Chicken Chorizo Bake

It’s dark and wet outside and I’m curled up in blankets by the fireplace. This is my favorite kind of weather, the kind that requires high boots and long coats. It also requires warming and nourishing food that was stewed slowly, to the point where all the flavors blend together and become something even better than each part is individually. Continue Reading →

Black and Blue Cardamom Smoothie

What I like best about golfing this time of year is the succulent blackberries that line the edges of some of the holes. There is something that feels very “hunter-gatherer” about picking wild berries, even if they are right next to perfectly manicured land meant for dedicating hours of leisure time to, something that was in much shorter supply before we developed agriculture and cities. Berry picking also takes me back to my childhood, it was one of the few times that I would have access to an unlimited amount of sweets, and when they were ripened on the vine and warmed from the sun I liked them even more than five cent candy. Continue Reading →

Grilled Orange Chicken with Orange Vegetables

My brother requested orange chicken and he seemed a little surprised when I thought it was a good idea. I later realized that the orange chicken he is used to is deep fried fast food from an Americanized Chinese food take out place. Luckily he liked this version. I use different citrus fruits a lot in cooking, lemon and lime are usually my first choices but orange, blood orange, tangerine and grapefruit all go really nicely with poultry. The left over end bits can be used to make your water fancy. Continue Reading →

Balsamic Salmon Salad

My mom recently commented that it is easier for celebrities to be fit and healthy because they have people to prepare their food and make them exercise. My brother astutely replied that she has me. And thus we began our two week challenge where she eats only what I make for her. I am excited because I finally have the chance to make her eat tons of vegetables and other healthy food to help out her insides. She is excited because it is day five and she has already lost the couple pounds she gained recently from sangrias on her summer vacation, plus an extra three that she has not been able to lose, no matter what she tried. She is liking the results on her outsides. Continue Reading →

Warm Mediterranean Potato Salad

Making a warm potato salad is much faster than roasted or baked potatoes but it still provides the same grounding comfort food. I like to use it as a side dish when I don’t have much time to throw together a dinner for hungry people. Potatoes have an unfairly bad reputation, when they are fried they are definitely not a health food but if they are baked, steamed or roasted they are a great source of fiber and several vitamins and minerals. Continue Reading →

Chicken and Corn Soup


One of the main factors working against good nutrition in our world is that it happens on a cellular level. It happens slowly and it can often take years to see the effects of what we eat has on our health. In a society of instant gratification it is easy to understand why people make choices that do not pay off in the long run. Fast and convenient foods are huge markets and their products suit our lifestyles much better than making things from scratch. Continue Reading →