It is the peak of strawberry season, and we're on the lookout for the most amazing strawberry recipes. We've rounded up a few below for you to enjoy. Feel free to add any others you are particularly fond of in the comment section - we like to highlight recipes that are using whole grains, whole grain flours, whole ingredients, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, minimally refined sweeteners, and the like - so keep that in mind if you post (or at the very least recommend substitutions).

Strawberries. As if their fragrant, juicy sweetness wasn't reason enough to enjoy these heart-shaped gems, strawberries are packed with potent phyto-nutrients and health-promoting antioxidants. When you are buying strawberries be on vigilant mold alert. Be sure to peek in the bottom of the basket, or hold berry baskets up high and look underneath - a single moldy berry seems to be contagious to the whole lot. Also, keep in mind, strawberries are one of the crops where pesticide residue is most likely to be found. Buy organic berries, or berries that have been grown without pesticides.

STRAWBERRY RECIPE ROUND-UP

- Fava Beans and Strawberry Salad Recipe with Pecorino - from recent Iron Chef contender Chris Cosentino of Incanto Restaurant and Bar (link)

- Loving Greens Salad with Strawberries Recipe (link)

- Nicole Weston's Whole Wheat Strawberry Pancake Recipe (link)

- Strawberry-Coconut Scone Recipe on Post Punk Kitchen (vegan) - we'd use pure (solid) coconut oil/butter in place of the margarine. (link)

- Strawberry Fields Forever: Meg carries on her family strawberry jam-making legacy. This story posted last year deserves a big *bump* now that we are in the midst of strawberry season. (link)

Comments (1) | April 9 - 8:14 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

Molly Katzen on handling, buying, and storing grapefruits.

- Broiled Grapefruit. Let us know if you try this one.

- Any excuse to consume some bubbly: Ruby-Red Grapefruit Sorbet with Champagne in Natural Health Magazine.

- The famous Central Market in Dallas weighs in with a Spinach Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Comments (6) | February 2 - 8:43 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

A good lunchtime salad that fills you up without being overly heavy. It tastes good chilled or at room temperature, and can handle much of the abuse that takes place in a lunch bag or box. Packed with greens, mineral-rich sea vegetables, whole-grain noodles, and tofu - lots of flavor and texture in every bowl.

Soba Matchstick and Spinach Salad

1/2 cup creamy organic peanut butter
1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
3 tablespoons 100% maple syrup
2 tablespoons warm water
2 tablespoons shoyu soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

12 ounces organic soba noodles, broken into 2-inch segments, and cooked per package instructions in salted water

12 ounces organic tofu, cut into small cubes, and sauteed in a dry pan for 5 minutes.

3/4 cup organic peanuts (if you can find them), toasted or roasted
1 small bunch of green onions, sliced
3 or 4 big handfuls of baby spinach, well washed
1 sheet of toasted nori, crumbled (optional)

Start by making the dressing. Blend all the ingredients together in a medium bowl and thin with more warm water if needed (you want it to be the consistency of a fluid salad dressing). Taste and add a pinch of salt or two if needed.

In a large bowl add the cooked soba noodles, tofu, peanuts, green onions, spinach and nori. Toss well with about half of the dressing, now add a bit more at a time to get a proper coating. Taste and salt again if needed. Serve on a big platter.

Serves 4 to 6.

Comments (1) | February 2 - 8:42 AM

category: Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

From the archives. Have you tried agave nectar? You should. It's like honey...sort of. Like honey in the sense that it is sticky, oozy, sweet and natural. You can use it as a replacement for honey, but the taste and mouthfeel is ever-so-slightly different. You know how many honeys are slow and sluggish and very rich? Well agave nectar seems to have a cleaner, "fresher" taste, it also seems to be more water soluble than other liquid sweeteners which makes it easy to incorporate into your recipes or hot drinks. Diabetics give it a thumbs up because it is low on the glycemic index- so it is more slowly absorbed into the bloodstream. Vegans like it because unlike honey it isn't an animal product.

A few ways to use agave nectar:

- Almond Agave Butter (recipe)
- Apple Agave Tart (recipe)
- Oat-Date Bars (recipe)
- Coconut Cream Tapioca (recipe)

Do you have a favorite brand of agave nectar? Let us know in the comments - we would like to do a taste-off in the future.

Comments (6) | January 6 - 11:07 PM

category: Recipes, Sweeteners, Vegan / Veg

Goji berries are all the rage right now, and for good reason. Hollywood starlets are snapping them up for their celebrated anti-aging properties. Clif's 100% organic Lemon Vanilla Nectar bar features them for their nutrient density and essential amino acids, and alongside other anti-oxidant rich ingredients like acai, the vibrant goji are expected to break into an increasing number of packaged goods and beverages this coming year. We'll tell you a bit more about these super-charged berries, and then tip you off to some of our favorite ways to eat them.

The goji berry (or wolf berry) is indigenous to Tibet and Northern China.Be prepared for a bit of sticker shock when you go to purchase them, they are sold in most natural foods stores now, and they aren't cheap. You green-thumbed go-getters can take a shot at growing your own if you like - that is certainly a way to cut the cost.

You are likely to find goji berries in their dried form. Goji's are a deep, brick red color and are typically purchased dried. They are leaner than a dried cranberry or raisin, but similar in size - they are also typically a bit less moist. They are very tasty straight from the bag with a flavor that is sweet without being too sweet and tart without being puckery. Outside of the dried goji berries, keep your eyes peeled for goji juice.

Use the dried goji berries as your might other dried fruit - tossed in salads, tossed in warm or sauteed greens, baked into muffins and breakfast breads, chopped into pancakes, etc. Rehydrate them and stir them into yogurt or ice creams. Puree the rehydrated goji berries and play around with that as well. The goji juice can be used as you would any other fruit juice - in a sherbet or sorbet, in a morning smoothie, in popsicles, frozen into ice cubes, and in your favorite cocktails.

Goji Granola

4 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup macadamia nuts, big pieces
1 1/2 cups raw unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup goji berries, loosely chopped
1 cup unsulphered dried fruit of your choice (try dried pineapple and dried papaya)
3/4 cup honey or for vegans, a light maple syrup or agave nectar
1/4 cup unrefined full-flavored coconut oil

Preheat your oven to 300°F. Put the oats into a large bowl. Add the sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, coconut, dried fruits (except the goji berries), and orange zest. Stir to combine.

Heat the honey and coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Pour the warm honey mixture into the dry mixture and stir until everything is well coated.

Spread the mixture onto one or two rimmed baking sheets and bake for about 40 minutes, less if you are splitting the mixture between two pans. Stir every 10 minutes or so. You want to bake the muesli until it is a light, toasty, golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Toss the granola with the goji berries and store in large mason jars until you are ready to eat.

Makes about 10 cups of granola.

Comments (2) | December 19 - 5:35 PM

category: New Products, Recipes, Superfoods

Citrus is just what we need to shake off the heavy, dark days of winter. Lately we’ve been tucking juicy segments of orange here, squeezing limes there, and scattering lemon zest — well — everywhere. These fruits provide the Spring cleaning we need after months of hearty, warm, stick to your-ribs fare. True, not everyone is seeing the brisker months melt away like us Californians, but no matter where you are, Spring is just around the corner, and the recipes below will help usher it in.

On the nutrition front, while we are in full support of your apple-a-day habit, you might want to think about adding a piece of citrus fruit to your regimen as well. A range of powerful antioxidant phytochemicals, like polyphenols, lycopene, and flavonoids make these sprightly fruits great for cancer prevention. Rich in fiber, vitamin C, beta-carotene, folic acid, and potassium you’ll get serious bang for your bite, weather you want to fight the common cold, reduce inflammation or your risk for heart disease, or just pack your kids lunch.

Are you over the everyday orange? Lemons lost their luster? Then check out this great list of the many citrus fruit varieties there are to choose from.

Citrus:
- butternut squash kasha salad with citrus vinaigrette and spicy almonds
- new ambrosia
- citrus curry lentil soup
- arugala salad with whole citrus vinaigrette

Lemons:
- whole-wheat spaghetti with fresh ricotta and lemon zest
- meyer lemon risotto
- gremolata
- lemon verbena & honey granita

Oranges:
- orange pine nut buckwheat pancakes
- peanut, orange and carrot salad
- pan-grilled polenta with blood orange and basil relish
- orange & date bars
- bergamot orange salmon

Tangelos, tangerines, clementines, & kumquats:
- tangelo-coriander brown rice pilaf
- tangerine salt
- honey tangerines and kumquats with walnuts and shaved celery
- clementine yogurt compote
- kiwi kumquat salad with key lime syrup

Pomelos & grapefruits:
- gingered pineapple and grapefruit salsa
- pomelo salad
- fennel, olive & pink grapefruit salad

Limes
- snap pea salad with radish, & lime
- cilantro lime brown rice
- watermelon with lime juice & zest
- miso-lime pesto

Zesty products:
- orange blossom honey flute
- blood orange chocolate truffles
- Elizabeth W citrus vervain room fragrance
- o olive oil citrus oils
- Microplane premium zester
- oma lemon squeezer
- organic dwarf meyer lemon tree

Comments (0) | December 1 - 9:28 PM

category: Lists, Recipes

With temperatures dropping, hearty soup and stew season is at the door. There are a lot of fantastic soup and stew recipes making use of delicious (and nutritious) whole grains like barley, amaranth, and farro, as well as brown and colored rices. Here's a starter list of five...

- Sheila Lukins' Home-Style Mushroom Barley Soup (link)

Nancy Harmon Jenkins' Farro, Bean and Chickpea Soup (link)

- Lorna Sass' Amaranth, Quinoa, and Corn Chowder (link)

- Runner's World Lentil Brown Rice Soup (link)

- Beet, Barley, and Black Soybean Soup with Pumpernickel Croutons (Post Punk Kitchen via CHOW)

Comments (0) | November 27 - 7:48 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

We love pomegranates for their looks, a rustic red leather bulb encasing a treasure of hundreds of edible jewel-like seeds. Lucky for us all, in this instance beauty is more than skin deep.

Pomegranates have been nutritional darlings for thousands of years. Right now Westerners are fixated on the juice of the pomegranate - it has anti-oxidant properties nearly three time that of green tea or red wine. But throughout history all parts of the tree have been used as medicine to treat everything from digestive disorders and kidney stones to fevers and heart ailments. Roots, bark, flowers, rind, and seeds - nothing went to waste.

When you are buying pomegranates look for fruits that are heavy and free of blemishes. You are shooting for pomegranates that are at the peak of ripeness. This is a fruit that ripens on the vine, so keep in mind they won't sweeten more once picked. Fruit that is starting to crack is fine as long as it doesn't look dried out. Feel for heaviness, a weighty fruit means more tangy, sweet juice.

