Photo: Ashley Beck

The word Sláinte, a popular toast in Ireland, literally translates to “health”. With that in mind and St. Patrick’s day  coming up on Sunday, I thought I’d provide you with a green drink that did not involve beer or green food coloring, and even contains a super food ingredient that will leave you feeling refreshed, healthy, and oh so happy! (which may also be a result of the whiskey that’s in it.) Read More

Photo: Andrew Scrivani

Taking advantage of in-season fruits and vegetables allows you to amplify your seasonal experience, and maximize what your local farmers have to offer at your neighborhood farmers market. As of now, in the North East United States, beautiful crisp apples are filling the stalls at the markets and practically begging to be used in a variety of different ways. In the recipe that follows, I want to give you a great way to incorporate this fruit into your diet, and to make a nutritious sauce that brings the sweetness out of the pork without adding extra fat and salt.

Photo: Madeleine Ignon

I recently inherited my grandmother’s loved and tattered copy of The Joy of Cooking, published in 1963. I never thought of her as a gourmet, but it’s clear that she used it as a constant reference. Its spine makes no attempt to hold its structure together, and there may be more handwritten inserts tucked into the pages than there are recipes in the book. To me, the recipes-both my grandmother’s originals and the book’s-seem delightfully outdated. One calls for a jar of marshmallow fluff. Many of them include cream or butter, more generously than most of us may be used to using. Still, I love mining the pages for classic combinations. The book has lately served as a lesson in food anthropology as well as a cooking blueprint. Read More

Photo: Joanne Bruno

I am a fall baby.

Sure, if you ask my mother, I was born at the very end of a blustery and frigid February, about a month early, looking very much like a chicken.  But I’m willing to place money on the fact that neither of those statements are true.

They can’t be.

Because I am a fall baby.  And that’s all there is to it. Read More