Chili-Stuffed Peppers

June 30, 2011
Chili-Stuffed Peppers

My husband’s been suggesting for years that I stuff some bell peppers, and he always wondered why I would roll my eyes and tell him he could stuff them himself. The truth came out over dinner the other night. It turns out that both of our mothers made stuffed peppers, but while D remembered them [...]

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Ridiculously Easy Southwestern Coleslaw

June 23, 2011
Ridiculously Easy Southwestern Coleslaw

My daughter hated it. My husband described it as “different from any coleslaw I’ve ever tasted.” And I agreed with my husband. So why am I posting it here? Simple: I like odd coleslaws, and this one is odd but interesting. Light yet spicy, this lime and cumin-infused salad is the perfect accompaniment to burritos, [...]

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Pesto Primavera Pasta and Other Fresh Basil Recipes

June 17, 2011
Pesto Pasta Primavera

Every summer, our small back patio turns into a miniature basil farm with large pots of the fragrant herb filling every available inch. As soon as the plants shoot up a few inches, I start snipping off their leaves and adding them to just about everything I make. By this time, mid-June, the plants are [...]

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Vegan Zucchini Frittata

June 7, 2011
Zucchini Frittata

When I was living on my own for the first time, a friend’s mom gave me a battered, 1960′s edition of The Joy of Cooking, and for the next year I taught myself to cook by following its often dated but always instructive recipes. I was particularly fascinated by the chapter called “Eggs, Souffles and [...]

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Watermelon Rind Preserves

June 2, 2011
Watermelon Rind Preserves

Last weekend, E and I took a train down to Louisiana for a quick, two-night visit to my parents’ house in the country. We were eating a surprisingly sweet watermelon for lunch on Saturday when my father noticed it had something he hadn’t seen in a long time: a thick rind. It seems that watermelons [...]

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Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas with Confetti Quinoa

May 27, 2011
Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas with Confetti Quinoa

My daughter E graduated from middle school on Monday, so she’s officially a high schooler now. Yes, a high schooler. Those of you who picture her as she appeared in her first photo on this blog can perhaps appreciate how strange it feels to look at her and see both that nine-year-old girl and the [...]

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Ridiculously Easy Curry-Scrambled Tofu

May 19, 2011
Ridiculously Easy Curry-Scrambled Tofu

For years, the only scrambled tofu I ever made required a seasoning packet called Tofu Scrambler. I loved that product. It had just the right blend of seasonings and thickeners to conjure some magical response out of the blandness that is bean curd and turn it into what I considered the perfect breakfast. The idea [...]

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Green Curry Tofu Cakes

May 9, 2011
Green Curry Tofu Cakes

If you made my last recipe, I know you have a jar of Thai green curry paste somewhere in your fridge, although you could have done the wise thing and stored it in your freezer. But, if you’re like me, you always believe you’re going to be using it right away, so you keep it [...]

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Thai Green Curry with Vegetables and Tofu

April 28, 2011
Thai Green Curry with Vegetables and Tofu

I’m not one of those food snobs who think that absolutely everything I cook has to be made from scratch. Though I believe that the results are usually better (and more nutritious) when all the ingredients are homemade, I’m not above using packaged ingredients, such as vegetable broth or canned beans, when the ingredients aren’t [...]

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Simple Cabbage and Chickpea Soup with Fresh Basil

April 21, 2011
Cabbage Chickpea Soup

The day after her 14th birthday, my daughter E leaned against the door to my office and said, “Let’s go on a diet together.” I was stunned into babbling: “You do not need to go on a diet. You’re a size 0. If you get any smaller, you’ll cease to exist.” “I know. I don’t [...]

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White Bean Salad with Za’atar

April 12, 2011
White Bean Salad with Zatar

Chickpea salads are very popular in my household. My daughter E likes them so much that she often helps me throw them together, and we never use exactly the same formula twice. Over the weekend, I decided to really shake things up and, instead of chickpeas, make a bean salad from great northern beans. I [...]

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Black Bean-Pineapple Soup Stew Chili

April 7, 2011
Black Bean-Pineapple Soup Stew Chili

Sometimes ideas just come to me. I call it being inspired, but people of my parents’ generation called it being “touched in the head.” I was sitting here at my desk one day thinking how much I like salsa with pineapple in it (because that’s the kind of deep thinking I do), when it occurred [...]

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Creamy Tri-Pepper Dressing

March 27, 2011
Creamy Triple-Pepper Salad Dressing

I’ve been trying to eat a big salad every single day, and though I haven’t completely succeeded, especially during my recent Spring Break trip, I wouldn’t be able to eat as many as I do if I were stuck using the same boring salad dressing day after day.  I can drizzle my salad with one [...]

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Cabbage “Noodle” Soup

March 8, 2011
Cabbage Noodle Soup

One of my daughter E’s favorite soups is a “Chick’n” Noodle Soup that starts with Imagine’s No-Chicken broth and includes, besides pasta, either Soy Curls or another packaged chicken substitute such as Lightlife Smart Strips.   It’s one of those dishes that feel comforting on a chilly night or whenever our spirits need a lift, so [...]

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Potato and Broccoli Rabe Casserole

March 2, 2011
Potato and Broccoli Raab Casserole

A few days ago I was in the produce department of the store I call The Frou-Frou Market when I noticed a leafy vegetable that reminded me a little of Chinese flowering cabbage.  I leaned in closer to read its label, and then recoiled with a shudder and walked away.  “Broccoli rabe.”  You see, the [...]

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E’s Super-Awesome Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

February 21, 2011
Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms Recipe

If there’s one thing I’ve learned during almost 14 years of parenting, it’s that if you want your kids to eat vegetables, get them into the kitchen to cook them.  Last week I was about to toss some Brussels sprouts into the oven to roast when my daughter stopped me: “Please don’t cook them in [...]

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Hot Skillet Salad

February 8, 2011
Hot Skillet Salad

I’m on a diet healthy eating plan.  Those of you who just stumbled on this blog are probably now looking at its name and going, “Well, duh!”  But the fact is, I never really talk about my struggles with my weight here because that’s a long and personal discussion, and my writing style is fast [...]

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Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup with Mushrooms

February 3, 2011
Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup with Mushrooms

I don’t know what it says about me that after 5 years of blogging, I can still find vegetables that I’ve never written about (or cooked with, to be honest about it).  I’m afraid it means that I get stuck in a rut, using the same tried and true ingredients over and over again, but [...]

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Eggplant and Chickpea Curry

January 28, 2011
Thumbnail image for Eggplant and Chickpea Curry

Sometimes when a recipe is truly great, I find I have little to say other than “Make this.”  So, if you like Indian food in general and Baingan Bharta in particular, make this.  It’s as good as or better than what you’ll find in a restaurant but without a lot of oil or, possibly, butter [...]

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Gluten-Free King Cake Cookies (Cinnamon-Pecan Cookies)

January 20, 2011
Gluten-Free King Cake Cookies (Cinnamon-Pecan Cookies)

Mardi Gras season officially began on January 6, and though the parades don’t start to roll in New Orleans until mid-February, I already have Mardi Gras–or more specifically King Cake–on my mind.  I haven’t had a piece of King Cake in years, but that doesn’t stop me from craving the sugar-laden, gaudy confection.  Even more [...]

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