Good + Good for You in Santa Fe, New Mexico
With Labor Day behind us and the Autumnal Equinox a few weeks away (September 23), there’s still plenty of time left to stock up on your favorite summer ingredients. Some of the foods I long for as soon as they are gone include peaches, melons, corn and cucumbers. My Grandmother’s Cucumber Salad While you may…
As we drag into the dog days of summer, cold foods are all that matter. Cold soups, cold beverages, cold salads, cold dips, cold popsicles, and cold desserts. And cold a/c for the win. Squeezing the most out of the season is one of my superpowers. I dread the moment when I have my last…
When the summer heat is on–and it’s on all over the country–we can only think about no-cook recipes. Dishes that come together by merely chopping, blending or tossing. Because who wants to create more heat in the kitchen? Not me. Maybe this is where the saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of…
Spring has sprung! There is so much spring in the air in Santa Fe and what a welcome change. Buds have dropped on the trees, daffodils have sprouted and there is a renewed spirit in the air. The farmers market is also starting to produce more options and we are grateful. Last week, I snagged…
Winter is not yet done with Santa Fe. And I am thrilled. I love winter. So I was not disappointed when we were graced with a blanket of snow the other day. I made what I think may have been one of the last fires of the season and savored a bowl of roasted tomato-basil…
Embarking on a new year is when I work to lure a new–often forgotten–vegetable into my orbit. Considering I am still wearing a few of the cookies I ate over the holidays, cabbage is this year’s chosen victim. Bring On the Brassica Cabbage is a vegetable people either love or hate. I fall into the…
Sauces are an important culinary weapon. Whether you are a novice in the kitchen, chef or home cook, sauces serve a variety of purposes. They bring a new level of flavor, they can cover up mistakes and, last but not least, they can make a great dish extraordinary. Sauces Save the Day While mastering the…
Before the gluttonous holidays come to a screeching halt and we reckon with the effects of a carb-loaded and sugar-filled few weeks, I have a cookie that promises to be your favorite in 2023. But this isn’t a bad-for-you cookie. In fact, the ingredients are almost virtuous but tastes decadent. Healthy Cookies Made with almond…
Every time we transition from fall into the shorter, darker days of winter, my body craves soup. It doesn’t even matter what kind of soup it is, as long as it’s hot, mostly healthy and definitely soulful. Soup for the Soul Most of my favorite soup recipes were passed down to me from my maternal…
Let’s face it. It’s been a rough few years, and many people haven’t traveled to see family since 2019, which makes this holiday that much more important and special. And Thanksgiving is the perfect time to sit back and reflect on your progress–both personal and professional, take time to be present, listen and soften your…
Before we launch into the heavy holiday consumption season, I am intentionally dialing it back a bit so I can make room for what is inevitably to come. But since we have already had our first snowfall last week, chilly weather calls for something a bit more substantive than silly summer salads. 10-Minute Dinner One…
As soon as it begins to turn the slightest bit cold, my seasonal soup cravings kick into overdrive. Split pea soup, potato soup, cannellini bean and escarole soup. These are always viable possibilities, but a friend recently cooked up a curried pumpkin soup from the New York Times for book club and I can no…
It’s not often that I am caught with my culinary pants down. But that’s exactly what happened last week when I was asked to host our book club gathering at the last minute when the intended host got sick. The truth is, living alone over the last three months has challenged my cooking skills. I…
If I have learned anything in my five-plus decades of life, it’s that what you want to happen and what often happens, aren’t always the same. Life is about change and adapting to these inevitable changes is imperative. Adapting is my claim to fame. Change is the Only Constant This is how this bread recipe…
Summertime is when we refuse to turn on the oven and instead turn our focus to cold foods that require little effort but deliver big flavors. Salads, slaws and cold soups fit the bill. After making this recipe three times over the last few weeks, now you, too, can savor the long summer days and…
There are cookies and there are cookies. Some get the job done, while others soar high above the traditional cookie. These cookies are the latter. And I have my favorite neighbor to thank for this glorious recipe. We have both been making these cookies over and over and now it’s time to spread the cookie…
