Connecting the Dots™
between food...big flavor...& vibrant health!
My new year’s greeting: the Hummingbird
As many of you know, in addition to being a chef, author and educator, I’m an artist! My eye is drawn to the colors of food and to my beloved garden beyond my office window, where life changes moment to moment. I have a front row seat at my desk to watch hummingbirds dipping in and out of the flowers arrayed just outside. Hummingbirds symbolize the enjoyment of life and the lightness of being, as they are such magical, fleeting creatures, here and gone.
Gifts for the cooks on your list!
Here’s my list of best bets for giving:
The first thing you need to do is get YOURSELF a present! I encourage you to consider this thermos as a little indulgence for you. It has a special leak-proof seal, so you can press a button and it stays closed. It keeps liquid hot for 5 or 6 hours (!!!) and cold stays cold forever. I carry mine around in the winter filled with Magic Mineral Broth or tea. I fill it up with soup when I have an all-day workshop. You HAVE to have it. You have to take care of yourself first!
Your Gift Guide: The absolute best for 2016
I’m not just a cookbook writer, I’m a collector! I have a HUGE collection of cookbooks. Due to the limited real estate in my office, I prune it once a year and donate books to our public library, making way for new additions. I watch the new books coming out with an avid, discerning eye, happily choosing only the very best for my personal collection.
A beautiful gift
Wondering what to give family and friends this holiday season that is unique, beneficial and FUN? May I recommend my new Clean Soups Course? It’s filled with colorful videos about the art of broths, maximizing flavor, pre-prepping and cooking soup, along with an invitation to our private Facebook page where questions are answered and genius discoveries are shared!
Why give an online soup course? It’s the gift of health for people you love, without being pushy. It’s a toy for grown-ups, that will be enjoyed long after the holidays are over and that works well for both beginning and advanced cooks.
Giving thanks in changing times
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! Not only because it’s a culinary-centric holiday, but because having a day devoted to putting everything aside (whatever the dynamics!) and giving thanks with family and friends seems the ultimate kind of gratitude.
You can begin again at any moment
My dear friend and collaborator, who’s always been my mini-shaman, who tends to sprinkle that something something just when I need to hear it, did it again the other day.
I was starting to panic, a little. It was one of those days when I caught myself reaching too far, thinking that I can do everything at any time at the speed of light, like I’m not even human!
After listening to my verbal panic attack, my shaman friend said, “You can begin again at any moment. When you eat a healthier meal, you’re healthier. When you nurture yourself, you’re healthier. Care for yourself in this moment. Be healthier now.”
Ahhhh! That hit the spot.
The art of persuasion: getting your family on board with healthy eating
You might be all fired up about healthy eating… but what if your family’s not?
You’ve had the wake up call. You jumped on the scale and the numbers staring up at you were a little too high. Something slapped you in the face about how you are feeling (hello!), or your doctor sprung unhappy news. We can tell ourselves, I should eat healthy, I should eat healthy… but many of us need a jolt to make the shift.
Soup session with Mia Katz
Mia is my smart as a whip, 24 year old hipster niece who lives in Brooklyn, NY. When she came to visit me in California, she agreed to shoot a soup session with me, which was incredibly fun, since we started cooking together when she was 8 or 9. The first thing I taught her how to make was risotto.
Sweet potatoes: the happy food
After several years researching, writing and perfecting recipes for The Longevity Kitchen: Satisfying, Big-Flavor Recipes Featuring the Top 16 Age-Busting Power Foods, did I ever develop even MORE love and respect for sweet potatoes!
Soup Session with the extraordinary Marti Wolfson
Have you watched my recent Soup Session videos with my soup sister, Julie Burford and her granddaughter, Julia? They give you a lovely feel for the joy of stirring up soup with friends. This one is different; it’s a work session with my colleague Marti Wolfson, a gifted chef/educator who teaches chefs and health care professionals, offers corporate seminars, and workshops and, to the point here, is a very special personal chef.
5 Ways to Make Your Favorite Soup Even Better — and 5 soups to try!
Every chef has a specialty, a food realm in which she has unique creativity. Mine is soup! And the good news is I love sharing my secrets.
Cooking for one
When I first started my cooking career and I was cooking for clients, the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was cook for myself. But knowing the value of healthy foods, I made a pact with myself to make a delicious and nourishing meal after coming home from my busy day. How did I do it? I learned to be prepared.
Transition Time: from Late Summer to Fall
Today is the first day of Autumn, officially the Autumnal Equinox. However, we’re not really into fall yet; we’re in transition time, which is the perfect time to prepare!
Soup Session #2: cooking with Julia!
In preparation for the launch of my new Clean Soups cookbook this week (yay!!!), we’ve created videos of me cooking soups with some of my dear friends and colleagues — to show you how creative and FUN it can be making soups with friends in the kitchen!
The soul of soup: cooking with my Soup Sister
My new Clean Soups book comes out next week (!!!) I’m excited to share with you the first of what we’re calling the Soup Sessions, videos in which I’m behind the stove with dear friends, family and colleagues stirring up new recipes from the book.
Soup sublime: my new book baby!
In my mind’s eye, I can still see the little girl who learned to make soup while sitting atop the yellow formica kitchen counter, watching in wonder as three generations of women worked their culinary magic over my Ma’s flame-enameled Le Creuset cast iron soup pot.
Summer delights with basil!
Just as asparagus means spring, basil means summer to me. I first met basil when pesto sprang onto the food scene as the absolute latest in pasta sauces — an indulgence even I could afford on my working girl’s salary in NYC. And pesto was not only budget-friendly, but easy to make in quantity and freeze to suit my busy lifestyle.
Show & Tell: The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen Course
I’m SO pleased to announce that we’ve brought my award-winning book The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen to life as a new online course launching next week! Colorful videos and handouts SHOW you how to prepare delicious, cancer-fighting recipes and teach you the skills you’ll need to support healing right in your own kitchen.
Eat Complete: A whole foods prescription
I’m here with a hearty shout-out to Dr. Drew Ramsey’s new book, Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients That Fuel Brainpower, Boost Weight Loss and Transform Your Health. In my opinion, this is a MUST have: a whole foods prescription, written by a leading brain expert, farmer, cook, and founder of National Kale Day! And the book is beautiful.
My sweet spot with food
I turned 55 this week! I feel UNBELIEVABLY grateful that I get to do what I do in the realm of food and healing, and for the opportunity to keep learning something new along the way.