Easy Date Night Dish

By David Hu

I have a standing date night with my wife every Tuesday. Sometimes we’ll eat out, sometimes we’ll catch a movie and sometimes we’ll cook at home. When it’s my turn, I always like to make something special – but because date night is mid-week, whatever I cook can’t take too long.

One of my favorite ingredients is mussels; they’re elegant, require very little prep and the best way to eat them is steamed, which doesn’t take a lot of effort. My favorite mussel dish is Moules Marinière. It’s a classic dish with only five ingredients so prep and cook won’t take more than 30 minutes.

Click to read more ...

The Charms of Rhubarb!

By Lori Powell

Get it while you can…as rhubarb is only with us for about 1½ months and is a true signal of spring. The first harvest begins in late May or the beginning of June.

Rhubarb has grown in popularity over the years since it’s easy to grow (it is a perennial), is pretty to look at (jewel-like color when red) and is versatile, since can be used in sweet as well as savory recipes.

Rhubarb is technically a vegetable but is treated more like a fruit. The tart celery-like ribs contain a good dose of vitamin C, K, calcium, potassium and manganese. However the leaves are poisonous so if they are still attached when purchased, remove and discard them before using.

Click to read more ...

Kitchen Yoga

By Lori Powell

Cooking for one is highly underrated and might seem to some a tad lonely. My day job is to create recipes to serve at least four or more people and sometimes involves working in the company of others. So I embrace MY time alone in the kitchen where the only sounds I hear are from my knife chopping and slicing or something sizzling and speaking to me from the pot on the stove.

Being alone in the kitchen is when I can truly lose myself in the ingredients and smells of conjuring up a nourishing meal. Everything else that happened that day gets drowned out by the current task at hand. It’s not unlike a runner who gets in the zone on the track and their single focus is to move forward.

Click to read more ...

Feeding the Landfill

By Sandy Hu

Recently, The Wall Street Journal published a story called “Leftovers: Tasty or Trash?” in which the writer shared some eye-opening statistics:

- An average U.S. family of four throws away between $500 to $2,000 worth of food each year
- 25 percent of trash in a home (all avoidable waste) consists of vegetables
- 16 percent is fruits and juices
- 14 percent is grains
- 13 percent is milk and yogurt

Here’s another disturbing fact cited by the paper: After paper and paperboard, food is the next largest solid waste component in U.S. landfills and incinerators. A staggering 33 million tons of food was dumped in 2010 according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Click to read more ...

Crazy for Quinoa

By Colleen Boyd

Like most people with a tight schedule and long work days, the last thing I want to do when I come home is spend a lot of time in the kitchen making dinner. Recently I’ve rediscovered the versatility of quinoa; a delicious, quick cooking, and easy to prepare grain-like edible seed.

Quinoa is packed with protein, and is a good source of iron and other minerals, making it a great addition to salads, soups, veggie burgers, breads, and all sorts of baked goods. My favorite way to use leftover quinoa is to add it to a whole wheat waffle batter, a special breakfast to enjoy on my days off.

This ancient grain isn’t only a side dish anymore! Here I’ve mixed quinoa with a few simple ingredients and spices to make a quick and satisfying weeknight meal. You can customize this recipe by adding or omitting as many vegetables as you like, or even throw in leftovers from yesterday’s dinner.

Click to read more ...