Want to work more pomegranate into your life? Here are a few ideas:

- How to cut open a pomegranate
- Diana Kennedy's Guacamole Chamacuero
- Homemade Pomegranate Liqueur
- Ensalada de Noche Buena
- Drunken Figs with Roquefort and Marsala Wine in Pomegranate Syrup
- Pomegranate Chutney

Comments (2) | October 24 - 4:11 PM

category: Lists, Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg

A list of hearty soup recipes that are on deck to try this winter.

- David Ansel's Yellow Split Pea Soup with Crispy Garlic (recipe)
- Cranberry Bean and Pumpkin Stew (recipe)
- Artichoke and Celery Root Soup (recipe)
- Deborah Madison's Lentil Minestrone (recipe)
- Real Food Daily's Country Miso Soup (recipe)
- Indian Spiced Carrot Soup (recipe)

There's nothing quite as comforting as a big pot of fragrant soup simmering away on a weekend stove (or not, in the case of the uncooked Indian Spiced Carrot Soup). In either case you'll have a big pot of delicious ingredients combining to offer the promise of a full week of tasty lunches.

Comments (1) | October 8 - 3:04 PM

category: Lists, Recipes

Whether they are rosy-skinned and small, flecked with mottled shades of yellow and pink, or deep red and brooding, apples of all shapes, shades, and sizes are filling baskets and boxes at farmer's markets this time of year. In the spirit of the season we offer up a handful of apple-centric recipes that caught our attention. But before you dive in read what fruit detective David Karp had to say in an interview 10 years back about an apple tasting in which he sampled 44 varieties.

- Ferran Adria's Apple Caviar technique (link)
and his corresponding Apple Caviar recipe (link)

- Carol Peck's Green Tomato and Apple Chutney (link)

- Honey Roasted Applesauce on Napastyle (link)

- The Girl and the Fig's Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Compote Soup (link)

- Apple Chestnut Stuffing (link)

- Millennium's Apple Quince Cherry Strudel (link)

- Alice Water's Apple Tart (link)

Comments (1) | October 6 - 10:44 PM

category: Lists, Recipes

We are smack in the heart of asparagus season. Whether you like your asparagus spears thick or thin, there are infinite ways to prepare these springtime icons. These recipes look like some of the best:

• Asparagus Soup with Curry & Crème Fraîche (Mourad Lahlou of Aziza Restaurant)
• Asparagus Flan (Orangette)
• Lemony Risotto Croquettes with Slivered Snow Peas, Asparagus, and Leeks (Splendid Table)
• Asparagus Frittata (Simply Recipes)
• Asparagus Chili Tortilla (delicious:days)
• Spring Vegetables in a Herb Nage (Nordjus)
• Spring Panzanella (Napastyle)
• Roast Asparagus Parmesan with Steamed Morels Recipe (Sylvain Portay)

Comments (11) | April 9 - 1:34 PM

category: Lists, Recipes

Make a pledge to try a new carrot recipe each week this spring, they're healthy, vibrant, and deliciously filling. We'll leave you with one shopping tip (look for spring carrots with their bushy green tops still attached) and a list of carrot inspiration to get things kicked off...

- There's a stockpile of inspired carrot recipes at the Mariquita Farm website. You'll find Glazed Carrots With Pistachios and Thyme, Carrot Yogurt Soup, Carrot Milkshake, Cardamom Carrots, and Carrots in Beer.

- Orangette serves up a simple French-style Carrot Salad

- Vibrant Carrot Dip at Cook & Eat

- Spring Salad with Arborio Rice Cakes, Roasted Baby Carrots, White Asparagus & Fava Beans from Amy Murray of Venus Restaurant

- Carrot Apricot Muffins via Culinate

- Dipping into the Nordjus archives we discover Summer Vegetables in a Herb Nage - the name says summer, but the ingredients are oh-so-springy.

Mollie Katzen's Carrot-Cashew Curry

- Brussels Sprouts with Carrots via Whole Foods

- Napa Cabbage & Carrots with Rice Wine-Oyster Sauce via Eating Well

- Young Carrot Salad with Shaved Sheep’s Milk Cheese via Vegetarian Times

- Carrot And Leek Ragout With Green Peas And Mint via CookThink

- Carrot-Wheat Berry Salad with Cumin and Raisins

- Bashed Neeps and Carrots via Delia. See if you can figure out what a neep or a swede is.

Comments (1) | March 25 - 10:51 PM

category: Lists, Recipes

I've experienced distrustful, quizzical looks my whole life by those who simply cannot comprehend why I don't go weak in the knees for chocolate. I have matured though, from outright disliking it as a child, to today where I enjoy it on occasion. Chocolate
cravings however have been an urban legend to me, widely recounted, shrouded in mystery, and not ever experienced first hand — until a few weeks ago. For reasons unknown (maybe the months of cold weather?) I felt compelled to bake up a batch of deep chocolate brownies - all-American in appearances, but a bit more au natural in the mix.

A warm, moist, nut-studded goody that was both sweet and slightly salty is what I craved. Sure a carob, oat-bran, flax-fest could have satisfied my whole foods interests, but the brownie I was dreaming of called for more of a middle ground that was a slightly less refined but no less satisfying. With a few simple tweaks to a classic brownie approach - for example, using white whole flour instead of all-purpose and brown rice syrup in place of more standard fare, I baked up a marvel of brownie-goodness.

Brown Rice Syrup Brownie Recipe

In place of or combined with the nuts, you can mix in toasted coconut, cacao nibs, chocolate chips, toasted sunflower seeds, or dried cherries. For mocha brownies, add 1 teaspoon of finely ground espresso beans when melting the chocolate and butter.

2 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used 70%)
4 tablespoon non-alkalized cocoa powder
4 tablespoon unsalted butter
¾ cups brown rice syrup
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup white whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour
¾ cup toasted, coarsely chopped nuts (almond, walnuts, or pecans are good)
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel or other large flaked sea salt (I used vanilla salt)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and position rack in the center. Grease an 8”x8” square cake pan.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan over very low heat, combine the chocolate, cocoa powder, and butter. Stir constantly until melted and smooth. Add the brown rice syrup and vanilla. Allow the mixture to cool completely.

Once cool, add the eggs and stir until well combined. Add the flour and nuts and stir until almost combined. If adding the salt, do so now and gently stir until just combined, being careful not to over mix the batter.

Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan and spread to the edges. Place in the oven on the center rack.

Bake, rotating the pan mid-way through, until the kitchen smells of chocolate, the center is firm to touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Allow to cool in the pan for a full 10 minutes, then gently separate the brownies from the edges of the pan with a knife and invert onto a cooling rack.

Makes 9 brownies.

This recipe quenched my cravings so well that I haven’t wanted anything chocolate since — though if I ever do I know just where to go.

Related Links

We love Suzanne's line of organic rice nectars and the original version would be perfect for this recipe. She also makes some other exotic rice nectar flavors, including organic maple and all natural blueberry, strawberry, and chocolate!

For another great way to use brown rice syrup try Heidi's Big Sur Power Bars - they're simply delicious.

Comments (2) | March 14 - 3:43 PM

category: Recipes

The inspiration for this delicious Orange Agave Frozen Yogurt came when we were fondly looking back at Heidi’s frozen yogurt recipe, celebrating citrus, and marveling at David’s agave chocolate ice cream recipe. Sometimes synergy strikes and you end up with something that is much greater than the sum of its parts. This recipe produces a frozen yogurt that magically merges tangy, creamy yogurt, refreshing, zesty oranges, and naturally sweet agave nectar. We’re offering up a basic version, but by all means put your own twist on it. Chocolate shavings or toasted coconut would make marvelous mix-ins and although we chose oranges — Meyer lemons, tangerines, and grapefruits are just a few of the many citrus fruits that would shine here.

Agave Frozen Yogurt Recipe

A sidenote to the recipe, to make strained yogurt, pour 2 -32 oz. containers of plain yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined large sieve or colander set over a bowl drain yogurt, covered and chilled at least 8 hours, or overnight. Discard liquid in bowl.

1/3 cup fresh-squeezed organic orange juice and zest from 1-2 oranges
1/3 cup agave syrup
3 cups strained whole milk plain organic yogurt (see headnote)
pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until well combined and refrigerate for 1 hour or place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Pour yogurt mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Best served immediately.

Makes about 1 quart.

Comments (2) | February 29 - 2:45 PM

category: Recipes, Sweeteners

This recipe is one that emerged in my first few years away from mom, alone in my own kitchen, on a budget, and still wanting to eat well. One evening, hungry from a day at my first job, I stared down the sparse landscape of my pantry and fridge and somehow managed to whip up this wonderful and easy savory French toast. Since then it has become a staple dish, perfect for solo-dining or, like the recipe below, feeding my friends over Sunday brunch.

As there are relatively few components to this recipe, selecting the best quality, organic ingredients will make all the difference. If you can find pastured eggs use them. Use a your favorite whole grain bread from your favorite local bakery. For the sauce, Muir Glen packed with basil is my preferred choice, but in the summer, cooking down a few fresh, ripe tomatoes is the way to go. If you have any leftovers, just pop them into the toaster-oven for an easy lunch or dinner.

Almond-Crusted French Toast with Simple Tomato Sauce & Wilted Spinach

5 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 ½ teaspoons salt
fresh ground black pepper
6 slices whole-grain sandwich bread (day old, stale works best)
2 cups toasted, finely chopped almonds

Simple Tomato Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2-28 oz can whole tomatoes, crushed by hand or in the food processor
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt

Wilted Spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large bunches of fresh spinach (about 1 ½ lbs), washed and stemmed
pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack positioned in the center. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or lightly grease.

In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, but not browned. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Simmer over medium-high heat uncovered for 15-25 minutes until reduced to a thick sauce.

In a large shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Spread the nuts out on a large plate. Place three slices of bread into the egg mixture and soak for one minute on each side. Then lay each slice, one at a time, onto the nuts, press down so that the nuts stick, and flip to coat the other side. Transfer each slice to the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining three slices of bread and arrange so that the slices do not touch. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

While the French toast bakes, heat olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Add the spinach, salt, and pepper and sauté until wilted and most of the liquid released has cooked off. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Flip each slice and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the center is firm to the touch and toasts are golden brown.

Serve hot with a spoonful each of spinach and tomato sauce.

