Tip, Trick & a Recipe: Don’t take the juicy (and messy) pomegranate for granted!
Some people say it was a pomegranate that Eve handed to Adam in the Garden of Eden. I’ve also heard that our friends, the ancient Egyptians, would bury loved ones with pomegranates due to the fruit’s ability to offer eternal life. (Hey, it’s worth a shot!) Chinese eat candied pomegranate seeds (arils) for good luck, […]
Tip, Trick & a Recipe: A healthy sweet snack
. . . go fig-ure!
There’s nothing quite like a fresh fig, but they’re not easy to find this time of year. Luckily, dried figs are readily available and almost as tasty as the right-off-the-ficus-tree form of the fruit. Ancient writings mention figs being harvested way back in the 9th century B.C., where, in Greece, figs were a staple. The […]
Tip, Trick & a Recipe: Let’s hear it for asparagus!
Today I’m talking about one of my favorite vegetables-beautiful, tender asparagus. Deliciously served with everything from pasta to steak, asparagus lends a bit of elegance to whatever meal you enjoy it with. A member of the lily family, asparagus is a perennial garden plant. It can take several years to establish a good supply of […]
Tip, Trick & a Recipe: Mystery solved! It’s a jicama
Ever pass by that ugly, brown turnip-like object in the grocery store and wonder, what in the world is that thing? Today’s your lucky day. That is jicama (pronounced HIK-ka-ma with an ‘h’), a refreshing, crispy tuber that’s popular in Mexican cooking. Its sweet, mild, slightly nutty flavor lends itself well to salsas, veggie trays, […]
Tip, Trick & a Recipe: If the cashew fits!
That buttery little crescent-shaped snack we all know as the cashew nut is actually part of the cashew apple which grows on the cashew tree in coastal areas of Brazil. Us folks here in North America enjoy snacking on these little guys, but in the Caribbean and in Brazil, cashews are considered a delicacy. Have […]
Tip, Trick & a Recipe: Time to talk about Thyme!
While most of us have thyme on our spice racks, few people realize that this powerful aromatic herb actually deserves a spot in our medicine cabinets as well! Thyme has been used throughout history as medicine and it sounds like our ancestors were bang on. There’s oil in thyme known as thymol and it acts […]
Tip, Trick & a Recipe: The hourglass-shaped winter squash, in a (butter)nut shell
I love me some delicious, nutritious fresh sliced zucchini in a stir fry, but when winter squash season comes upon us in the fall, I tend to reach for butternut in favor of the milder flavored summer squashes. Like zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber, and melon, butternut squash is a member of the gourd family. You may not think of […]
Dinner Diva: Quit stressing over dressing
You all know by now that I’m a big fan of salads. If you read any amount of my articles and if you cook from my books, you also know that I am not a big fan of commercial salad dressings. So what’s a Dinner Diva to do? Well, you can hardly eat a pile […]
Tip, Trick & a Recipe: Buy some bison
Home, home on the range . . . I always picture a rancher in the old west when I think of bison meat. Is that weird? Anyway, whatever image it evokes for you, if you’re looking for a delicious and healthy red meat alternative to beef, buy bison! Bison is generally lower in fat, calories, […]