Most people I know have had a difficult time getting  restful sleep at one time or another, myself included. Through the years I have tried different things and have narrowed it down to a few simple ways that are the most powerful in getting me at least a few good hours of snooze, which is key for good living.  Even on nights when we get a few good hours of sleep, I venture to say that given our busy and fast-moving lives that most of...
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While living in Buenos Aires I was always amazed by the beautiful tarts or "tartas" that you could buy in most restaurants and as quick to go meals on the cheap.  I realized that it was just as quick and as inexpensive to make my own tarte and with a variety of vegetables.  The most popular tartes are made with spinach or collard greens and they are traditionally made with eggs, dairy and breading.  I replaced the last three  ingred...
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Most people think of risotto as a special occasion dish because the perception is that it takes a long time to make and a ton of stirring. It takes a bit of time and a little stirring but not as much as we tend to do here in American versus Italy, where it is a popular everyday dish.   I use to slave over risotto as well until I watched my friend's mother who was visiting from Italy make a most effortlessly and delicious risotto. The k...
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I know this is a food blog and although my life is made of many parts, they are also symbiotic and do not act separately from one another.  I lost a very important part of my life yesterday and I thought I would share it here with my readers.   But I can promise you that out of my pain always comes something in the kitchen.  Cooking helps me grieve, it helps me to be happy and it helps me to feel alive. Creativity comes in mysterious...
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We all have days when the funk is hanging like a heavy cloud over our heads.  The worst part is  that the funk can get into our hearts and souls and drain us of hope, and hope is  key to living as a happy Homo sapiens.  I know  I've had a few funky days here and there and I always have to look back to the Buddhist wisdom that so wisely teaches us that all is temporary, including the funk.  If you think about it, moods, whether goo...
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Roasting anything is one of my favorite cooking things to do. So why did I combine tempeh with asparagus in the same dish? The simple answer is that I love both and I often mix them together as a side dish or throw them in salads or over quinoa. I get my veggie from asparagus and my protein from tempeh and I got it mostly covered. Asparagus comes out especially yummy as the roasting brings out the juiciness and flavor, that is as long a...
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I like a fresh fruit crisp but few ripe fruits come our way to Boston during the winter months.  So I do the next best thing and use frozen organic fruits, which are not too shabby and work very well for baking.  This crisp is made with a gluten-free and vegan granola by purely elizabeth (not capitalized), which is created by Elizabeth Stein, a certified holistic nutritional counselor.  The granola I used here is a cranberry pecan bu...
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For many people, eating healthy or just staying away from nasty foods is simpler said than done.  I always say everything in moderation so if you can cut back on bad things and add good things to your diet, you can quickly be on your way to a more radiant, happier and slimmer you. 1. Soda is the evil.  Soda has phosphorous, too much of it, which can increase calcium loss from the body.  Substitute soda with sodium-free seltzer wat...
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I make a lot of dishes that call for cream and I substitute with the usual suspects such as soy, almond and rice milk mixed with thickeners to get to a good cream consistency.  They have all worked fine and I am happy to use them.  But to be honest, my favorite non-dairy cream that I can just use directly from the carton is Mimic Creme, which is both dairy-free and soy-free.  For everyday dishes I use the unsweetened version made of ...
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Winter makes me crave warm and creamy soups.  Years ago I had a tomato soup recipe that required my time enslavement and then a wait period of simmer that by the time the first spoon went in my mouth I was so hungry that I scarfed the soup down without actually enjoying the taste. After experimenting with fresh tomatoes, and pomi tomatoes and all types of tomatoes, I found a recipe that calls for fire-roasted tomatoes that are full of ...
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