Serves 6

Variations are endless here. Just about any nut can be used in place of the almonds – pecans and walnuts work great. For an easy perk up, add 1 teaspoon each of oregano and dill to the tomato sauce and garnish the final dish with a sprinkling of feta cheese and chopped kalamata olives. For an Indian flare, replace the milk with coconut milk and add 1 ½ tablespoons of curry to the egg mixture. For a kid-friendly PB&J twist, cut each slice of bread into three fingers, use peanuts for the crust, and instead of tomato sauce and spinach, simply serve it with slices of fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey.

Comments (3) | February 22 - 1:52 PM

category: Recipes

Popcorn has been a key part of the movie-going experience since the start of American cinema. In the heyday of old Hollywood, a trip to the silver screen was a special night out — shoes shined, hair coiffed, and a stop to the concession stand were all part of the experience.

“Let’s all go to the lobby. Let’s all go to the lobby. Let’s all go the lobby....and get ourselves a snack…”

For me, going to the movies still holds that Tinsel-town magic. I love the anticipation as the lights dim, the music floats in, and I dip my fingers into a big tub of crunchy, salty, satisfying buttered popcorn.

It’s just that the concession stand offerings are one part of the movie-going experience that don’t seem to have weathered the years so well. From cardboard trays of nachos to tongue-burning sour gummy candy there’s not a mighty food in sight, and frankly, the popcorn leaves much to be desired.

What’s the solution?

BYOP

Bring your own popcorn.

Sure criers pack their tissues and an extra sweater is a must for cold-bodies, but smart snackers go tupperware-in-tow. BYOP and chances are you’ll end up eating a much tastier treat and save you a few bucks too. Below are a few inspiring corn creations that’ll at least get you through this year's Oscar season...

- curried
- southwestern
- spicy 'wine inspired'
- diy microwave popcorn
- frenchified
- truffled
- brown butter, rosemary, & lemon
- kettle-style
- chili-spiced
- "world's greatest"

Like those flicks you can see time and time again without tire, classic buttered popcorn is always a good bet, but with such a wide array of easy, stove-top options, you could have a new munchie for every movie.

Comments (0) | January 28 - 11:12 PM

category: Lists, Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

Yes, it's true that no matter how mighty the food, for those hoping to have a baby, no one morsel or meal will guarantee a visit from the stork. However, a recent Harvard study, popularly called The Fertility Diet, has produced some compelling evidence that certain foods - such as certain beans, greens, and grains - strongly support fertility in women.* Truth be told, most of us could benefit by incorporating some these findings into our diet whether we are planning for a baby or not.

The one surprise may have been the recommendation to eat full-fat dairy. One way to think about this may be to use the whole foods rationale. Just as we benefit from eating grains all smartly dressed up in their bran and germ, or apples in their pretty fiber-rich skins, it may then stand to reason that many times nature packs real food, even milk, in the way that benefits us most.

So after reading about the Fertility Diet, you might be wondering how this new set of recommendations could translate to your own kitchen. Maybe you are simply looking for a delicious way to start the day? Or perhaps you're hosting a dinner party and want to stay true to your fertility-enhancing way of eating? Below we've provided a quick overview of some of the dietary recommendations. Those are followed by a roundup of globally inspired, fertility-friendly recipes.

• iron-rich foods: beans, dark leafy greens, seeds, blackstrap molasses
• folic acid-rich foods: beans, dark green vegetables, whole grains, citrus
• low-glycemic load carbohydrates: whole grains, most fruits and vegetables, beans, seeds, nuts
• protein from plant sources: quinoa, beans (eaten with whole grains) such as lentils, soybeans/tofu, garbanzo beans, as well as nuts, and seeds
• full-fat dairy: whole milk and yogurt, cheese, ice cream
• mono-unsaturated fats: olive oil, nuts, avocado, seeds

*Please note: “…these recommendations are aimed at preventing and reversing ovulatory infertility, which accounts for one quarter or more of all cases of infertility. They won't work for infertility due to physical impediments like blocked fallopian tubes.”

Start Your Baby-Making Engines
awesome almond buckwheat pancakes
breakfast quinoa with cranberries, toasted walnuts, and honey
cornmeal mush with blackstap molasses
greek yogurt breakfast - make sure to use whole milk yogurt

Mamma Mia!
pan-seared rosemary tofu served over buckwheat polenta
simple citrus salad with marinated avocado
olive oil ice cream

Bollywood Baby
mung dal with cashews and carrots served over brown rice pilaf
swiss chard and crisp shallot rolls with cilantro raita
honey sweetened shrikhand

Fertility Fiesta
pinto bean soup over brown rice with red chile and cheese with perfect guacamole
mexican coleslaw
whole-grain mexican wedding cookies

Good Fortune Grub
szechwan tofu triangles in triple pepper sauce served over very green rice
emerald sesame kale
green tea panna cotta

Red, White, and Baby
bean and rice "meat"loaf
creamed kale
maple baked apples with dried fruits and nuts

Bon Appetit Bébé
white bean and vegetable cassoulet with millet crust
frisee and endive salad with olive vinaigrette
frozen honey mousse

Mom-To-Be Munchies
pistachio and almond butter on whole grain graham crackers
kale crunch with greek almond yogurt dip
almond caramel corn

Comments (3) | January 16 - 2:38 PM

category: Lists, News, Recipes, Studies + Trends, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

Hummus, along with guacamole, pad thai, and Greek yogurt, is yet another dish in a long line of edible international imports that have become familiar to the American palate. This favorite middle-eastern spread is now a staple - a delicious and healthy dish that can easily fill out a lunch box or a star on a party platter. I recently discovered a tahini made from black sesame seeds and was inspired to make black hummus by replacing traditional white sesame tahini and cream-colored chickpeas with black tahini and beluga lentils - the result is a beautiful midnight-hued dip.

Unlike many dips, this recipe features an almost endless number of nutritional superstars. The olive oil, garlic, and lentils alone deliver a hefty punch of good-for-you nutrients. Yet it’s the stunning, onyx-colored black tahini that takes center stage, both for its deep earthy flavor and healthy concentration of iron, calcium, and fiber. This recipe has quickly become a satisfying everyday food and one that I call upon to impress at dinner parties.

Having trouble finding beluga lentils? Black beans make a great substitute. If your grocery store doesn’t carry black sesame tahini, you can order it online here - or use the classic tahini from white sesame seeds which will produce a hummus slightly lighter in color, but still tasty.

Midnight Hummus Recipe

2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups beluga lentils, cooked
1/4 cup black sesame tahini
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of ½ lemon or more to taste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Place garlic into your food processor and pulse until finely minced.

Add the remaining ingredients and process for 1 minute.

Scrape down the sides of the food processor. Taste and adjust for lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Process until well combined and smooth.

Serve this versatile hummus on whole grain crackers, as a dip for crisp vegetable crudités scattered with white sesame seeds, or spread inside of a warm pita with a slice of tomato, sprinkle of feta cheese – and maybe a few mint leaves.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Comments (5) | January 4 - 3:07 PM

category: New Products, Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg

From the archives. This is the perfect picnic or potluck salad in part because it can be served at room temperature. Most of you know bulgur as the foundation for tabouli, it is a quick cooking grain with a mild, ever-so-slightly nutty flavor. This recipe uses the best ingredients from the summer market.

Easy Bulgur Salad with Summer Tomatoes
1 cup medium-grind whole wheat bulgur
1 1/2 cups water
sea salt

1/2 pound green beans (or use some yellow wax beans for extra color), blanched for a couple minutes in boiling salted water and then drained

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
a couple cranks of the pepper grinder

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup mint, washed and chopped
1 1/2 cups red, orange and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

Put the bulgur and water in a saucepan with a teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the bulgur is cooked through. While the bulgur is cooking cut the beans into bite-sized segments on the bias and set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Fluff the bulgur with a fork and toss with the lemon olive oil mixture. Add the pine nuts and mint and toss again. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Add the cherry tomatoes and give one last gentle toss - gentle enough that the tomatoes stay intact. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.

Serves 4 to 6.

Comments (0) | August 19 - 4:39 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

Summer is here with its sunshine, long days, and warm nights. It seems impossible, but we are nearly halfway through June, with the fourth of July just around the corner. This is the time of year everyone is on the hunt for great BBQ food ideas and recipes - here's a list of some we'd like to share.

BBQ Food Ideas

Before you put flame to food, you must be in the right frame of mind. MattBites lays out the ten commandments for us. Thank you Matt!

Serious Eats weighs in with grilling tips from Jame's Peterson's What's a Cook to Do? This is where you'll find the basics:

- How to Clean a Messy, Caked-On Grill
- How to Light a Fire for the Grill
- How to Keep Food from Sticking to the Grill
- Some good tips in the comments as well

And now that you're ready on those two fronts, all you're lacking are some good BBQ food ideas and recipes.

- Grilled Eggplant Burgers (link)
- Nava Atlas shares her Tofu and Potato Kebabs with Teriyaki Marinade
- Twice-grilled Stuffed zucchini (and other recipes)
- Star Chefs grilling primer & Steve Raichlen's Mushroom-rice Burgers
- Delicious Grilled Pizza with Yellow Squash, Mozzarella, and Lemon Thyme from Epicurious.

Comments (1) | June 11 - 11:00 PM

category: Lists, Recipes

If you've ever experienced a huge record scratch when attempting to pair Indian food with wine, you aren't alone. In this week's San Francisco Chronicle wine section Jon Bonné and Olivia Wu serve up a range of wine pairing suggestions that can match up with to the spices, heat, and complexity inherent to Indian cuisine.

"For the wine lover, though, finding an ideal match is more complicated. It will not be found with Gewurztraminer. That varietal's spicy profile can work every now and then, but it usually collides with the nuances of Indian food. Almost every Indian dish begins with a blend of spices, so our challenge was to find out which spices warm up to which wines.

We called on Ruta Kahate, an Indian culinary teacher and author based in the East Bay, for guidance. The three of us met to consider her list of the 10 most crucial spices in Indian cuisine -- mustard seeds, cardamom, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, mace/nutmeg, ginger, bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon. Cayenne we put in a class of its own, making 11. Then we devised a list of about 80 wines -- as obvious as Syrah and as esoteric as Muller-Thurgau." (Read more)

And don't miss out on the recipes included in the article as well.
- Tangy Shredded Cabbage Salad
- Black-Eyed Peas in a Spicy Goan Curry
- Everyday Yellow Dal

Comments (0) | June 8 - 6:55 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

We've been dabbling with the full spectrum of O Olive Oils over the past week, and the verdict is in. These olive oils (they come in a range of flavors), are the perfect way to put a finishing kiss of (organic) ruby grapefruit or Meyer lemon or Tahitian lime on your favorite recipes. Now you might think your recipes are pretty good without a fancy finishing oil. Fair enough. But we'd argue that these oils have the ability to add surprising (and delicious twists) to your everyday recipes. They provide a simple way to take your favorite recipes to the next level of deliciousness.

