Holiday season is here with wonderful flavors we look forward to all year long. The dilemma is how to enjoy holiday foods and beverages without going over the top on sugar, salt, fat and calories. Now, that's not easy! My best advice is to keep it simple -- even at holiday time. Here are some winners for flavor and nutrition that would fit your holiday table as well as they fit mine. Please feel free to share your menu for a simple holiday feast in a comment! A Simple & Tasty Feast for the Holidays Center of the plate: Roast turkey with pan juice - toss out the skin and the … [Read more...] about Holiday Choices

  If you are a reluctant veggie eater then please listen up! A simple cooking method called, oven roasting, is here to change your mind. For me, it was about 6 years ago that I first tasted homemade, roasted vegetables, and I will forever be grateful that I did.What I like about them is colors, flavors, sweetness, ease and variety. What I dislike is,well...nothing. Here's how: Turn on the oven to 425 degrees.Wash and cut up some veggies such as butternut squash, red skinned potatoes, onions, sweet peppers of all colors, zucchini, sweet potatoes and broccoli into bite-size chunks. I … [Read more...] about Roasting Veggies this Fall

There is nothing that says 'fall' more than pumpkins. Not only are they beautiful, but they come in very handy for healthy and tasty eats in the home kitchen. I carve a smiling jack-o-lantern  each year for Halloween and then, a few weeks later, add it to my compost bin. The pumpkin that I cook with is simple, canned, solid pack pumpkin. It is easy-to-find at the grocery store, affordable and made from one, natural ingredient: pumpkin. Almost everything tastes better with pumpkin added to it or made from it like pumpkin soup,  pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pie. Two of my  favorites are … [Read more...] about Pumpkin in the Kitchen

There are so many scrumptious and healthful ways to use pumpkin in the kitchen. Some people cut up a fresh pumpkin and use it in their kitchen recipes. Others buy the canned, solid pack pumpkin which can be kept on hand for whenever the pumpkin mood strikes. Two favorite, easy recipes leap to my mind. One uses fresh and the other uses canned pumpkin. Please give them a try. Roasted Pumpkin & Onions: Cut fresh pumpkin into bite-size chunks. Cut an onion into chunks or slices. Toss both veggies in a bowl with a little olive oil, pinch of salt, pepper and rosemary. Lay out on a baking … [Read more...] about More Pumpkin Ideas for the Kitchen

I harvested all of my home-grown basil last weekend on a sunny, 75 degree day. It was an hour of pure fun for me since I don't mind getting my finger nails dirty...in fact, I like it. There are so many ways to use this luscious summer herb, so a bumper crop of basil is no problem at all. First, I washed all the leaves well -- a must to remove dirt and an occasional insect. Then, I measured out many packed cups of basil leaves to make a double batch of my favorite, easy pesto recipe, shown below. Typically, I refrigerate one small container of pesto to use up within a couple days on pasta or … [Read more...] about Harvesting Basil