If you haven’t been reading my blog for long, you may or may not know that I love to run. I’m no speedy Gonzalez or ultra-runner. Far from them. Instead, I run for the love of nature, the sheer physicality of it, and because it clears my mind of clutter and opens me up to…
Tag: tips
20 ways to eat well and save money
Are you looking for ways to eat more healthfully this coming year, but are concerned about the cost? Here are 20 ideas for helping you eat delicious food while also managing your time and your budget: . Plan your menu for the week and minimize waste by buying only what you need. Shop at ethnic grocery stores…
Persimmons: Adding color to wintery days
It’s been unseasonably warm in Salt Lake so far this winter…I was able to go out without so much as a sweater until this week. The snow fall has me yearning for a summery day. Until that day comes, in-season pomegranates and persimmons are the perfect way to punctuate my days with color. We do have native…
The Joys (and how-to’s) of Shopping at Ethnic Food Markets
The first time I walked into an Indian grocery store, I couldn’t tell coriander from my elbow. It took years of reading, being introduced to ethnic restaurants, and cooking experiments to build up familiarity and confidence with coriander and the multitude of other spices and flavors this world has to offer. Today, I not only shop…
Broadening the Idea of Breakfast: Not just your typical morning meals
I’ve been out of it – focus, sleep, the internet, even the country. Hopefully, it didn’t really seem like I was gone. But, I was….to the farthest reaches of China near the Mongolian, Russian, and Kazakh borders. It was an amazing trip, that I will be sharing over the next couple of weeks. The only…
6 Ways to Play With Your Food (Or How to Conduct Kitchen Experiments)
Last week, I posted a picture on Facebook and Google+ of a dish I improvised with some roast chicken and other ingredients I had on hand. Shredded roast chicken with pomelo pieces, unsweetened coconut flakes, red peppers, green onions, and minced garlic. A dressing of almond butter, chili flakes, coconut aminos and fish sauce. Arugula…
Super Simple Stir-fry Formula
My first recipe experiments were in a shared dorm hall kitchen during my freshman year of college. Unfortunately, those meals were mostly forgettable. What I do remember is that my neighbor, homesick for her native Korea, thought I made the perfect taste-tester. She would cook dishes that were unfamiliar and exotic to my rural Utah…
Poached Salmon in Foil Packets – Two Days, Two Ways
I was browsing. Just trying to mind my own business. But, then I heard a deep voice – a la Michael Clarke Duncan – ask, “What’s for dinner?” Standing next to me was the butcher – as imposing as his voice, arms crossed as if proudly surveying the meat, poultry, and seafood refrigeration units that…
Reinventing Chiles en Nogada Soup-Style
Deconstruct: To break something down into its component parts. For a recipe, this means looking at the recipe and determining the essential ingredients – the ones that make the dish unique, satisfying, and flavorful. Deconstruction is one of my favorite ways to reinvent a dish when I want to experience its flavors AND tailor the…
How to Roast Red Peppers
I’ve roasted peppers a number of ways over the years – over a gas flame, in the grill alongside chicken, in a pan on the stove… But, the way that works best, is the way that works for most vegetables: roast them in the oven. It not only creates great blistering, but the tenderness of…
How to cut a mango
I looooove mangos! All varieties. My favorite thing to do is take a very ripe mango, roll it around until the flesh is pulverized and juicy, and then poke a straw through the skin to drink it. I don’t do this as much in Utah – where mangoes arrive green – as I did in Venezuela…
How do I love thee, citrus? Let me count the ways!
I had a completely different plan in mind for this week’s blog post than what I ended up writing – like a lot of people, I was going to make something “Super Bowl-ish”. The thing is, I’m not much of a football fan. I am crazy about citrus, though. Earlier this week, I went to a…
How to Roast Beets
Beets are beautiful – raw or roasted! This bunch of big, beautiful, brilliant beets was tossed casually onto the table. Disregarded. Late afternoon sunlight warmed the leaves, leaving them languid. Raw beets? Yeah! Beets are one of the most amazing additions to juice. If you have a juicer, add this to your recipes….
Gluten-free Friendly Thanksgiving Ideas
Well, it’s that time of year again – cooler weather, celebration, and that feeling of dread that so many of us feel when faced with big holiday gatherings full of social pressure and off-limit foods at every turn. With Thanksgiving coming up here in the U.S., I had thought to invite my immediate family over,…
Car Camping and the Next Day Frittata
My husband and I love camping, and eating well while camping. Back in the pre-GFDF days, this meant we ate a lot of home-made garlic, cheese bread cooked in the coals at dinner, bagel sandwiches and granola bars for long hikes, and pancakes and eggs for breakfast. These days, the food may be even better….
25 Quick and Easy Gluten-free and Dairy-free Snacks
I love snacks. I’m what you might call a forager or grazer, eating here and there throughout the day. And, when I am not at home, I have a back-up plan. Back in the day, I had a drawer full of snacks that could rival your best grocery store selection…from soup to nuts, literally. And,…
Ode to Leftovers (and why they are great for people with gluten and dairy allergies)
I sometimes think that leftovers get a bad rap. Sure, there’s the occasional meal that is so good we can’t wait to eat it again the next day. But, often, we just feel guilty for not eating all of what we prepare, and relegate the uneaten portion to some dark corner of the fridge. …