O uses olives from small family orchards near the northern foothills of the Sierras. The oils are neither infused nor flavored after the fact. The whole fruit is crushed with the olives at the same time - and only certified organic citrus is used. The oils are great in dressings, over steamed veggies, drizzled over pasta, brushed on after grilling, and in marinades. Try a slathering inside your favorite panini (use good crusty bread!)

Our absolute favorite preparation involved a bowl of white cannellini beans, toasted walnuts, and crumbled manouri cheese (your favorite soft sheep or goat's milk cheese will work here), drizzled with about a tablespoon of the Ruby Grapefruit Olive OIl, a small splash of champagne vinegar, and a pinch of sea salt.

Two other ideas we found on the O website that we can't wait to try (both with their Blood Orange Olive Oil):

- toss roasted yukon potatoes and yams (or sweet potatoes) with Blood Orange Olive Oil, fresh sage, sea salt and fresh pepper.

- add Blood Orange Olive oil to risotto with crimini mushrooms. (we be this would be great in a barley or farro based risotto-type preparation.

O also has a line of wonderful vinegars that we will write about separately.

Here's where you can buy O Olive Oil online
http://www.ooliveoil.com

Comments (0) | June 5 - 1:48 PM

category: Gift Ideas, New Products, Recipes

Many of the markets this time of year (particularly those in slighter warmer climates) are positively brimming with berries - including the king of all berries, the crown-topped, antioxidant packed blueberry.

These moist and delicious, nut-spiked, banana blueberry muffins are made with white whole wheat flour and a yogurt base. You can make them with traditional all-purpose flour as well, but we encourage you to seek out and try the wonderful white whole wheat flours now widely available in stores (King Arthur and Bob's Red Mill). Enjoy them hot out of the oven.

BANANA BLUEBERRY MUFFIN RECIPE

2 cups white whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup natural cane sugar
2 large organic eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup mashed overripe bananas (about 2 bananas)
1 cup fresh blueberries, toss in a bit of flour to keep them from sinking while baking

Heat oven to 375 and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 3/4 cup of the walnuts in a bowl and whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl using a mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar and eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla, yogurt and mashed bananas, then gently mix in dry ingredients; over mixing will result in tough muffins. Fold in the blueberries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin (an ice-cream scoop works well here), top with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts, bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Fill cups two-thirds full for regular muffins or to brim for a big-topped version. Spinkle with a bit of sugar here for a nice bit of swee crusted goodness. Cool for a couple minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes a dozen muffins.

Comments (2) | May 26 - 12:45 PM

category: Recipes

Talk about the ultimate getaway, this place tops our list of spas to visit. The Rancho La Puerta Spa is opening its cooking school this Spring, so now in addition to hikes and hot-stone massages, you can also enjoy and learn about healthy lowfat and vegetarian recipes. If you check out the healthy cooking (eat well, live well) section on Epicurious right now, they are featuring a selection of recipes from Rancho La Puerta Spa. Can't wait for the cookbook!

"...The place to which my friends and I walked most frequently was the dining room for executive chef Jesús González's modified-vegetarian low-fat, high-flavor cuisine — called Mexican-Mediterranean at the Ranch. Its mainstays are organically grown vegetables and fruits just-picked from the Ranch's own garden, orchards, and vineyard..." (read more)

Recipes:
La Puerta Garden Beet Soup

Picante Jicama and Roasted Carrot Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing

Cashew Chard "Burritos"

Butternut Squash Flan

Comments (1) | April 10 - 8:45 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

From the archives. We've talked before about the powerful, health promoting properties of spices. This is a favorite spice-centric snack that comes together in just a few minutes. The jist: top a fresh batch of freshly popped popcorn with a turmeric-rich curry powder-infused butter.

Curried Popcorn
Shopping note: Choose a curry powder that is deep yellow, or deep yellow orange in color (that’s the turmeric).

1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 cup unsalted butter
Plenty of freshly popped corn
add-ins like cashews or raisins (optional), chopped

Pop a big bowl of popcorn and set aside. Add any extras at this point (nuts, dried fruits)

To make the curry-infused butter add the curry powder to a saucepan of melted butter along with a couple pinches of sea salt. Toss the popcorn with a drizzle of the butter. If you want more control over the amount of butter you are applying to your popcorn, fill a small spray bottle with the curried butter and spritz and toss, spritz and toss until the popcorn is coated to your liking.

Taste for seasoning and mix in more salt if needed.

Comments (1) | April 1 - 1:20 PM

category: Recipes, Superfoods, Whole Grains

From the archives. You are going to start seeing asparagus popping up at your local Farmer's markets. First on the west coast and then as spring gets its footing, throughout other parts of the country.

Look for bright green, perky, and vibrant stems with closed, unruffled tops. (We'll write about white asparagus later in the season). And use the asparagus as quickly as possible after purchasing (within a day or two) to retain the highest nutrient levels.

This is one of our favorite asparagus recipes. A simple soup - pure, straight-forward and delicious. Vegans can certainly omit the Parmesan and sour cream called for at the end. A touch of coconut milk cream added in their place will help round out the soup and meld flavors together.

Asparagus Soup with Parmesan

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 shallots, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 large bunches or organic asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces

4 1/2 cups water or light vegetable broth
1/2 cup organic sour cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt to taste (typically 2-4 teaspoons, less if you a salty broth, more if you use water)

Make your soup base: In a large pot over medium heat add the olive oil, onions, shallots, and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions start to soften up.

Simmer: Add the asparagus, and water/broth and bring just to a boil. Dial down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the asparagus starts to get soft, but not mushy. You want it to still be bright and vibrant in color. Remove from heat.

Puree: You can use an immersion blender or stand-up blender to puree the soup. The immersion blender make quick work of pureed soups like this, and they are pretty cheap - so keep you eyes peeled if you like pureed soups. If you like asparagus soup silky smooth, blend until you get the soup as smooth as possible, and then push it through a mesh sieve. You lose a lot of the good stuff this way, but some people are picky.

Finish: Whisk in the sour cream, and Parmesan cheese. This next step is crucial. Season to taste with salt. Don't under season or your soup will taste flat. A squeeze oflemon also sometimes helps to balance out this soup and keep it bright.

Garnish with homemade croutons or toasted pine nuts.

Big pot, serves about 6.

Comments (0) | March 18 - 3:34 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

A delicious biscuit made from whole grain flours - meaning the nutritious parts of the grain the (germ and the brain) are left in the flour. In standard all-purpose white flour these are the components that are removed, leaving just the starchy endosperm portion of the grain. For some added zing a generous amount of citrus zest is added to the dough - a great way to work a bit of seasonal winter citrus into your baking. These are good alongside both savory and sweet foods - anything from a spinach omelette to a fruit salad with yogurt. For other seasonal variations on these biscuits you can add dried fruit or fresh berries in place of the citrus.

Citrus Cornmeal Biscuits

3 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup finely ground cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
zest of 2 lemons
zest of 3 oranges
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
2 cups milk
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place racks in the middle.

Into a large bowl or food processor add the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and zests. Add the butter and using a pastry cutter or 25 quick pulses of the processor blend until the mixture resembles tiny, pea-sized, sandy pebbles.

If using a food processor transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and with a fork stir in the milk until just combined.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto an parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush each biscuit with a bit of egg white and sprinkle with a dusting of cornmeal. Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden, roughly 10-13 minutes.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen large biscuits.

Comments (1) | February 5 - 11:26 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

Fans of Eric Gower's Breakaway Japanese Kitchen cookbook can get more of him through his new blog on the new Yahoo! food channel. Eric's recipes explore many healthful whole food ingredients, alternative sweeteners, and the like. In the past much of his cooking has had a very global fusionesque bent to it.

So far in his writing on Yahoo! Eric has covered pomegranate molasses, stock, persimmons, blenders, non-white sweeteners, and salt. So it looks as if the scope of his blog is going to touching on a range of topics from ingredient to equipment (and hopefully lots of recipes).

Visit the Breakaway Cook on Yahoo!
Visit Eric's personal homepage.

Comments (0) | December 8 - 10:54 AM

category: News, Recipes

Check out the buckwheat salad in the current issue of Food & Wine Magazine. They serve up big bowls of buckwheat (kasha), fennel, and shiitake and oyster mushrooms dressed in a brooding glaze of soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and parsley oil. Yum.

Photo by: James Baigrie

Comments (2) | November 20 - 7:41 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

Prickly pears are the vibrant, edible, nutrient-packed fruit of the Prickly Pear cactus (nopales). I'm not really sure what their seasonality is in other regions, but I see the bright fruit (tunas) punctuating cacti along the side of Napa Valley roads around this time of year - so I thought I'd post some links.

Prickly Pear 101: You will typically encounter them in one of three colors. I go weak in the knees over the hot pink-magenta tunas which are sweeter than the yellow and white varieties. Once you've got a stash of them, you'll need to know how to deal with the prickly factor - here's a link to a tutorial on the Rancho Gordo blog demonstrating how a bit of strategic fire can solve that problem.

A few recipes for inspiration:

- Charlie Trotter & Roxanne Klein Prickly Pear and Pomegranate Smoothie (link)

- Juniper Ridge's Prickly Pear Margarita recipes (link)

- Prickly Pear Dressing (link)

- Prickly Pear Ice Cream (link)

- Prickly Pear Lemonade (link)

Photo: Steve Sando

Comments (1) | October 14 - 7:15 PM

category: Lists, Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg

In this month's Gourmet magazine Rick Bayless (inspired by Veracruz chef and food anthropologist Raquel Torres) creates a hearty and complex traditional Mexican meal that is deliciously vegetarian - Beyond the Border. It's refreshing to see traditional Mexican cuisine from a fresh (to many) point of view, but as Bayless says, it's not altogether uncommon,

"the further away from the cities you go, the more indigenous the cooking becomes - meaning it reaches all the way back into Mexico's pre-Columbian past, a time when most everyday cuisine was vegetarian, and folks used a huge variety of edible plants."

The feature includes recipes for; Plantain-Stuffed Chipotles Chiles in Escabeche, Red Chileatole with Fall Vegetables, Black-Bean Tostados with Roasted Tomatillo Sauce, and Coconut Tarts with Prickly Pear Sauce.

Photograph By Roland Bello.

Comments (0) | October 1 - 5:52 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

Building on the deliciously tangy sweet pomegranate molasses we talked about last week, here's a way to put it to use in a delicious, chickpea-centric savory recipe. Plated, this is beautiful with accents of vibrant pomegranate seeds and flecks of green cilantro.

