Cauliflower replaced kale as the darling of trendy vegetables awhile ago, but it’s still going strong at my house. What’s not to love about a healthy vegetable that is easy to cook and can be seasoned in countless ways? Admittedly though, roasting is the only…

Every so often I crave fried chicken. Not the thickly battered, slightly greasy bone-in pieces I associate with a not to be named fast food restaurant that showed up in a cardboard bucket at my childhood picnics. Instead a version using boneless, skinless chicken and…

 Many people shy away from buying pears because of the frustration of not knowing when they are ripe to eat. I did the same thing until I learned the secret to knowing just when they are ready. It’s just a gently push on the stem…

Winter salad ingredients can be every bit as inspiring as those in summer. Thinly sliced Brussels sprouts, baby kale leaves, juicy mandarin orange sections, creamy avocado chunks and pomegranate seeds all tossed together with a lime honey vinaigrette are proof of that. The addition of coarsely…

I have a little story to tell about the power of a good recipe, friendship and six degrees of separation. Having been distracted these past few months with projects that have taken my creative energy away from my blog, I’d been feeling a fair amount…

With a little less than a week to spare before the official end of summer, here’s one last indulgence with what I consider summer’s savory candy. Promise me you’ll use homegrown or locally grown tomatoes for this modified version of the beloved Italian Panzanella salad.…

I don’t remember the outcome, but the images from the watermelon eating contest between my older teenage sister and her best friend, are as clear as if it was yesterday. Not the typical something two sixteen-year old girls do, so it made an impression. Hands…

It’s salmon season and if you’re like me you are always interested in a new way to prepare it. And honestly, as much as I like the flavor of salmon, it’s possible I eat it perhaps more because it contains Omega-3 fatty acids that have…

In the days following Thanksgiving what’s needed is a bit of redemption from overeating and ideas for what to do with leftover turkey. Here you have both. And most of the ingredients might be on hand in the pantry and refrigerator – leftover remnants from doing…

I count you one of the lucky ones if you’ve tasted a date shake. My husband introduced me to them many years ago at Hadley’s Fruit Orchard about 30 miles West of Palm Springs, California. Back then, their location was marked by a huge metal…

Inevitably we overate, stained our clothes and there were tears. Four siblings loaded into our Mercury Marquis station wagon, driven to the u-pick strawberry farm and unleashed to fill a flat. It wasn’t long before one of my brothers became bored with the picking and the…

The components of an exceptional salad are simple. Begin with fresh, chilled greens. Add several ingredients that harmoniously work together to add interesting flavor and texture and toss them with preferably homemade vinaigrette. I’m a fan of Mexican and Southwest ingredients so I’ve brought some…

Salad piled on top of a seared chicken breast and drizzled with dressing is one of my favorite recipe templates. It satisfies the craving for a lighter dinner and yet the chicken makes it substantial enough. Using boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to an even…

I know it’s winter and a bowl of warm bean soup or a slow simmering chunk of meat are mostly on your mind (and they’re on mine too), but I’m still craving a good, substantial leafy salad for dinner. And something healthy to increase the…

Kamut is one of the grains I have been experimenting with in green salads. The inspiration came from a salad I ate at the Whale Wins – Renee Erickson’s Seattle restaurant. Pronounced “kah-moot”, kamut is an ancient grain with origins in Egypt. It’s a high…

I’m back and I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I really hope you haven’t stopped relying on my recipes and wandered off somewhere else looking for dinner inspiration. Here it comes. I found new salad recipe ideas in several places, some in Seattle…

Things are getting challenging in my kitchen. Gone are the days when all four of us would eat most kinds of food. Instead I hear things like “I won’t eat that kind of meat” or “no dairy for me”. My kids are typical Gen Y…

My daughter brought home a take out salad a few weeks ago excited for me to try it because she thought it was amazing. Just one bite into it and I agreed. It reminded me of a salad recipe  I used in my summer salad…

Thai cooking was the most popular class I taught over a span of 15 years. The mystique of cooking from this culture which many people hadn’t experienced, combined with the exotic nature of the ingredients were my explanation of why. But true to most things…

I’m ushering in the spring equinox with one of my favorite salads and keeping my fingers crossed that the warmer weather will be finally coming our way. Cheers to the beginning of spring. Curry Chicken Salad with Coconut   Print Serves: 4 Ingredients 4 cups…

Okay, I know that last Thursday was the final day of summer but I just couldn’t resist posting this salad recipe in hopes that we’ll have a few more warm days in the coming weeks and you still may want something lighter to eat. Not…

Anyone that likes Mexican food will love this salad of grilled kernels of corn, crunchy tortilla strips, marinated cooked chicken and crisp romaine lettuce all lightly bathed in a cilantro flecked and lime zest vinaigrette. There are a few extra steps to this salad that…

This salad became an instant favorite when it hit the menu at the restaurant we owned many years ago. The restaurant is long gone but the recipe lives on and my family never tires of eating it. The secret to this recipe is the thickness…

It took a warm weather vacation and my girlfriend’s encouragement for me to take shortcuts with this salad. Until I visited her, I happily did all the chopping, measuring and whisking. But with a vacation mentality I didn’t want to do all the prep even…