Warm Buckwheat Salad with Roasted Kabocha and Caper Berries

Buckwheat ~ by Carl Sandburg There was a late autumn cricket, And two smoldering mountain sunsets Under the valley roads of her eyes. There was a late autumn cricket,
 A hangover of summer song,
 Scraping a tune
 Of the late night clocks of summer,
 In the late winter night fireglow,
 This in a circle of black… Read More

A Plant-Based Diet

Food writer Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and other books, re-defined what it means to eat smart when he shared his credo: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Did you know that reducing your intake of animal products and embracing a plant-based diet is one of the best things you… Read More

A Little Cake for Two

Children’s birthdays these days are often a really big deal. Many times they involve elaborate parties with lots of interesting décor, guests, food, sugar, entertainment, and great goodie bags. Big parties—sometimes stressful for the hosts and/or the child—can be nice and a lot of fun, but I find I tend to gravitate towards the idea… Read More

Spend Less, Own less, Live and Eat Well

In my post Rustic Simplicity, I mentioned how I’ve been de-cluttering. I need to do this—almost every week—because it’s like having a weight lifted off my shoulders and helps me breathe easier, think clearer, prioritize effectively and live better and more balanced. Although I got rid of a lot of stuff, it seems like I barely… Read More

Quinoa-Polenta Cake with Fava Beans, Peas and Basil-Cilantro Purée

It’s early in the morning and everyone is still asleep at my home. I’m up early, sipping tea from a small gourd filled with yerba mate, a South American beverage that I’ll have to write about some time in another post. Now, it’s time to focus and seize this opportunity—quiet time for me to write and share… Read More

Creamy Green Pea Soup with Mint

Because of their sweet flavor, many children’s first foray into green vegetables is green peas. I started my son with the less sweet of the greens—spinach, broccoli, asparagus, etc.… By the time we got to peas, he may have thought he was having dessert. I didn’t like green peas as a child. I recall discretely… Read More