Parade.com: Let Them Eat (More) Kale!

“Let Them Eat Kale” by Julia Mueller

There are kids named “Kale,” and it’s not their nickname. Specialty fast food restaurants prominently feature locally grown kale. Some people are panicking about a pending kale shortage. Other people—unaffected by the news of a shortage—casually blitz kale into smoothies, simmer with smoked meat, toss with salads, and more. People can’t get enough of this trendy green.  Read more

Parade.com: Let the Hip Girl’s Guide You to an Organized Kitchen and a Delicious Granola

Brown Sugar and Honey Granola

Learning about healthy eating can be an adventure. You make a weekly menu that looks more appetizing than pizza being delivered, and a long grocery list to go with it. You explore the aisles of the grocery store. You carry home bags of groceries.

But for beginner cooks, the adventure of learning to eat healthy often ends at the doorway of the kitchen. The reason: Their kitchens are organized for reheating packaged frozen meals, while drawers are stuffed with take-out delivery menus, condiment packages, paper plates and plastic utensils.

Don’t give up so easily. There’s a book explaining all one needs to know about a kitchen.

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Say Yassss to Spring

Baked Eggs in Harissa Spice Tomatoes Sauce with Quinoa and Kale

Say yasssssss to Spring being around the corner, especially after we had one too many snowstorms this past winter. As I’m writing this, we’re due for another snowstorm (or dusting) the next day. Usually my refrigerator is packed with flour, buttermilk, orange juice, eggs and maple syrup for a pancake breakfast. This time, there will be no pancakes to celebrate another snowflake.

Overlooking the buttermilk, I remove left over red quinoa from a salad made earlier in the week. I find other ingredients for a quick breakfast: Crisp baby kale, a new jar of harissa spice, fresh thyme and plenty of eggs. On a whim, a savory tomato and egg dish with a bit of harissa spice was made.

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Parade.com: Snow Day? Get Cozy with this Hearty Celery Root and Ricotta Frittata

Celery Root and Ricotta Cheese Frittata

For those of us who live in the Northeast and other wintry areas, the year started out delicious… and frigid as we were hit with a snowstorm. The subways ran local (slow), schools closed, and most area businesses shut down. In our house, we had enough food from New Year’s Day (we enjoyed eating this Black-Eyed Pea and Kale Salad with Chickpea Vinaigrette) to have a relaxing, do nothing-type of day, in which no one had to cook. Read more

A Twist of the Original: Quince Apple Skillet Pancake

Quince Apple Skillet Pancake

The quince apple was hard. Immediately letting me know this isn’t a fruit to eat while running out the door to work or as a midday snack. It needed to be cooked down with a roast chicken, in a cobbler, pie or an apple skillet pancake. It had a beautiful floral and fruity fragrance, a scent that took my memory to perfumes and candles using quince in their blends. One large quince apple was purchased with a bag of organic tart Granny Smith Apples.  Read more