So, I was going to write a recipe for leftover turkey soup, which is delicious. But I figure, you've already probably picked the turkey clean and thrown out the carcass by now. Besides, last month's meal was a recipe for soup. So here's my favorite way to make pork chops, a meal I start to crave when the weather turns cold. I prefer bone-in pork chops to boneless because the flavor is so much better. Bone-in chops are a little more difficult to cut into, but it's well worth the effort. This recipe uses fennel seed, which you can find in the spice section. They smell heavenly, and they're a perfect match for pork. ...continue reading

When most people think of October, they think of Halloween. I tend to think of squashes. October is a time to enjoy fall vegetables like acorn squash and pumpkins. I also get excited about the beginning of soup season. Many warm vegetable and lentil soups are prepared at our house during cold weather, and they're as healthy as they are soothing. This meal combines all of my favorite fall foods, which means that I have also included pumpkin pie. How could I leave out one of the most ubiquitous (and delicious) American autumn desserts? MAIN DISH Root Vegetable Soup INGREDIENTS -2 Tbsp. red palm oil -one ...continue reading

This September Ted and I worked pretty much constantly, so we had more frozen Amy's meals than I'd like to admit. This month was all about trying to eat healthy food at home while maintaining an insane work schedule, so I tended toward things like this meal, cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. The sandwiches are easy, and the soup comes from a can. While cheese and bread are hardly health foods, I'm sure it's still better than most of the stuff we'd have eaten if we'd have gone out to eat. I first learned how to make cheese sandwiches from the cookbook Julia & Jacques: Cooking at Home, which was owned by my friend ...continue reading

Most commercial beef is raised on grass for most of its life, and then "finished on grain": this translates to thousands of cows standing in piles of manure, eating corn and soy products that make them sick. Then there are organic beef producers, which feed their cattle organic corn products. While organic beef is much healthier for you than the average American beef product, the cows are still being fed something that they're not meant to eat. Cows are ruminants, meaning that they have enzymes and a stomach system designed for eating and digesting grass, something that humans can't do very well. Eating corn will ...continue reading

In last month's meal I mentioned that we took a family trip to Mexico to attend a beautiful wedding for my sister-in-law, Abigail, and her amazing new husband, Carlos. (Can you tell that we like him?) While there, we had the privilege of attending a dinner at Carlos' family's house the night before the wedding. His family, the Silvas, had spent all day preparing a delicious array of dishes, including enchiladas and chicken in molé sauce. While the entire meal was fabulous, it was the molé that caught my attention. This recipe isn't the exact one used by the Silvas, though hopefully someday I'll be able to find ...continue reading

While we were traveling in Mexico recently, I dreamed of the different kinds of food I could make for June's Monthly Meal this year: chicken in mole sauce, fish tacos, or any number of dishes involving fresh corn tortillas. But, in case you haven't noticed, I haven't had very much free time lately. Catching up with work has taken nearly all my time since we returned, and slowly I've realized that my dream of a recipe for a wonderful Mexican meal is just a little too farfetched this month. Writing recipes takes time, people. In stead of a Mexican meal (which I'm still hoping for next month), I'm going to share one ...continue reading

*Note: I wrote this Monthly Meal over the weekend, and for some reason I thought that I'd scheduled it to post on Tuesday. But, ha ha, I accidentally didn't. Whoops! So here is May's Monthly Meal, in all its glory. This is one of my favorite meals, I'm giving away serious family secrets here. I hope you enjoy it! My mother-in-law's spaghetti is practically legendary. I first tried her spaghetti eight years ago, and it was insanely delicious. I've added a few things here and there, but the credit goes to her. (Thanks, Emily!) It's important to use grass-fed beef, if you can find it. Grass-fed beef is higher in ...continue reading

