Indoor Air Quality - What Does it Mean?

How’s your IAQ?

What in the world is IAQ...and why should you be concerned about it?  It stands for Indoor Air Quality, and it impacts your home and family every single day. But how do we know if its a problem at our house, and what can we do about it?

The Naked Cookbook

What I love the most in the kitchen is the purity of it all.  The feel of the fresh produce, the crunch of the veggies as the knife cuts across their leaves.  The sizzle of olive oil heating in a pan...

Happy baby, healthy lungs

Wiggly little bundle, cuddled in cozy muslin wrap.  Just a few days old, his sleepy tiny eyes peek out to say hello.

Meatless Mondays with Gardein

Every day is a great day to go meatless...and Meatless Monday is a fun way to build meat-free options into our weekly routines.  Meatless habits we make on Mondays carry through the week, and before long our whole dining style evolves into something much more healthy - all week long!

Heirloom Milk for Happier Tummies

We love dairy products at our house.  Over our cereal at breakfast, warmed with chocolate for a cold-weather treat, as an ingredient in dinner or dessert...we use it all day long.  

Rinse your Rice

One of the very first days after I moved to China, at the grocery store, I was staring at the most extensive rice aisle that I'd ever seen.  Overwhelmed, I took some time to check out all the options.  An older lady came up next to me, very concerned.  This was before I understood the language, so an elaborate game of charades ensued.  What was her message that was so worthy of all the song and dance:  Rinse your rice!

Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts are so underrated.  When they're roasted, and not old-fashioned boiled, they're absolutely amazing.  I've yet to find someone who's not a lover of brussel sprouts, deep down inside...when they're prepared right.

Citrus Beet Salad

Salads are great all year long, and this Citrus Beet Salad is a great option for the colder months of the year, using garden-fresh ingredients that grow well into Fall and Winter.

Chocolate Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MemoriesInTheBaking #CollectiveBias

Cookies.  They're a sweet little indulgence, that can add up quickly - especially during the holidays!  This recipe gives all the flavor and texture of a traditional cookie, but is a much lighter version...so go ahead and take two.  

This recipe for Chocolate Oatmeal Pecan cookies has a hearty cookie texture, but uses much less sugar and butter than a traditional recipe - without losing the flavor!

The Homemade Kitchen: Plum Tart

Plum season doesn't last for long, but I can't resist the juicy little fruits while they last. They're great simply sliced and eaten as a snack, but when I get a big batch I love baking them into a tart. 

Cooking with Bee Pollen

Wait...you can eat bee pollen??

Those were my thoughts as I first thumbed through a cookbook I'd received (more on that here).  How could that be a good thing?  And it sounds like way more work than it could possibly be worth...

So when I saw the beekeeper selling honey at the farmers market the next morning, I was filled with questions.  How is the pollen collected?  Does it hurt the bees?  How long does it stay fresh?  How much is it?

Chili Cornbread Cups

I'm on the road quite often, visiting new cities and corners of the world.  One of my favorite activities on a trip to a new country, or even an unfamiliar part of the US, is to explore a local grocer.  As simple and uneventful as it sounds, the food people buy and the way they shop gives such great insight into a local culture!  Culinary exploration.

Feta & Mint Grilled Sweet Potatoes

It's grilling season!  The best thing about grilling is that impressive meals are so very simple to make.  These Feta & Mint Grilled Sweet Potatoes are the perfect example!

We typically think of sweet potatoes in the Fall, but they're a fantastically healthy addition to a summer barbecue.  This recipe, with its fresh summer flavors, brings sweet potatoes front and center during grilling season and are a fun break from the typical steak-and-potatoes routine.

Rustic Spanish Pear Tarte

I love learning new recipes when I travel, and this is one that I picked up on a trip to Spain.  We enjoyed it at a bustling street cafe somewhere in Barcelona and I had to bring the recipe home with me. The texture is light and creamy, and the pears give it just the right amount of sweetness.  Its a perfect dessert after a heavy meal, or on a warm summer night!

Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

We are absolute yoghurt addicts at our house.  We eat it for breakfast, for dessert, and substitute it into recipes all the time with deliciously creamy results!

While living in Europe, I found myself preferring tubs of plain, unsweetened yoghurt.  This way I could decide just how much I want, and how I want to use.  As a savory substitute for sour cream, as the base for an improvised veggie dip, or sweetened with fresh fruit or homemade jam for dessert. 

Strawberry Coconut Milkshake

Something about warm mornings makes me crave a creamy smoothie filled with fresh fruits and veggies.  Its the perfect tasty start to a day, and with all the nutrients packed into one yummy glass - a day that starts with a smoothie is bound to be a good one!

Moroccan Chickpea and Vegetable Soup

Soups are great all year round, and this Moroccan Chickpea and Vegetable Soup is the perfect example of a soup that is crave-worthy in all the seasons.

Roasted Eggplant "Hummus" Dip

Eggplant is such a versatile vegetable that often gets overlooked.  When it is baked, it gets a wonderfully creamy flavor.  

This recipe for Roasted Eggplant "Hummus" is a variation on Baba Ganoush - a Middle Eastern eggplant dip.  It is delicious served with slices of crusty bread, Pita Chips, as a sandwich spread, or even mixed together with rice and vegetables.  

Its A Good Food Day!

Its always a great day for good food, and that is exactly the concept behind Marco Canora's A Good Food Day!

Dark Berry Chia Smoothie

Chia seeds are everywhere these days, which is fantastic news for our health!  They're a natural source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids which have amazing health benefits like improving arthritis symptoms, helping with depression, and aiding in the development of childrens' brain development.  They're also full of vegan protein, amino acids, fiber, calcium and plenty of other great vitamins.