Chickpeas with Pomegranate Molasses

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or fresh cooked equivalent)
scant 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
a pinch of saffron infused in 1/4 cup boiling water
seeds from 1 medium pomegranate
small handful of cilantro, chopped
fine grain sea salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large skillet heat the olive oil. When it is hot add the garlic and the chickpeas, pomegranate molasses, and saffron infused water. Simmer for five minutes and then stir in the pomegranate seeds and cilantro. Season generously with salt and pepper and arrange on a medium platter.

Serves 4 to 6.

Comments (1) | September 19 - 10:49 PM

category: Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg

This is a hearty, filling pasta dish. The peppery, nutritious greens provide a nice foil to the creamy, omega3-rich walnut pesto. As the weather begins to cool or if you are feeling particularly ambitious, stir in some sautéed mushrooms before serving.

Whole Wheat Fusilli with Walnut Pesto

3/4 pounds whole wheat fusilli pasta
1 cup toasted, chopped walnuts, divided
2 cups basil leaves, washed
1 large clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup freshly grate Parmesan cheese, divided
4 big handfuls of bitter greens (for example: arugula or watercress), washed

Prepare the pasta by boiling in salted water per package instructions. Reserve 1/3 cup of the hot water for future use before you drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

While the pasta is cooking make the walnut pesto by blending 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the basil, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse in the olive oil and follow with the cheese.

Pour the walnut pesto over the pasta along with some of the reserved pasta water. Stir and add the rest of the water if you want a creamier sauce. Sit in the greens and serve the pasta on a large platter topped with the rest of the walnuts and cheese.

Serves 4.

Comments (0) | September 18 - 10:32 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

A savory summer appetizer. These golden, crispy fritters are delicious on their own, or served with a bit of plain yogurt flavored with a bit of chopped garlic, mint, lemon zest, and salt whisked in. Not as greasy as the fried version, but nicely textured just the same. A great way to use up some of that summer squash.

Zucchini Fritters with Feta and Thyme

3 medium zucchini, shredded with skin on
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
3 large organic, free-range eggs
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 medium shallots, chopped
A few sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped from the stem
3 garlic cloves, chopped

Clarified butter or extra virgin olive oil, for cooking

Place the shredded zucchini in a medium bowl, sprinkle with salt, toss, and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Press out any liquid with a clean dishtowel and then toss one more time to fluff up the zucchini again.

In a large bowl combine the eggs and flour. Don't overmix, it is ok if there are some flour pockets. Now gently fold in the cheese, mint, lemon zest, and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the shallots, thyme, garlic and zucchini for a few minutes, just until the zucchini softens up. Let cool for a few minutes off heat and then fold the zucchini into the flour and egg mixture.

Clean out the skillet and then over medium-high heat add a generous splash of either olive oil or clarified butter. When hot, drop about 2 tablespoons of batter into the skillet giving a bit of room between each fritter. Too much batter and the zucchini will steam and not get any of that crispness you are after. Cook them on this side until they are golden and crisp on the bottom, then flip and cook the other side in the same way you would pancakes. Repeat until the batter is used up. Taste and season with a bit more salt and pepper if needed.

Serves 6 - 12.

Comments (0) | August 20 - 11:06 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

This time of year everyone is looking for ways to use up the flood of zucchini coming out of gardens and farmers markets. The green beans add a pop of color and a nice amount of texture to this easy, bright, family-style pasta dish that takes no time at all to pull together. Use a mix of yellow and green zucchini if you can find the yellow.

Whole Wheat Penne with Summer Squash and Beans

a generous splash of extra-virgin olive oil
4 small zucchini, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 large shallot, chopped
3 medium cloves of garlic, chopped
a sprig of thyme, just the tiny leaves
a few pinches of fine grain sea salt
8 ounces whole wheat penne pasta

3-4 handfuls of green beans and/or yellow wax beans, washed and tops and tails trimmed

- more extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chives, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)
- more fine grain sea salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

While the water is coming up to temperature put a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When it is hot stir in the sliced summer squash. Cook uncovered for 6 minutes or so, stirring only occasionally until the squash starts to brown a bit. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, and salt. Cook until the garlic and shallots begin to soften, another minute or two. Remove from heat and set aside.

When they water is boiling salt it generously and add the penne. Cook per package instructions, but two minutes before the pasta is finished cooking add the beans to the pot. This way the pasta and beans should finish cooking at the same time. Drain and put the beans and pasta in a large bowl. Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of good quality olive oil and toss well. Add the zucchini and Parmesan and most of the chives and toss again. Taste and add more salt if needed. Arrange the pasta on a platter and sprinkle with the remaining chives and toasted pine nuts.

Serves 2-3 as a main dish, 4+ as a side.

Comments (2) | August 13 - 11:35 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

The September issue of Food & Wine is fantastic. In addition to a design feature highlighting Big Red Sun (they designed the outdoor space for Hotel San Jose), F&W also gives three pages to the adorable Erin McKenna of BabyCakes NYC. The article serves up three delicious recipes and the story of how an allergy diagnosis required Erin to shrug off all wheat, dairy, sugar, and caffeine from her life. Her recipes creatively use natural sweeteners and alternative whole grain flours. Can't wait to try them in my own kitchen and in person the next time I'm in New York City!

- Brownie Bites
- Raspberry Scones
- Cinnamon-Banana Bread

Comments (2) | August 10 - 6:08 PM

category: Interviews/Profiles, Recipes, Sweeteners, Whole Grains

Summer markets are brimming with tomatoes this time of year - big and small, chubby and narrow - all beckoning from crates in a rainbow of warm colors. Here are ten different ways you can enjoy them.

David Kinch's- Corn-and-Tomato Parfait With Basil (link)

- Goat Cheese and Shallot Crostini with Mixed Cherry Tomatoes (link)

- Panzanella Bread Cups (link)

- Spicy Tomato Granita (link)

- Sliced Heirloom Tomatoes with Basil & Walnut Tabouleh (link)

- Grilled Fingerling Potato Salad with Corn and Cherry Tomatoes (link)

- Scallion & Black Pepper Crepes with Heirloom Tomatoes (link)

- Skillet-Fried Corn and Tomatoes (link)

- Yellow Tomato Gazpacho (link)

- Mariquita Farm Tomato Sauce Essay (link)

Also, don't miss the article that ran in the New York Times last week where Ann Noble (creator of the Wine Aroma Wheel) makes the jump to heirloom tomatoes.

Comments (0) | August 7 - 12:59 PM

category: Lists, Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg

What is mildly sweet and nutty, simultaneously tender and chewy, and unlike anything chef Daniel Patterson had ever experienced? It's called yuba, and for all you tofu haters out there, it is being called soy's unexpectedly elegant cousin. Daniel's New York Times article includes recipes for:

- Curried Summer Squash Soup With Yuba and Cilantro
- Yuba ‘Pappardelle’
- Spicy Yuba ‘Omelet’

Comments (1) | August 6 - 4:30 PM

category: Recipes, Superfoods

Native American Recipes: A wonderful collection of recipes rooted in pre and post-invasion Native American culinary culture. This is one way to trump your neighbor's cedar plank salmon. A tasty sample of other recipes on the site:

- Squash Blossums Anishinaabeg Style
- Apache Acorn Ravioli In Clear Broth
- Sunflower Seed Wild Rice Pilaf
- Cherokee Nation Grape Dumplings
- Fiddlehead Fern Soup

Comments (2) | August 4 - 4:32 PM

category: Recipes

A beautiful and simple fig preparation. Experiment with different dessert wines, the ones with floral notes seem to work particularly well in concert with these figs. Look for ripe figs that give a little. Small cracks in the skin are ok.

Baked Black Mission Figs

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Remove stems and cut each fig from top to tail. Nestle them cut side up in a well-buttered baking dish (or you can do servings in individual ramekins). Sprinkle the figs with your favorite sweet dessert wine, and then dust them generously with a moist, dark evaporated cane sugar. Bake for 10 or 15 minutes or until the figs are tender. Serve hot alongside a rich, creamy, all-natural (preferably homemade) vanilla ice-cream. For a real treat infuse that vanilla ice-cream (base) with a bit of rose geranium.

Comments (0) | August 2 - 10:36 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

Butter-kissed whole wheat pasta noodles tossed with a good amount of spinach - all nicely punctuated by toasted pine nuts, tangy feta, and a bit of sweetness from the dried apricots.

3 tablespoons organic, unsalted butter
7 handfuls spinach, washed well and cut into ribbons
1/3 cup plump, unsulphered dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
fine grain sea salt

Add the spaghetti to a large pot of rapidly boiling, well salted water and cook according to package instructions or until just tender.

Drain and immediately return the pasta to the pan, placing it back on medium heat. Stir in the butter, apricots, and spinach. Cook until the spinach wilts, a minute or two. Stir in the pine nuts, Parmesan, and a few generous pinches of sea salt. Gently fold in the feta and serve immediately.

Serves four to six.

Comments (2) | July 31 - 12:35 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

A beautiful color-flecked way to start your day with heirloom tomatoes - family-style. For this recipe use a mix of small and bright red, orange, and yellow heirlooms.

6 large organic eggs
splash of organic heavy cream
1 1/2 cup heirloom tomatoes, chopped (divided)
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
a bit of freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup goat cheese

a small handful of basil, slivered just before using

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of the chopped tomatoes.

To an 8 or 9-inch, well-seasoned, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, shallot and garlic. Saute for a minute or two until the shallot starts to soften. Reduce the heat and add the egg and tomato mixture. Cook over medium-low heat for about five minutes or until the eggs start to set. Sprinkle with the goat cheese. Run a spatula under the sides of the frittata and tilt the pan letting any uncooked egg run underneath to cook.

Place the entire skillet in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the frittata becomes firm, puffy, and a bit golden.

Remove and garnish with the remaining tomatoes and slivered basil. Season with a bit more salt and pepper. Cut into wedges and serve from the pan.

Serves six.

Comments (1) | July 29 - 6:48 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

Food & Wine Magazine profiles London-based cookbook author Celia Brooks Brown in their August issue. You can see the article at their website - it includes a selection of Celia's delicious sounding, global-palette recipes:

- Thai Vegetable and Smoky Eggplant Salad
- Spaghetti with Lemon, Chile and Creamy Spinach
- Stuffed Yellow Peppers with Spicy Swiss Chard

World Vegetarian Classics on Amazon.

Comments (0) | July 29 - 6:30 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

Slow roasting summer tomatoes is a great way to condense their flavor. They are delicious on panini, slivered and tossed into pastas and grain-based salads, or chopped into a tapenade-like paste.