I owe full credit for this month's meal to my mother-in-law, Emily. She made it for us a few nights ago, and it was insanely delicious. This recipe serves four, but it's easy to update the quantities. As a general rule, buy 1/2 a pound per person. This may be a little too much, but it will compensate for any big eaters, and this fish makes great leftovers (serve on top of a salad with macadamia nut oil and orange salad dressing). MAIN DISH Macadamia Nut-Encrusted Mahi Mahi INGREDIENTS -2 lbs. mahi mahi -1/2 cup macadamia nut oil -2 cups crushed macadamia nuts -1 Tbsp. fresh orange zest -a little ...continue reading

Note: This month's meal comes to you courtesy of Ted. I'm really excited about it, because his pancakes are EXCELLENT. The recipe is based on an old family recipe that comes from Weaverville, California. That place is really special to us, and so are these pancakes. I hope you enjoy them. -Kerry In my family, pancakes are not just a breakfast item, they are a right of passage between the generations. My grandfather, who is one of my heroes on many levels, has for all intensive purposes, perfected breakfast. From the most amazing coffee of all time, to eggs with chives to buckwheats, his arsenal is deep and ...continue reading

February of this year was... insane. Ted and I were both working crazy amounts of hours, and I was determined that our hectic schedule wouldn't result in us gaining weight. Normally I'd turn to salads and more raw foods in this situation; but February is a winter month, so I still wanted to have warm and nutritious meals. My solution: I made a lot of soup. Some were made from a chicken stock base, when the vegetables I used were complimented by it. I made some soups with veggies that have more delicate flavors, and for those soups I opted to use water so not to overwhelm those flavors. Potato Leek soup falls into the ...continue reading

January is that time of year when all of the seasonal fall vegetables are long gone, and the spring ones haven't kicked in yet. I make a point of sticking to seasonal fruits and veggies whenever possible, so this means getting creative with flavors and spices. One of my favorite dishes, pork chops, is one that I've come to love experimenting with. When I first started cooking, I prepared pork chops with garlic and salt, and little else; this got boring very quickly. I soon started venturing beyond my comfort zone, including making pork loin sautéed with red wine and blueberry jam on the stovetop, and ...continue reading

Yeah, this Monthly Meal is a little late, but the combination of extensive travel and our lovely power outages here made it difficult to post the recipe in time. Besides, what's a holiday for if you can't procrastinate a little? So, here's my favorite recipe from December: Potato Kale Soup. Yeah, it's kind of random, and not at all Christmas-y, but by the end of 2007 I'd had enough of holiday food to last until, well, next holiday season. This soup is based on a rich chicken broth; I've included a recipe that makes much more than you'll need for the soup because it's easily stored and it can be used for just about ...continue reading

I was at the gym a couple of weeks ago, and as I sweated it out on the elliptical machine, the person in front of me was watching the Food Network on their little personal TV. (I've never understood why gyms have those. Don't we get enough TV injected directly into our brains already?) The Food Network chef and "personality" Tyler Florence was on, making a sausage and artichoke dish that looked interesting. However, peak artichoke season is from March to May, which made me wonder, why in the world were they featured in a recipe designated for the Food Network's All-Star Thanksgiving episode? Ah, Food Network, you ...continue reading

I'm all about breakfast, it's by far my favorite meal of the day. A good hearty meal in the morning helps me deal with busy days, which seems to be the theme for this fall. So, I've chosen a simple, delicious breakfast that's easy to make and contains several nutrients. This breakfast tastes great, and it gives me tons of energy. NOTE: I've chosen to make this recipe using Smoked Apple Sage Field Roast links. However, if you're feeling carnivorous, this recipe would be delicious with breakfast sausage links. Just make sure whatever you use is of the heat-and-serve variety; you want something that you just have to ...continue reading

September is always a tough month for us, at least in terms of our time management. For whatever reason, both Ted's and my work load significantly increase during the autumn months of each year. As a result, I find myself making dinners that require less preparation and cooking time, and I like to make dishes that create enough leftovers to get us through lunch on the following day. This month, I experimented a little with different pasta dishes, and the result is the following recipe. It keeps well for a lunch of leftovers, and the Italian Field Roast Sausage in the sauce makes this dish as filling as it is ...continue reading