopping Just Got Easier Just in time for holiday entertaining, I'm proud to announce that my latest book has arrived in bookstores. The 300 Best Blender Recipes Using Your Vitamix (Robert Rose $24.95) is already #76 in Baby Food and #87 in Blender Books...
This Thanksgiving Try Coconut-Wasabi Potatoes with Miso Gravy and Crisped Sage
Perhaps I am stating the obvious, but, Thanksgiving is this week. Everyone here in Minnesota has been too busy enjoying the extra bonus round of Summer, oblivious to the holidays right around the corner. I never got around to raking the last of the leaves, but here we...
Spooky Pumpkin Spice Buckeyes, Halloween Candy to Feel Good About
T'is the season for pumpkin spice to invade our every waking moment. The Grinch in me used to hate this phenomenon. In fact, I only recently tried a Pumpkin Spice Latte at the coffee shop. That's because I have one hard and fast rule when it comes to food. All foods...
Creamy Chocolate Fudge Filled Heart Cakes for Valentine’s Day
Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday this year, so I am probably not the only one celebrating it all weekend. Because you might as well make a good thing last, right? Valentine's can be tricky. Should you stay in, for a romantic evening alone? Or book a res at a place...
Baby Squashes Filled With Creamy Squash Hummus, Kick Off Your Veganuary
It's January, or, "Veganuary," depending on your calendar. "Veganuary" is simply the idea of giving up animal foods for the month of January. Rather like Meatless Monday, but with a little more of a commitment. Creamy Squash Hummus is a perfect way to kick off your...
Kick off 2016 with Quince and Crystallized Ginger Tartlets
As we ring in the new year, take a moment to step back from the details and consider the long view. The past year is done, ready or not, and the new year is full of promise. As we contemplate the past and future, why not dine on fruit that once brushed the tender lips...
Playing with Purple Corn in Cornbread, Grits, and Chips!
It's funny how you find out about things. In October I attended a conference of the American Cereal Chemists International. Let's just call it "grain nerd heaven." Cereal chemists from all over the world were sharing technology and research, and there was an exhibit...
Holiday Hand Pies, Stuffed with Sweet Potatoes, Fruit and Chocolate
If you love food, you have to give it up for Thanksgiving. It's the one holiday that is all about a feast. This holiday is a celebration of a successful harvest, with no religious trappings that might leave anyone out. So whether you are celebrating with pumpkins you...
Pumpkin Chips? Make Sage-Pumpkinseed Pate with Frizzled Sage
The Thanksgiving themed foods are upon us. And while the "Turkey and Gravy" flavored potato chips are safe from me, there are a few of these brief appearances that are worth catching. One that I found appealing was the Food Should Taste Good Harvest Pumpkin Corn...
Irish Soda Bread with Orange and Currants for St Pat’s!
We are all Irish on St Patrick's Day. Or so the saying goes. Woo-hoo! Green beer for everybody! St Patrick himself was not originally from Ireland, so we can all follow his lead and act Irish on his day. St Patrick was English, an unlucky guy who was kidnapped and...
Soothe Your Holiday Tummy with Cranberry Cuke Juice
So, we survived the big Holiday week. Chances are, this was the most overindulgent week of the year, with folks piling their plates and filling their cups with Christmas cheer. Just between you and me, I did. I ate too many cookies, piled up the rich foods I love on...
A Sweet and Sour Squash for Holiday Sides
Sometimes, I crave something so often, it might seem repetitive to anyone watching. I'll think, "hmm, I don't have a recipe test to work on tonight, so I can make whatever I want." And as if I pushed play on a paused song, I go right back to where I left off...
A Savory Roasted Veg Strudel for the Holiday
Happy Holidays! It's the time of year when we plan to sit down for some shared meals, with the people we love. That always means it's time to navigate the mixed diet-style table. It's really not that difficult to do, with a dash of planning and and splash of creative...
Last Minute Veg Thanksgiving Hit Recipes
It's time to have your Thanksgiving dishes planned, there are only a few shopping days left. So, for your recipe searching convenience, I have put together a roundup of a bunch of my holiday greatest hits. Get to the store now, so you can get the ingredients...
Vegan Chunky Pumpkin Streusel Pie
November is underway, and it's time to start planning that big Thanksgiving menu. This is the fun part,when you can spend hours mentally rolling through a list of your most beloved holiday dishes. It's easy to come up with far more must-have dishes than you can...
Ring in the New Year with a Sassy Springroll (Don’t Tell Anyone It’s Gluten Free)
"What are you doing New Years, New Years Eve?" So goes the song, crooned longingly by an ardent admirer. All that hope, all that sweet angst, all set to a lovely melody. So what are we doing? These days, I rarely go to a big bash, or even bash much at all. A nice...
Start the Day with Holiday Baked Sweet Potato Oats
During the holidays, we often face a unique situation. Because family and friends are gathering, we may very well be expected to provide breakfast. When you are used to shuffling to the kitchen for a bowl of cold cereal, this may feel odd. Should you just offer your...
My Holiday Persimmon Salad
For such a beautiful little fruit, the persimmon kind of reminds me of a little orange bomb. Cut into it too soon and you will be rewarded with a bite of something so tannic and tart that you will not be able to eat it. Wait for it's little inner timer to reach the...
My Cold Day Apple Cravings, Met with Apple Butter Swirl Cupcakes and Mulled Cider and Wine
I love apples. All year long. But this time of year, I've just got a thing for apples and spice. Something about the smells of cinnamon and the tangy sweetness of the apple just warms me from the inside out. So when I saw a photo online of a cake with a swirl of apple...
Sage-Quinoa Sweet Potato Croquettes for the Holiday
The Holidays are here again, and it's time to navigate the big meals with all our mixed diet-styles. I'm convinced that some day we will look back and say, what was so hard about that? The folks who lament the difficulties of having their vegan sister and...