Feature Archives - Page 104 of 105

Strawberry Jam Spelt Flaxseed Muffins

March, April, May, June, Blink, September. Am I right??? It’s ridiculous! And just like that, everyone is frantic getting organized for back to school. Backpacks, haircuts, sneakers, lunch boxes, school supplies and of course, proper meals. My son’s school has not started yet, so we have a little more time. But in anticipation of school starting anew, I starting nesting like I am about to have a baby. There’s stock to be made, cookie dough to be rolled into logs, granola to be baked and muffins to stash in the freezer. It’s like the Amazing Race, back-to-school episode!

Dinner Planner- Week of August 22nd

I just returned from Dallas and boy oh boy do I need some of my own cooking! Dallas is a great food town, but my husband seems to direct us towards a lot of barbecue and biscuits. Yikes! Green juice is my breakfast this morning and then I am headed by myself for a little restorative time at the Golden Door in Escondido. This mama needs a few days to recover from finishing my book and moving two kids into college this week. I’ll set up my husband and Mr. Picky with a few basics in the fridge, but I’ll be resetting my system with clean, organic food and some much needed rest. I’ll post on Instagram and Facebook if you’d like to come hang out with me. 🙂

Five Friday Favorites- 8.19.16

Hi y’all!! Greetings from Dallas! I am still here moving the girls in. One down, one to go, and eating lots of good stuff in between. Check out Instagram or Facebook to follow along. I have some goodies I wanted to share with you today in my latest Five Friday Favorites!

Dinner Planner: Week of August 8th

I’ve been through a range of cooking experiences over the past month, from teaching my daughter how to cook for herself to cooking for my family to cooking for 15-24 people every day while I am on Long Island. Such different strategies, but it all still requires planning ahead. In preparation for my trip back East, I took a few minutes on the plane to jot down a schedule of what to make for lunch and dinner. This year I decided I wasn’t waking up early to make everyone breakfast. 😉 It has helped tremendously and allowed me to relax much more. Plus, anyone can look at the schedule and not have to ask, “what’s for dinner???”

Here’s a great week of summer dinners to help you get organized this week:

Dinner Planner: Week of June 20th

Oh, how I love summer cooking! The farmers markets are so full of the most insanely delicious produce right now. If you are not seeing tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and peaches in your area, you will be soon! This is the first week I am not making school lunch, so can I just say WOO HOO to that?!

Here’s a great dinner plan to kick off summer:

Dinner Planner: Week of May 16th

Holy moly, the end of the school year is upon us and doesn’t it feel like there are so many events being crammed in at the last minute? It’s such a busy time of year and it’s flying by. Speaking of flying by, my younger daughter had her prom this weekend and I. JUST. CAN’T. BELIEVE. IT. Fun, exciting, wonderful, but life goes by really quickly. My older daughter is home from college for the summer and we have been super busy in the kitchen. She wants to learn how to cook practical things, so I showed her how to make cauli-rice, roast sweet potatoes, grill salmon, make salad dressing, wash produce, hold a knife, and more. And that was all in three days! She’s going to be a pro by the time she goes back to school. 🙂

News flash for everyone who doesn’t live in Southern California: locally grown stone fruits have made it into our farmers markets and grocery stores! I bought peaches, apricots, and nectarines this week and although they’re small, it means summer is coming and that’s a reason for me to do a happy dance! I’m sure they’ll be coming to you very soon.

Dinner Planner: Week of April 18th

I have a crazy busy week coming up with classes, deadlines, getting read for my trip to Dallas which will include a class at my friend Lisa’s house and participating in my daughter’s sorority’s mom weekend, annnnnd getting all the desserts prepared in advance for the Passover seders which I will obviously be missing. Sitting down on the weekend to spend a little time planning the meals for the week is my lifesaver.

If you are celebrating Passover, please check out my post from last year which detailed my Passover seders including my timelines. Enjoy!

Cassoulet-Style Chicken and Sausage Recipe

Did you notice a French theme happening on the blog? As soon as I remembered the French onion soup recipe I taught a few years ago, it also occurred to me that I had never posted this chicken and white beans recipe which I developed for a teaching trip in Southwest France many years ago. Cassoulet is an incredible, hearty French dish (actually it refers to the recipe as well as the vessel it’s cooked in) with duck confit and sausages and chicken and white beans all stewy and luscious together. It also requires tons of time, like at least a full day +. And I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but it’s not realistic for me or most of the universe to spend that much time on dinner.

So I came up with a version that can be made quickety quick on a weeknight and although it doesn’t have the richness and depth of a traditional cassoulet (which coincidentally was posted in the New York Times this week by Sam Sifton — check it out here), this one is also lighter and more in line with how I like to eat, i.e. not feeling super weighed down like I need a 3-hour nap after I eating, which is what I did after I ate real cassoulet in France.