Matzo Ball Soup

By Marilyn Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

I discovered early on the comfort of eating a steaming bowl of soup on a cold day. The soups of my youth were tomato and chicken noodle, but my favorite was chicken and dumplings.

After all these years, I still love them all but southern specialties aren’t easy to find in Los Angeles. The chicken and dumplings of my youth has been replaced by matzo ball soup when I long for comfort food. You adapt to your surroundings and living in Los Angeles makes it easy to find this soup on any given day in one of our many delis.

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Lemon Herb Chicken & Potatoes

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

How many of us spend too much time in front of a screen? Not a window screen, but a digital screen? My family and I do, so much so that sometimes we have days when screens are off limits. The boys are simply not allowed to play games or watch the tube … or um, the plasma.

This morning was one of those times when Marilyn and I were craving a low-tech day. So we played football in the yard, walked Bandit an extra few times, and played a bunch of board games that had gotten dusty in the closet.

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Jamaican Rice and Beans

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By Marilyn Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

I grew up eating rice and beans, Louisiana-style. Whenever we went to visit my Aunt Lucille or Cousin Cleo in Lafayette, we would always buy several pounds of Camellia beans to last for a few months.

This Caribbean version is a change of pace from my childhood. In Jamaica they call it “Rice and Peas;” the peas are actually red kidney beans. In addition to providing solid vegan nutrition, it’s fast and easy to make when I’m in a hurry. And kids love the sweet, rich flavor of the coconut rice. Our boys call them “island-style!”

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Penne, Peas & Carrots

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By Marilyn Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

There are certain food combinations that will forever be associated with children – peanut butter and jelly; macaroni and cheese; and peas and carrots. Our boys love them all but prefer to eat their peas and carrots in a simple pasta dish that I’ve been making since they were toddlers.

This simple dish is perfect when you're in a hurry, but still want to prepare something wholesome and tasty. I use frozen peas and carrots to save time. Skip the half-and-half if you're counting fat grams and add a little more chicken stock instead.

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Aunt Jean’s Tucson Skillet Tacos

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

The Darland side of my family, that’s my Aunt Jean and Uncle Dick, and cousins David, Julie and Greg, live in Tucson. As a kid, Tucson seemed like a million miles away, and it truly was because instead of flying for a visit, in those days we piled into our “wood” paneled station wagon and drove the 1,951 miles southwest from Ann Arbor.

When we got there, the leafy green farmland I loved became a sandy hardscape with prickly cacti and scrubby brush that I feared. I thought we had landed on the moon.

I have lots of fond memories, though, once I acclimated to the foreign land. But one that stands out is my Aunt Jean’s tacos.

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