Recipe: Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

A dozen fresh Roma tomatoes, cored and cut in half
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
A splash of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Combine the olive oil, vinegar, thyme, a couple pinches of salt and a twist of the pepper mill in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Brush the oil mixture over each tomato and bake in the oven for about 2 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with more of the olive oil. They are donw when their color darkens and their flavor mellows and condenses. Remove from the oven and allow them to sit at room temperature for 6-8 hours.

Comments (2) | June 27 - 8:52 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

A great way to use that summer corn in a whole-grain risotto. Barley is a fantastic alternative to arborio rice as a base for risotto. More chewy and substantial, but delicious all the same.

Recipe: Roasted Corn + Barley Risotto
3 ears of organic corn
4 tablespoons unsalted organic butter
1 small yellow onion
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 cups lightly pearled barley
6-7 cups lightly flavored vegetable stock (nothing too overpowering)

chile powder, salt and pepper to taste

To finish:
2 tablespoons unsalted organic butter
4 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Shuck the ears of corn, removing the silk as well. Place the kernels on a baking sheet and roast for approximately 45 minutes, tossing the kernels one or twice during the roast. Remove from the oven and let the ears cool until they can be handled. Shave the kernels from the cob and set aside. Alternately, you can shave the kernels off ears of grilled corn instead. You should have about three cups.

Bring the stock to a simmer in saucepan. In another (large) saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until translucent and soft, a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute before adding the pearl barley grains. Stir to get the grains coated with butter. Add the simmering stock approximately 1 or 2 cups at a time. Each addition of stock should be absorbed before the next addition. After the last addition of stock add the corn kernels and season with a generous amount of salt (start with 1/2 a teaspoon and adjust from there), a couple twists of the black pepper grinder, and a few pinches of chile powder if you like.

Off the heat, finish with the extra butter and goat cheese. Also delicious garnished with thinly sliced oven-roasted tomatoes. We'll post a recipe for those tomorrow.

Serves 4 - 6.

Comments (0) | June 23 - 9:19 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

Many people who make the shift to brown rices never look back. Chewier and nuttier in flavor than their refined white counterparts, brown rices are a wonderful thing.

Brown rice is brown because the nutritious outer bran layer is left intact. Have a look at these nutritional statistics from The World's Healthiest Foods website:

"...The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids. Fully milled and polished white rice is required to be “enriched” with vitamins B1, B3 and iron...."

Black and red rices are considered whole grains or whole rices as well, so experiment through the spectrum. Overall these rices might not be as delicate or tender as white rice, but they are delicious and complex in their own right. Brown rices take longer to cook, with short and plump brown rice grains taking up to fifty minute to cook. Longer grains typically take less.

Recipe: Cilantro Lime Brown Rice:
This Cilantro Lime Rice is perfect under kabobs or as a side to black beans.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons of salt
2 cups medium grain brown rice, rinsed 2 or 3 times
4 cups of water or lightly flavored vegetable broth

zest of one lemon
juice of one lime
2 cups cilantro, washed and chopped
2 big handfuls of spinach, washed and chopped
6 green onions, chopped

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat cook the garlic in the olive oil with the salt. Saute for just a minute and then stir in the rice until it is lightly coated with oil begins to toasted a bit, just 2-3 minutes. Add in the water/broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer slowly for 30 minutes or until the rice is tender, Fluff with a fork and then stir in the zest, lime juice, cilantro, spinach, and onions. Combine thoroughly and then taste. Stir in more salt a pinch at a time if needed.

Serves 4 to 6 generously.

Comments (2) | June 21 - 11:51 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

Here's a link (see below) to Jamie Oliver's Vegetable and Vegetarian recipe directory. The recipes range from a decadent eggplant and pepper-rice caponata to straight-forward quesadillas with salsa and guacamole. Other recipes listed include: Tray-Baked Artichokes with Almonds, Breadcrumbs and Herbs, Thai Watermelon Salad, Summer Chickpea Salad, and Potatoes with Sticky Parsnips - all vibrantly photographed and reasonably simple to prepare.

January 2008 Update: Jamie has updated his site and changed some of the recipes offered. You can find his new recipe collection here with some great new vegetable and vegetarian offerings.

Comments (0) | June 20 - 11:01 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

There are few things better than a perfect bowl of mixed (anti-oxidant packed) summer berries picked at the peak of ripeness. Give them a quick kiss with a spoon dipped in ever-so-slighty sweetened and just barely whipped cream - mmm. Heavenly. If you don't have perfect berries don't bother with this recipe. Actually, it hardly qualifies as a recipe. This is another one of those cases where patience, a good eye at the market, and a pocketbook is 90 percent of the challenge. The other 10 percent? A light touch with the berries, being able to spot berries that have gone over the ripeness hump to the other side (a bad berry can spoil the bunch), and a perfect setting in the shade.

Recipe: Summer Berries + Sweet Cream
1/2 cup organic heavy cream sweetened with a teaspoon of fine grain raw cane sugar and whipped until just loose and barely floppy

1 cup blackberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries

In a medium bowl gently combine all the berries serve with the sweetened whipped cream on the side. Feel free to skip the cream and serve the berries as a side to a bowl of oatmeal or granola and yogurt in the morning.

Serves 4.

Comments (0) | June 16 - 6:07 PM

category: Recipes, Superfoods

Now I know it isn't exactly prime citrus season with all the markets awash in stone fruits and all, but I wanted to point you to an article I wrote for Edible San Francisco earlier this year. It is a profile on Olsen Organic Farms and Ken and Kathy Olsen.

"Ken Olsen is a farmer - he is known for his clementines, navel oranges, and avocados. If the sun is warming the skins on his citrus, I promise you can smell them at ten feet. His wife, Kathy Olsen is a fourth-grade teacher - she is known for letting her students smell calming herbs during pop-quizzes. She is also known for her wonderful distillates - lime, navel orange, and orange blossom. You can imagine my surprise when she told me distilled orange blossoms were “definitely an aphrodisiac.” I guess you have to wait until you are thirty to get your fourth-grade teacher to tell you the good stuff..." (read more)

Comments (0) | June 15 - 12:49 PM

category: Interviews/Profiles, Recipes

It's cherry recipe season - time to stain those fingers and get your fill. For those of you who think pitting cherries is too time-intensive, take a clean pair of needle-nose pliers, send them straight through the side of the cherry, grip the pit twist 90 degrees and pull. You can make your way through a big bag in minutes.

Some tasty-sounding cherry-centric recipes:

Rice Pudding Cake with Cherry-Apricot Compote Recipe (Bon Appetit 1997)

Fresh Cherry Preserve Recipe (Sunset Magazine)

Fresh Summer Cherry Sauce Recipe (StarChefs)

Cherry Pie with Chocolate Lining and Almond Streusel Recipe (eGullet)

Comments (2) | June 7 - 9:46 AM

category: Recipes

It is funky fiddlehead season. Don't be intimidated. These tightly coiled green to purple shoots have an earthy, bright, delicious taste. They are only available for a short time each year so keep your eyes peeled - they couldn't be any simpler to prepare.

The guidelines: Look for tightly wound fiddle heads. If there is extra stem beyond the coil, give it a trim. Rub any of the papery chaff off by hand. Dunk and swish on a bowl of water to get rid of any dirt or grit. Cook fiddleheads as you might asparagus - blanched, steamed, grilled, sauteed, etc - but don't eat them raw. Use as quickly as possible after harvesting.

Fiddlehead Recipes:

Stir-fried Fiddleheads (Stephencoks)

Creamy Fiddlehead Soup (via Natalie MacMaster)

Fiddlehead Fern Salad with Enoki

Spring Fiddleheads

Grilled Roots with Fiddleheads and Greek Dressing

Comments (0) | April 22 - 1:15 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

Jill Nussinow's account of the Seaweed Convivium in Anderson Valley last month.

I spent the weekend of March 4th and 5th at a Seaweed Convivium. I do realize that seaweed is a foreign substance for most people who think that it ought to stay in the ocean from whence it came. But I have harvested it before on the very clean Sonoma coast and I wanted to learn more -- about it's nutritional and possible therapuetic effects, and how to use it in cooking. And that's what I did.... ( read more )

Jill also posts a seaweed-centric recipe that has crowd-pleaser written all over it: Soba with Green Soybeans and Sea Vegetables.

Comments (0) | April 6 - 1:20 PM

category: Events, Recipes, Superfoods

A sampling of tasty-sounding spring onion recipes.

- Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad with Spring Onion Dressing (recipe)

- Potted Cheese with Spring Onion, Marjoram, Parsley (recipe)

- Spring Onion Pancakes (recipe)

- Lettuce and Spring Onion Soup (recipe)

- A Gratin of Gnocchi with Watercress and Spring Onion Salad (recipe)

- Spring Onion, Sweet Pea and Asparagus Risotto from Bridget Batson of Hawthorne Lane (recipe)

- Spring Onion Soup (recipe)

Comments (1) | March 28 - 11:11 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

Mesquite is one those fantastic ingredients that is simply not on the radar of most kitchen dwellers. In addition to its distinct, warm, soft-edge spiciness, many people are excited about the nutritional profile of mesquite. The flour or meal that comes from ground mesquite pods is rich in protein, magnesium, potassium, fiber, high in lysine, and low on the GI-index. Mesquite is gluten-free, so you should start by substituting a small percentage of mesquite flour for the regular flour in your favorite baked goods. You can also simply use it as a seasoning.

We've been enjoying the finely milled Namibian and Peruvian mesquite flour from San Pedro Mesquite Company, they also have a downloadable e-book full of mesquite recipe ideas like the cornbread recipe below.

If you are interested in reading more on harvesting desert foods take a look at this native desert foods site (also has a tasty looking mesquite pancake recipe). The Desert Harvesters website is also fascinating and informative.

Mesquite Cornbread

3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup mesquite meal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup buttermilk

optional: 1 cup corn, 3/4 cup grated jack cheese, 3 tablespoons minced onion, or 1 tablespoon chipotle flakes.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix wet ingredients and stir into dry ingredients until just combined. Add optional ingredients if desired. Spread onto a greased and preheated 8x8 pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serves 8.

Comments (1) | March 3 - 6:23 PM

category: Recipes, Superfoods

Everyone loves Rancho Gordo's stunning range of heirloom beans. Now RG fans can order up two of our favorite grains as well - quinoa and amaranth. Both products are hand-harvested, less than six months old, and come from small growers in Bolivia. Here's how to use quinoa in the Rancho Gordo manner, enjoy!

Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo on Quinoa

To make the quinoa, rinse it in cool water and strain. Saute some onion and garlic in a small pot and when soft, add the rinsed quinoa and water. One part quinoa deserves two parts water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes. It's that simple. My lovely cousin Eden Epling, who grew up in Latin America, tells me she likes to add finely chopped, almost minced, peppers to the onion and garlic.

Comments (2) | February 17 - 11:21 PM

category: Recipes, Whole Grains

One more favorite springtime asparagus recipe for you - this is a weekend standby, good for days when the sun is shining and you are ready to dust off the grill after winter really starts to fade.

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Goat Cheese Vinaigrette

1 bunch organic asparagus, washed, with the woodsy ends trimmed off

1 large shallot, minced (2-3 tablespoons)
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
1/2 cup of mild flavored extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste ( a couple pinches of each)

1/4 cup good-quality crumbly goat cheese

Fire up your grill. You are going to put the asparagus and seasoning inside a foil pocket, and cook it until the asparagus is just barely tender. The biggest risk when you are grilling asparagus in a pocket, on a grill, is over-cooking - you end up with limp, soggy spears.

Make the vinaigrette: Combine the shallots, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a jar. Shake or whisk well until combined.

Make the foil pocket: Tear off a large piece of aluminum foil (sometimes it makes sense to double layer the foil, but at the same time it feels a bit wasteful). If you do single-layer, just be extra careful because you don't have as much packet structure going on and off the grill. Arrange the asparagus on the foil (make sure you have enough foil to fold over the stalks into a pocket) and then drizzle with a few generous tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss the stalks a bit to get them coated, and then decide if you want to add the goat cheese now (gets super melty) or later (maintains more structure, is more of an accent). Seal up your foil pouch - folding over and sealing the edges. Poke a few holes in the pouch to let the stem out, and place it on the grill. You don't want the asparagus to burn - so place the pocket off to the side a bit or up on a shelf if you have one. Check inside the pocket after about 8 minutes (be careful it is hot), and then decide if you need to seal it back up and cook for longer.

Plate the asparagus, and taste for seasoning. You might want to drizzle more vinaigrette on the spears before serving, and add the goat cheese if you didn't add it to the pocket before cooking.

Serves four.

Comments (1) | February 16 - 3:38 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

The slow cooker has been experiencing quite a revival over the past few years. People are dusting them off after decades of neglect in the back-country of kitchen cabinets (next to the fondue sets). Queen of the Slow Cooker, Judith Finlayson offers up over 100 health-concious recipes in her new book, The Healthy Slow Cooker. Have a look at this Basmati Rice Pudding recipe. There are over 500,000 copies of Judith's books in print, so she must be onto something!

Slow Cooker Basmati Rice Pudding

Judith's author notes: The cardamom in this pudding provides an irresistible Indian flavor. I like to serve it at room temperature, but it also works warm or cold. If you're feeling indulgent, add a little cream.

Works best in a small (3-1/2 quart) slow cooker
Lightly greased slow cooker stoneware

4 cups whole milk or enriched rice milk, 1 L
1/3 cup Demerara or evaporated cane juice sugar, 75 mL
2 teaspoons ground cardamom, 10 mL
3/4 cup brown basmati rice, rinsed, 175 mL
Chopped unsalted pistachio nuts

In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to a boil, stirring often. Add sugar and cardamom. Remove from heat and stir in rice. Transfer to prepared slow cooker stoneware.

Place a tea towel folded in half (so you will have two layers) over top of stoneware to absorb moisture. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours, until rice is tender and pudding is creamy. Transfer to a serving bowl and cool to room temperature. Garnish with pistachios.

Makes 8 servings.

Comments (1) | February 9 - 9:15 AM

category: Book Reviews, Recipes

Flecked with citrus zest and shallots, vibrant tasting, and delicious - this vinaigrette is an easy way to get a a jolt of winter citrus flavor into your salads, pastas, roasted vegetables, or sauteed specialties.

A few ideas: you can gently heat the dressing and toss it with spinach for a warm, slightly wilted dinner salad. Use the vinaigrette as a marinade before grilling, or drizzle over hot-out-of-the-oven roasted sweet potatoes. It's also irresistible over big, cheese-stuffed ravioli.

Citrus Vinaigrette

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 large heavy orange, zest and juice
1 tablespoon shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon white wine or champagne vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or half reg. + half lemon oil)
2 pinches fine-grain sea salt

In a medium bowl or jar, combine the grated Parmesan, orange zest and juice, and the shallots. Whisk in the white wine vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil and finish by seasoning with salt and pepper.

Makes about 2/3 cup.

Comments (0) | January 27 - 9:32 PM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg

Caffe Classico has released a new line of acai-based sorbets under their Belizza brand. For those of you who've never tried an acai-based product, the flavor is rich and deeply berry flavored - some say with hints of chocolate, but I often taste a smooth vanilla finish as well. All the sorbets are non-dairy, creamy in texture, packed with nine essential amino acids and a boost of natural anti-oxidants. Retail price per pint will set you back about five bucks.

24 ounce Acai Smoothie

4 to 6 ounces Belizza Scoopable Acai
10 ounces apple juice
2 ounces frozen banana
4 ounces frozen blueberry or strawberry
4 ounces ice

Blend for about 20-30 seconds and serve.

Acai Energy Bowl

Scoop 6 ounces of Belizza Acai into a bowl. op with 1/2 to 1 sliced fresh banana. Sprinkle with granola and serve.

Comments (2) | January 23 - 2:30 PM

category: New Products, Recipes, Superfoods

Celestial Seasonings has teamed up with ten female chefs to raise awareness about heart disease - the number one killer of women in the United States. They've launched a multi-pronged promotion that involves announcing two new tea flavors, giving away free tea-centric cookbooks, and something quirky about lapel pins you can send away for with coupons.

When it all washes out it looks like you've got the following: new flavors - Vanilla Rose Decaf and Black Cherry Pomegranate. A cookbook that is available for free (while supplies last): Call 1-866-211-0374, toll-free. (Why they don't offer up a downloadable PDF version of it, we have no idea)...And if they have a lot oof interest in the pins, there is the potential for CS to donate up to $100,000 to WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease.

The free cookbook, From Teapot to Table Top features tea-centric recipes like Fresh Asian Shrimp Rolls, Moroccan Spiced Apricot Chicken, Lemon Zinger Gingerbread and Red Dress Vanilla Rose Pound Cake (recipe below).

This Vanilla Rose Pound Cake was contributed to the project by Emily Luchetta, Executive Pastry Chef of Farallon restaurant in San Francisco. While the irony of a pound cake being included in a heart-healthy promotion is not lost on us - this recipe does seem to have a good percentage less buttery goodness than most pound cakes.

Vanilla Rose Pound Cake

1 tablespoon bread crumbs
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Rose Decaf Black Tea (loose- tear open one bag and use contents)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 ounces (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Grated rind from 2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Dust the bottom and sides with the bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in the tea and salt.

Cream the butter until smooth. Slowly add the sugar and mix until smooth and light in texture. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

In a measuring cup, stir together the milk, lemon juice and grated lemon rind. In three additions, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter mixture, making sure the batter is combined before adding the next.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean - about fifty minutes. Cool and then unmold by inverting the cake and pan onto a cutting board.

Slice and serve the pound cake by itself or with ice cream or Chantilly Cream.

High Altitude (3,500 - 6,500 ft): Decrease butter to 8 tablespoons and increase eggs to three. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for about 45 minutes.

Makes 12 servings.

Comments (2) | January 20 - 4:43 PM

category: New Products, Recipes, Superfoods

A fantastic, comforting, cold-weather vegetable, the orange-fleshed sweet potato is off-the-charts rich in beta-carotene, as well as a host of other antioxidants. The sweet potato is thought to be a beneficial food in many regards, fending off many diseases, and lung cancer in particular. For more information on the studies in relation to the health benefits associated with sweet potatoes, read this.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Lime + Cilantro

4 pounds sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch chunks
5 tablespoons unsalted, organic butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
a couple pinches of pepper
1 cup fresh cilantro, well washed and chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Zest of one lime
More salt and pepper to taste

To a large pot of boiling water add the sweet potatoes. Cook until they are soft but not falling apart, about 35-40 minutes. Drain the potatoes well and return them to the pot. Mash together with the butter, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Just before serving, mix in the chopped cilantro, lime juice and zest, then salt and pepper again to taste.

Big pot of potatoes. Will serve 6 to 8.

Comments (0) | January 17 - 1:59 PM

category: Recipes, Superfoods

Flax seeds - toast them, grind them into a flour or meal, or eat them raw. This is a seed that gives you lots of options depending on what you are after. Before you get started, there are a few things you should know about integrating flax seeds into your cooking and eating.

The seeds are tiny, delicate and glossy with a high percentage of oil in each seed. This oil in turn is high in beneficial (but delicate) omega-3 fatty acids. Flax seeds show potential cancer-fighting ability and have many other beneficial qualities that you can read more about here.

So, what do you do with it? Particularly if you are interested in integrating it into your diet as a whole food, rather than taking it as a supplement.

Using flax seeds whole: The first thing you need to know if you are going to eat whole flax seeds - get ready to chew. And chew. If you swallow them whole they are going to pass through you whole, and you will miss out on all their beneficial qualities. Toss them in salads, add them to homemade granola, sprinkle over roasted seasonal vegetables. Lots of amicable places to sprinkle flax seeds.

Using flax meal/flour: A more nutritious option than whole seeds, grind the flour as you need it. Grinding flax seeds fresh makes all the good stuff bio-available. Of course, the first urge you get when you have a ground nut or grain like this in front of you is to use it in baked goods. This is fine, just know that you aren't going to get as many of the nutritional benefits versus consuming the seeds freshly ground and uncooked. If you are just after the flavor or texture? Bake away. You can use a spice grinder or mini-processor to freshly grind the flax seeds and you will end up with a slightly oily meal. The general rule of thumb is that you can substitute about 1/4 of your regular flour with flax seed meal - and because of the high fat profile you can also cut back on other fats in recipes - but you will have to experiment. Vegans like to use the flax seed meal as an egg substitute (see below).

Using flax oil: We'll do a future post about all the delicious ways to use flax oil. For now, buy cold-pressed, refrigerated flax oil in dark, opaque bottles. This is an oil that goes rancid in about two seconds when exposed to light or air. If it smells bad it is time to toss it. Keep it refrigerated, and don't cook with it or heat it. No frying, sauteeing, etc. Start by drizzling stuff with a blend of flax oil and olive oil - soups, salads, etc.

Here is a roundup of flax recipes that are on our list to try:

- Herb Salad with Flax Seed Dressing ( recipe )

- Orzo, Lentil and Flax Soup ( recipe )

- Bulgur & Flax Pilaf ( recipe )

Flax seed egg substitute: 1 tablespoon ground flax seed plus 3 tablespoons water = one egg.

