If you’re in the northern hemisphere, chances are it’s starting to feel a lot like fall: cooler, crisp, a little blustery; if you’re eating intuitively you’re probably beginning to crave more warm, comforting foods. Sweet, hearty root vegetables fit the bill perfectly this time of year.
Carrot cake holds a special place in my heart. Ever since I was little, I’d always pick the carrot cake muffin at the mall. What kid in their right mind would pick carrot cake!? This one, apparently. While all the other kids shoveled in the chocolate chip muffins, I sat with my carrot one, happy as a bunny.
After ringing in the New Year and rounding out this indulgent season of celebration, January tends to be a time for intention and diligence. Choices made with resolve at the beginning of the year—if done honestly—may be sustained throughout the year to
Nutmeg is native to Indonesia on the Spice Islands and grows on an evergreen tree known as Myristica fragrans. Its name is derived from the Latin word “mix,” meaning nut, and “muscat,” meaning musky. Nutmeg was exploited by a few traders who knew where the archipelago was located and they monopolized the market.
Some really effective herbal medicines are in the kitchen, and here in Part 1 are my favorite uses for myself and my clients. In Part 2 next week, we’ll flip things around and look at culinary uses for medicinals typically neglected in the kitchen. You can geek out more on how to use kitchen herbs and spices for health here and here. Remember that quality counts .
It’s easy to write-off sweet baked goods, especially the kind that come in packages from the grocery or convenience store. Often laden with excess sugar, salt, and fat, the common baked good has been unfairly demonized. With the use of real fruit, good quality butter, and whole wheat flour, these Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins with Chocolate Chips are as good for the soul as they are for your health.
Think food and poison together, and you’d probably come up with puffer fish that seems to kill an equal number of chefs and their ardent followers every year. But what about common foods in the kitchen?
So here let’s not mention the obvious pesticides, insecticides, additives and other cleaning and corrosive chemicals that can seep into food and kill us. The top seven poisons in the kitchen often come from food itself – vegetable, fruits, meat, and spices – they are all out to get us, or so it seems…
The first time I got my own place, I imagined a kitchen stocked full of all the dried herbs and spices I could possibly desire. I wanted to have everything on hand so no dish would go without. Hitting the spice aisle, I quickly realized I had no idea where to begin. Stocking up on spices for a new kitchen can be mind-boggling when you don't know where to begin -- not to mention expensive. Other than salt – which you’re using in nearly every dish – which herbs and spices are the most convenient to have on hand