Eat Fat to Stay Slim

Would you believe me if I said you stand a better chance of dropping pounds and maintaining a healthy weight by using more olive oil? It’s true. Yet if you’re like me, you’re still carrying around false paradigms instilled by decades of guidelines based on sketchy science. Here are 3 Fat Facts to Remember to help you reframe your views on fat.

The Kitchen That Sings

La Cocina Que Canta; the kitchen that sings. It’s the name of the cooking school at Rancho La Puerta Spa in Mexico where I’ve been teaching classes this week. This is healthy cooking. This is cooking that’s gentle on the earth. This is cooking that brings a smile to the soul . . . and to everyone seated at the table. Si, this kitchen sings indeed.

Get a New Grain: Farro

farro
Farro is an ancient strain of emmer wheat (think of it as a wheat varietal, like a chardonnay or pinot noir is to wine) that was originally domesticated in the Near East millennia ago, but has recently become popular on American menus. Enjoy it as a tomato farrotto in these summery eggplant stacks.

Gotta Get Your Grains

gotta-get-grains
You’ve probably seen the stickers marking whole grain products on supermarket shelves and heard of their many health benefits, but the realm of grains extends far beyond the horizon of whole wheat bread. Ancient grains like quinoa, farro, kasha and bulgur are making a comeback in today’s kitchens, and those with former hippie appeal like millet and wheat berries are getting a thoroughly modern makeover. Here's an overview of what makes whole grains so good.

Practice Pleasure

The French know how to enjoy their food and this week, with the celebration of Bastille Day, is a great time for us to do so too. Here are five steps to enjoying without overindulging.

Whole Grain Pasta Challenge

Every time I’m at the market, it seems like I spot a new addition to the whole grain pasta category. I love pasta, and I love whole grains . . . but I admit to being less than impressed when the two have met in the past. Now that there are so many choices out there, though, I thought it was time to take a closer look. Here, we put eight to the test . . . then took the winner for a spin in a bowl of Spaghetti Carbonara.

Eat Chocolate

Dark chocolate. An ounce or so a few times a week (to borrow Michael Pollan’s formula). For many of us, this little prescription flies in the face of a decades-deep divide between what we want to eat and what we feel we should eat. But nature didn’t intend it to be that way.

Go Nuts!

go nuts
I love talking nuts. Back when I thought low-fat was the way to go to maintain a comfortable weight, I rarely touched them. But I've learned a lot since then . . .

An Apple a Day

heirloom-apples
Fruit and I have a complicated relationship and, as a result, I don't tend to reach for it when my stomach rumbles. But last week, help literally arrived on my doorstep. Tonight . . . strawberry-rhubarb crostata.

Celebrate!

It all started with a box of salt cod I bought on a whim on Friday. By 8:00 on Saturday night we had a festive crew nibbling on fried salt cod fritters with skordalia (kind of like super-garlicky mashed potatoes beaten with olive oil), vinaigrey beet salad, charred lamb chops and the pungent yogurt dip called tzatziki.