Please add any flax food tips you have to the comments - baking with flax meal, other ingredients it pairs nicely with, etc. With flax we are always learning.
Drawing by Franz Eugen Köhler, 1883

Comments (3) | January 8 - 9:54 AM

category: Recipes, Superfoods

There are a lot of reasons to crave wild rice. It is beautiful, nutty, and has a nice bite to it. It goes well with smoky foods and fruits, and somehow lends a sense of seriousness and sophistication to a plate - an element that is often hard to come by.

Look for wild-rice with extra-long grains, it's often the highest quality and a fun change from traditional-length rice grains. Have you seen the wild rice grains that are over an inch long!?

Here's a favorite wild rice recipe, a wild rice bowl with dried cranberries and toasted pine nuts.

Wild Rice Bowl with Dried Cranberries

2 cups wild rice, washed and drained
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan
1 cup red onions, slivered
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Garnish; more slivered red onions, crumbled Smart Bacon - both look beautiful next to the natural shades of the wild rice.

Fill a large pot pot with generously salted water. Add the wild rice and boil, uncovered for 55 minutes or so. You will know the rice is done when many of the grains are cracked open and tender, revealing the lighter inside.

Remove from the heat and drain off the water. Stir in the pine nuts, red onions, and dried cranberries. Garnish with more onions and the bacon.

This is fantastic served hot or cold.

Serves 4 to 6.

Comments (4) | January 4 - 11:09 AM

category: Recipes, Vegan / Veg, Whole Grains

The next time you are at your local Farmer's market, seek out the honey vendor and ask about bee pollen. Many cultures believe bee pollen has the ability to promote good health - there are even rumors of Russian beekeepers living to be upwards of 125 years old - on a diet primarily consisting of bee products. High-performance athletes swear by the power of pollen, and individuals suffering chronic problems often cite improvement after integrating bee pollen into their diet. Bee pollen is considered a complete food, one that provides all the nutrients needed to sustain life - all of the 22 essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, etc.

Pollen is collected from flowers and packed into small pellets that are carried on the hind legs of the honeybees back to the bee colony. Like honey itself, the pollen has a sense of "terroir" if you will - based on the types of flowers in the area. Pollen from different areas with have distinctly different flavor and color.

If you are interested in reading more about the production, medical uses, nutritional values, or are just curious about the life and anatomy of bees, an outstanding source is R. Krell's paper on Value Added Products From Beekeeping published in 1996 - the pollen section is specifically relevant to this post.

Pollen is best consumed raw to preserve as many nutrients as possible. A small percentage of the population are severely allergic to bee pollen (particularly if you are allergic to bees or other bee products). Start by trying a couple granules in your recipes, and then increase from there. There is a wide range of opinion about how much you should consume daily, being the strong stuff that it is, so do your research and ask around. Your local beekeeper is a great place to start. We take the conservative route and gradually topped out at around 1/2 a teaspoon a day.

When purchasing: Make sure the bee pollen you are buying comes from flowers that have not been sprayed with pesticides - which go on to concentrate in the pollen.

Storage: Fresh pollen stored at room temp loses its magic quickly, although freezing can delay this nutritional denigration. Store pollen in a cool dark place, buy in small quantities, and use quickly.

Five ways to integrate bee pollen into your favorite recipes.

1. Use as a garnish for soup: We like a pinch or two of pollen sprinkled as a garnish over warm (but not scalding hot) pureed soups.

2. Honey Bee Smoothie Recipe: Combine the following ingredients in a blender: 2 peaches or nectarines - sliced and frozen (about 2 cups), 1 banana - sliced and frozen (about 1 cup), 3 tablespoons of honey, and a pinch or two of fresh bee pollen. Puree until smooth - 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Whirl it into your favorite salad dressings: it pairs particularly well with honey mustard dressings, poppy seed dressings or any vinaigrettes with a bit of a sweet edge to them.

4. Folded into a honey gelato.

5. Sprinkled over herb-popped popcorn: Make a bowl full of air-popped popcorn and drizzle with a bit of warm butter, and a sprinkling of each of the following to taste: garlic powder, fine grain sea salt, dried dill. Finish with a pinch or two of bee pollen.

Bee Pollen photograph by F. Intoppa from R. Krell's Value Added Products From Beekeeping bulletin.

Comments (1) | January 1 - 1:03 PM

category: Recipes, Superfoods

Body + Soul Magazine does a nice primer on natural, homemade cold remedies. Plan ahead so you have some of these homebrews on hand when you actually come down with something:

Super Immune Support
Take 1/4- 1/2 tsp. per hour at symptom onset.
Solvent: 100-proof vodka/brandy
2 parts echinacea root, flower, and leaf
1 part turmeric
1 part cultivated goldenseal root (Use cultivated goldenseal; this herb has been over-harvested.)

Cold + Fever Fighter
Take 1/4-1/2 tsp. per hour at the onset of symptoms.
Solvent: 100-proof vodka/brandy
1 part elder flower and elder berry
1 part peppermint leaf
1 part yarrow flower and leaf

( Read More )

Comments (0) | December 28 - 5:06 PM

category: Recipes, Superfoods

Persimmons are the magical lanterns that light up the Autumn market. They put off a vibrant, electric orange that hurts your eyes if you look too hard. It is natural to want to stuff a few in your backpack and take them home with you, but what do you do from there? It is unfortunate, but all too often, people just don't know how to treat the persimmon right - the need the guidance of a few good persimmon recipes.

For a fantastic primer, start with Shuna Lydon's article on Bay Area Bites. She tells us what the difference is between two most common persimmon varieties - Fuyu and Hachiyas. She tells us how to know when they are prime for eating, and what to do with them. Or even better, pack up your car for a road trip to the Annual Persimmon Festival in Mitchell, Indiana next year.

Recipe Ideas:

- Drying Fuyu Persimmons
- Fuyu Bundt Cake Recipe
- Persimmon Oatmeal Cookie Recipe (scroll)
- Persimmon Salad with Fennel Recipe
- Persimmon Buttermilk Pudding Recipe
- Judy Rodger's Smoked Prosciutto & Fuyu Persimmon Recipe
- Persimmon Griddle Pancakes Recipe
- Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars & Cookies Recipe
- Spicy Persimmon Chutney Recipe
- Persimmon Tea Recipe

Comments (2) | December 5 - 5:00 PM

category: Lists, Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg

That's right, nature's broom. It's the name one of our Southern friends has for the mighty cranberry. Girls sip cranberry juice to fend off those not-so-fun urinary tract infections, and you've all seen the studies demonstrating the possible heart-healthy benefits of these rosy little tarts. As if all this isn't reason enough to pay more attention to cranberries year-round, a new study by dental researchers have discovered that cranberries may hold the secret for preventing cavities.

"Scientists believe that one of the main ways that cranberries prevent urinary tract infections is by inhibiting the adherence of pathogens on the surface of the bladder. Perhaps the same is true in the mouth, where bacteria use adhesion molecules to hold onto teeth..." Read the entire article.

Nature's broom, not just for your bladder anymore. Here are a few tasty ways to incorporate more cranberries into your diet. Julia's Cranberry Chutney Recipe, a Cinnamon Apple Crisp Recipe, and a Cranberry Rice Pilaf Recipe.

Comments (0) | November 22 - 12:59 PM

category: News, Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg

Teff packs a nutritional punch, and a serious one at that. Many believe Ethiopian runners owe their dominance in the long-distance running field to this tiny native African grain. And although many people have heard of teff, they often have no idea what to do with it. That's going to change - here are ten teff recipes we'd like to highlight.

For starters, you can buy teff as a miniscule whole grain, or as a flour - teff is gluten-free for those of you with allergies.

The grain used many different ways. Many Americans are familiar with one of its traditional Ethiopian uses - injera. This spongy, pancake-like bread has a consistency somewhere between a flatbread and a spongy crepe. I've also seen the teff grain used much like a baked
polenta, cut into wedges or into smaller squares that can be used as 'croutons' in soups and salads.

Like to bake quick breads, tarts, or galettes? Teff flour can be used as a substitute in baked goods and pancakes, quick breads, waffles, and
the like. Remember, it has no gluten so depending on what you are making you need to keep that in mind. Start by
substituting 25% teff flour, and then go from there.

Look for teff in your local natural foods store, or mail order it from The Teff Company. Photograph taken by Owen Barder while cycling through Ethiopia.

Teff Recipes:

- Teff Pudding Recipe
- Spicy Teff Pasta Recipe
- Teff Polenta Recipe
- Rebecca Wood's Corn Quiche in a Tef Crust Recipe
- Teff Gingerbread with Dates Recipe (scroll down):
- Teff Pie Crust Recipe
- Sweet Dried Teff Sprouts Recipe
- Teff Yogurt Pancake Recipe
- Apple Blackberry Crumb Pie Recipe

Comments (0) | November 21 - 7:57 AM

category: Lists, Recipes, Superfoods, Whole Grains

Body and Soul Magazine has a feature on the health benefits of spices in the current issue - perfect for cold weather cooking this time of year. The article also includes recipes for Cinnamon-Spiced Moroccan Chicken, Curried Coconut-Pumpkin Stew, Annatto Rice With Sausage and Tomato, Paprika Shrimp With Walnuts, and Turmeric Couscous With Grapes and Pine Nuts. Photography by Maria Robledo, excerpt below:

Turmeric: It's the spice that gives curry powder and mustard its deep yellow color. Rich in antioxidants, turmeric has long been used for healing in India. Lately turmeric has been the most newsworthy of spices; researchers discovered that it may fight cancer, and that it contains a host of other healthy properties, including inflammation-fighting compounds called curcuminoids. Studies show that curcuminoids may help prevent Alzheimer's disease, joint inflammation, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Turmeric may also help reduce cholesterol and improve certain eye conditions, as well as heal skin infections when used topically.

Ginger: For centuries, ginger has been used as a digestive tonic, an appetite stimulant, and a treatment for nausea caused by both motion sickness and morning sickness. Its active ingredients, gingerols and shogaols, help neutralize stomach acids. Research confirms ginger's anti-inflammatory properties; the spice shows promise in treating osteoarthritis and, topically, rheumatoid arthritis.

Cinnamon: From the bark of a tropical evergreen, cinnamon stimulates the vital functions of the body. It counteracts congestion, aids circulation, eases nausea, and may be useful in the treatment of osteoarthritis and type 2 diabetes.

< Read the complete article + recipes >

Comments (0) | November 20 - 10:48 AM

category: Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan / Veg