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Get Your Pink On and Open Your Wallet...Again
September 20th, 2016

It’s October, girls, so gird your loins! We’re about to get pinked! You’ll see the color everywhere from tee shirts to ribbons, kitchen appliances to running shoes, all designed to raise money for breast cancer research.

 

I am so confused and “over it”, to be honest. After all the suffering, loss and disfiguring of millions of women, I would hope that we would be further along. But we still offer treatments that have debilitating side effects and increase our risk of other diseases like metabolic syndrome.

 

As far back as 2011, MarieClaire magazine published an...

Your Essential Pantry
August 23rd, 2016

I must get asked these questions ten times a day: How do I set up a pantry to create health and wellness? What should I include, besides the basics to enhance the nutritive value of the foods I cook?

 

Each time I hear these or the million other variations on the topic of setting up a pantry, I think there’s a lot of work to do in order to help people make better choices…and to have access to the kinds of ingredients that will make their food delicious and nutrient-dense.

 

So I teamed up with my friends at Gold Mine Natural Foods in San Diego and came up with some...

Love the Skin You're In, Baby!
August 23rd, 2016

Women spend a staggering $426 billion on beauty products each year:  shampoo, conditioner, body wash, dry shampoo, face wash, facial scrubs, tea tree oil, shaving cream, razors, toothbrushes, whitening toothpastes, serums, body lotion, face lotion, primers and toners.

 

When it comes to beauty and appearance maintenance, it can feel like there’s no limit to how much we will spend. There’s always a new miracle product that promises us clear skin and eternal youth.

 

Often we feel we are a “work in progress,” that can be improved upon yet again if we just buy the...

This Old Yankee Had a Cutting Board
August 22nd, 2016

It was a blazing hot summer day and I was about to do a cooking demo for the Newport Mansions Food and Wine Festival.

 

A man with sparkling eyes and a baseball cap walked slowly toward me. Slowly because he was seriously encumbered by the weight of an enormous cutting board on his hip that threw his balance completely off.

 

He broke into a smile as our eyes met and he extended his free hand.  “Hello Chef,” he said in a warm voice tinged with a bit of New England in his accent. “This is for you,” he continued as he struggled to hand me the most gorgeous cutting...

Actually, This Is the Sharpest Knife in the Drawer!
August 22nd, 2016

I love my knife. There; I said it in my outside voice. I love my knife the way women love their shoes…with all my heart.

 

The affair began about 20 years ago when Robert gave me a Kyocera KyoTop ceraminc knife for Christmas. At first, I was skeptical. This knife was light as a feather. Surely, it couldn’t be serious. By the end of Christmas Day’s cooking, you had to pry it from my hand so I would stop slicing and dicing.

 

I have remained monogamous…my lovely ceramic knives are all I have used for all these years. I love and adore each and every one of my knives...

There's a New Kid in Town
August 9th, 2016

Camelina oil was brought to my attention a couple of years ago when I was traveling around Italy. It seems some of my best ideas, luck, products, people, experiences, food and loves come when I am traveling around Italy.

 

But I digress.

 

We were minding our own business in Tuscany when I received an email from a producer of camelina oil asking me if I had ever heard of it.

 

“Cam-e-who oil?” I know you’re likely thinking the same thing.

 

So I did what I always do when confronted with something about which I know nothing. I read and...

The Power of Sublime Porcini

August 2nd, 2016

There are some things that you just can’t live without…great...

Eating with the Seasons Part 5 of 5
August 1st, 2016

Just to take us back to the dreamy, leisurely days of summer...yum!

Summer

Now we’re talking. Summer. It’s my season. Sure, I love Christmas and all that goes along with the festivities, I love the delicacy of spring. I love the freshness of autumn and the crisp chill in the air. I love roasted squash and pumpkin pie. But give me a pair of strappy sandals and a sundress,...

Eating with the Seasons Part 4 of 5
August 1st, 2016

I know it's not always spring (we can only wish...), but it's important to discover seasonal foods so you know what to eat when as the seasons change.

Spring

During those first warm days of spring, is there anything better than letting the sun kiss your skin as you munch on freshly picked strawberries? Spring is that time of year when we trade sweaters for sundresses and t-shirts. Boots get packed away and the sandals free our feet to be caressed by warm breezes. We walk around with silly smiles on our faces, drunk with the new life that surrounds us. At first...

My Dolce Vita
August 1st, 2016

A month at both work and play in Italy is pretty sweet.

 

Now I’m back at home, looking out my kitchen window over my little city garden, my fig tree, heavy with fruit, dreaming of my weeks in Italy and missing that slower, more natural (for me) lifestyle.

 

So I have decided to share memories of my little adventure with friends and loved ones and post pics and recipes from our month living the sweet life.

 

Each day, I’ll share a recipe, a memory or an experience with you. I know it’s not the same as being there, but it’s as close as I can get with and...