Now that spring is here, we can turn up the volume on our favorite salads. While a lettuce salad can be super satisfying (like this one), what I really dig is a “salad” that kicks lettuce to the curb and incorporates other ingredients. Creating this kind of “salad” calls on what you have on hand…
There’s something seductive about the words “slow-roasted.” I love roasting vegetables, but I usually crank up the heat to 425 degrees. Therefore, the idea of slow-roasting something at a low temperature caught my attention years ago when Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen first shared this recipe in 2018. Slow Roasted Sweet Potatoes These slow-roasted…
With two spring holidays–Passover and Easter–coming into focus, it’s time to think about menu planning. And with the two celebrations just two days apart this year, I have the perfect recipe that can serve both occasions. Coconut macaroons. Being a coconut macaroon lover, I have made dozens of different recipes over the last 10 years…
Sometimes, I am like the Cookie Monster with potatoes. Potatoes! Spuds have been one of my favorite foods for as long as I can remember. I mean, what’s not to love about a starchy root vegetable that is inherently diverse, delicious and decadent?! From rich and creamy potato soup to buttery mashed potatoes to crispy…
Growing up, tuna salad was one of our go-to’s when we needed a quick meal. My mother loved Miracle Whip and my father preferred Hellman’s. This was why she made two different batches. Because I was not into sweet mayo, I shared my father’s batch. Honestly, I think my mother was grateful because she could…
Santa Fe’s winter has been tepid this year and, much to my dismay, it felt like spring was already springing. And this is why we should never give up hope. It has snowed three times in the last two weeks and more snow is expected tonight. Even a thin blanket of snow is welcome as…
Cooking is my salvation. During good times and bad times and everything in between, the kitchen is where I find solace. But it’s been a while since I’ve cooked, so rather than dive in, I’m taking baby steps. And because chocolate always makes everything better, this two-ingredient chocolate pudding from Elana’s Pantry seems to be…
For the second time in two decades, we went out for Thanksgiving this year. Considering it’s our favorite holiday with “must-have” dishes, we decided to make a reservation instead and it was lovely. We’ve had a pretty hectic schedule lately so we took the easy road. This meant I was free from the chains of…
Cooler fall temperatures put our beloved oven back in the limelight. After months of avoidance, we opted instead for gazpacho and grilled foods. But the oven is the kitchen’s most fierce workhorse and I’m ready to put it to work again. Roasted vegetables are a fall and winter staple in my house. From Brussels sprouts…
Yes, you read that right. Banana bread brownies. If you love banana bread and brownies, this creative and good + good for you combination is going to rock your world. The recipe swept into my life a few weeks ago and I thought, “I need to try that.” It’s a Giada de Laurentiis recipe and…
When summer tomatoes are at their peak, and super ripe and juicy, sometimes all that’s needed is a generous sprinkle of good-quality salt. But magic happens when you chop four ripe tomatoes, add the required salt, chopped garlic, basil, olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and red chile flakes. And then let all of these…
Coffee ice cream has been my go-to number one ice cream flavor since I was a kid. It was my grandmother’s favorite ice cream and it soon became my favorite as well. Haagen-Dazs and Blue Bell were the gold standards back then, but there’s not a lot of viable dairy-free coffee ice cream options today….
Fried seafood makes for a perfect summer meal. Fried fish, fried shrimp, fried clams, fried scallops. And French fries. Having heard David’s stories of traveling the New England coast to eat at the most iconic seafood shacks, I can almost taste it now. Though lobster rolls tend to be the preferred northeastern summer dish, fried…
With vaccinations on the rise and life slowly returning to some semblance of normalcy, we are once again gathering and it feels good. Coffee dates, lunch meetings and after-hours events are picking up. But percolating summer temps means it’s time to replace our go-to hot cup of coffee with its chill cousin. Lattes are good…
As a born and raised Texan, some version of bean salsa is a staple at every party, event and gathering. Known as Texas caviar, it usually features black-eyed peas, black beans and corn. It was never my thing, but it was standard buffet fare in the Lone Star State. Fast forward to Memorial Day 2021…
