While lush summer berries and melons are frequently enjoyed as fruit salad, it is a mystery to me why seasonal fall fruits don’t get the same treatment. I’m trying to change that by tempting you with this salad made of the season’s bounty, including...

Get excited…. today cauliflower gets made over with a flavor explosion! Cauliflower naturally gets sweeter as it roasts and its flavors concentrate. If you’re like me, you will find yourself spooning the crunchy cashew-panko topping right into your mouth. Then there’s the dip. Well,...

 Start the day the healthy way with breakfast casserole When it comes to breakfast, I rely on a multitude of mix-and-match quick-fix basics, including hard-boiled eggs, fruit, oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt, toast, frozen waffles, or perhaps even one of my make-ahead breakfast cookies. But for holidays,...

Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie. All of these orange-hued, holiday-spiced foods excite me this time of year, signaling that Thanksgiving and Christmas are near. Since most pumpkin offerings are sweet, I thought it would be fun to cook a pumpkin from scratch and...

Grape expectations for autumn salad Now that tomato season has ended, we need a satisfying substitute for this quintessential salad ingredient. Fortunately, California grape season is in full swing, from late spring through December. I keep grapes on hand for snacking, but with their sweet, juicy pulp and...

Cauliflower season peaks late fall through early spring, so I decided to get creative and use it in this soup. Preliminary data shows a link between the turmeric in yellow curry and reduced risks for inflammation, improved heart health and cognitive function, providing more important...

I became very picky about risotto after cooking it day after day at Mary Elaine’s (R.I.P.) at The Phoenician. Freshly made, well-executed risotto should be pourable, not sticky or firm, and it should also be eaten immediately. There’s no way around the watchful hour...

I have fond memories of sitting at my grandma’s kitchen table as a child eating piles of classic shrimp cocktail on New Year’s Eve. While I still look forward to the classic on special occasions and Sunday dinners, my updated version of the recipe might...

This is a revised version of a recipe published on August 18, 2011. My husband makes an appearance in the kitchen to cook the evening meal on occasion and one of his latest creations is his mashed potato recipe for Sunday dinner. His version cuts out the heavy cream,...

While simple sautéed spinach with garlic is frequently on my stovetop, I like to mix it up every once in awhile. This recipe rivals steak house creamed spinach, but is much lower in saturated fat, cholesterol and calories. If you’re a lover of goat cheese, substitute spreadable...