Healthy Eating

Domestic and international travel is a wonderful way to explore new cultures and foods. Last year, I had the privilege of exploring Northern Spain and Portugal. It was my first international trip since November 2019. I wanted to explore new territory and part of the enjoyment for any trip is eating new foods. I can…

When I was in middle school, I attended a summer camp in New Mexico (which was a long way from my hometown in Missouri) and was immersed in the culture, history, arts, traditions and people, as well as the outdoor beauty of the Four Corners in the Southwest. The camp was established in 1926 and…

I enjoy baking during the holidays. I find it calming and a great way to de-stress. Some folks find baking nerve-wracking. I understand the fear because baking is really a big chemistry experiment. But if you can follow a recipe you can bake and have tasty results! Of course there are always bad recipes floating…

Many families and friends do cookie swaps during the holidays. Everyone gathers together and brings one cookie recipe and at least a dozen cookies to share with each member of the group. Then everyone ends up going home with a broad selection of holiday treats. I grew up baking holiday cookies with my mother each…

During the holidays, it’s easy to eat rich and high-caloric foods. We’re visiting with family and friends as well as going to open houses and office parties, where we are treating ourselves to a wide assortment festive foods of the holidays. It’s all good — everything in moderation, right? Try not to demonize the foods…

It appears to be fall in the morning and summer by the afternoon. My garden seems to be happy with the changes, although it keeps calling out for some rain. We’re still harvesting raspberries (second crop), lettuce, carrots, beets, beans, squash, cucumbers, peppers and lots of tomatoes. This has been a bumper crop due to…

When most people think of pasta salad, they probably think of a restaurant in the 1980s with fake brick walls and hanging plants or perhaps a bland side dish at a community potluck meal. I am here to say that you can bring any pasta salad up to date as well as interesting with good…

I recognize that it’s almost officially summer. But it feels like “Juneuary” right now. I’m still bundled up. My new garden seems to be confused as well. Seedlings are slow to take off. I’ve lost a few of my tomato plants already (anyone knit sweaters for tomato plants?!) Some seeds which should take 10 days…

Rhubarb is one of the first things to emerge in my garden. It looks prehistoric as it emerges from the ground. Only the stalks of the plant are edible. The leaves contain toxins and high concentrations of oxalic acid. The stalks themselves are fleshy, sour, and acidic. While you can eat them raw, many people…

I have always loved a good peanut butter and jam sandwich. For me it’s the perfect hiking sandwich because you don’t have to worry about anything getting spoiled and I enjoy them smooshed out of my backpack! I’m not a fan of jelly, but I am lucky that our garden’s berry patches produce enough raspberries…

Edmonds is becoming a wonderful food destination. In the past few years there have been many new restaurants, cafes, bars and bakeries that have opened up around town. One of the most recent additions to open a brick and mortar store (after a few years of operating Pop-Up events) is the Cottage Community Bakery in…

We are in the midst of hearty soup weather. I make soup about twice per week from December to March. With a salad and slice of toast,  soup is the perfect winter meal for me. Sometimes I make “everything but the kitchen sink” soup which means that I use up leftovers from the fridge —…

As I get older, I seem to be more sentimental and nostalgic–especially in the kitchen around the holidays.  I grew up in the Midwest and every year my mother and I would start baking cookies right after Thanksgiving. We would make at least 12 different types of cookies or bars and by Christmas we had…

We have officially entered “soup season.” When it’s rainy and chilly outside there is nothing more comforting and nourishing than a bowl of hearty soup and a slice of bread slathered with butter. It’s a perfect meal at my house. The wonderful thing about soup is that you can whip up a pot of soup…

It’s hard to believe that this week we celebrate the first week of fall. It’s been a busy summer for me with mixed results in the garden. The heat certainly had a big impact on many of my plants, and it was challenging to keep up with all the watering that our vegetable garden required….

Baked rice is a dish that can be served as a side dish or a main dish. You can add extra veggies to the mix if desired–broccoli, carrots, peppers, snap peas come to mind. You can change up the type of nuts, beans and cheese to suit your tastebuds or to use what you have available in…

I woke up today and suddenly it is July. Wow. Last weekend felt like July not today, but I am grateful to feel a cool breeze once again. I hope that you–my readers–have come out on the other side of our epic heat dome. Pile that on top of a year plus long pandemic and…

I’ve grown slightly weary of cooking full deal meals.  My tendency these days is to prepare a big pot of soup or stew, a  casserole or a piece of protein and some sides that I can call dinner for at least two or three nights. Everyone is on their own for breakfast or lunch. Lately…

Spring is here and I am enjoying all the blossoms of the neighborhood daffodils, forsythia, daphne odora, sarcocca and more! I even spotted a pair of pileated woodpeckers routing around in our garden earlier this week. We’re waiting for a pair of chickadees to make a nest in our bird house again this year. My…

I recognize that many people reading the “Healthy Eating” column are not vegetarian and do not enjoy eating tofu. But my offering today is a recipe that uses tofu–and you won’t even know it’s there! For about 25 years I was a vegetarian (not vegan), but during my treatment for cancer I became very anemic…

During the pandemic, sourdough has become all the rage. People are home more; they are cooking more often, and social media has made sourdough the superstar of the baking world right now. So much so that people give their sourdough starters names as if they are new pets in the family. I have had a…

I have been working on several different recipes using items from my freezer and pantry. During the stay-at-home situation that we find ourselves living through, I am trying to use the food items that I have in my pantry and my freezer to avoid trips to the grocery store. I head to the grocery store…

I hope that everyone had a safe and lovely Thanksgiving holiday. I missed gathering with friends this year- — not only for the wonderful company and conversation but also for the variety of food that everyone brings. Family gatherings are steeped in food traditions, which makes them comforting and welcoming. In our house, my husband…