Recipes

Just the other day, I ran into an old friend at the park and as we went our separate ways he said, “See you later, Mike.” I looked directly at my friend of more than 25 years and suddenly realised I had forgotten his name. Right then, at that very moment, I felt as if my mind just stopped working. My brain felt like it was smothered in a thick cloud of fog. I knew this guy. I just couldn’t recall his name. I felt embarrassed, ashamed and a bit scared. Having worked in the medical profession for many years,...

Friends, what if I told you that this easy, pan-seared cod with lemon, olives, and capers comes together in just 15 minutes?  That also includes the prep time!  Pretty amazing, right?  The combination of lemons, olives, and capers is full of bright, assertive flavors – a classic southern Mediterranean dish. So many of us want to include more healthy seafood in our diets (especially after the December Holidays), but we do not, because we feel intimidated by it. Some think that fish is hard to cook, or, that we need special equipment.  Others might simply not be sure how long...

Thai basil chicken is one of my favorite easy dinner recipes. This Thai basil chicken noodle bowl is a great homage to the classic Thai dish. Pad krapow is stir-fried holy basil in Thai and it is one of the most popular Thai dishes. Pad krapow is prepared with a fragrant, spicy sauce and lots of Thai basil, it’s an easy dish that you definitely want to get into your rotation. The protein (or lack of) is really up to your choice. I’ve made it with squid and I’ve made a vegetarian pad krapow. While pad krapow is typically served...

Pickled Dried Vegetables in Fish Sauce for Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Dưa Món) You can't have banh tet or banh chung without pickled vegetables. Well, you can, but it just won't be as complete nor as good.Dua Mon is Vietnamese pickled dried vegetables. Similar to Vietnamese Pickled Daikon & Carrots (Đồ Chua) it’s made with daikons and carrots. But here the vegetables are first dried then pickled with a fish sauce brine.Dua Mon is commonly eaten with Vietnamese Savory Glutinous Rice Cakes with Pork Belly & Mung Beans (Bánh Tét) or its square-shaped version, Bánh ChưngBecause the vegetables are first...

Most people don’t find out about their father’s affair through a 911 call, evacuation mandate, and firefighter dispatch. In retrospect, I should have seen the signs weeks before the smoke signals hit the detectors — and long before my husband had time to chime in with his adulterous $0.02. Those signs? A fridge piled high with vegan cheese — and my father’s recent “dietary changes” His newfound enthusiasm for farmers’ markets — and sneaking away to make love to the local produce 2, then 4, then 5 days a week The blowup incited by my Christmas-scented wallflower plugins and holiday...