August 2009 Newsletter

Humid weather always marks the end of summer, but summer isn’t over yet! Fresh summer produce is at its ripest and we can celebrate the fruits of warm weather by choosing the best that the season has to offer: tomatoes, sweet corn, zucchini and fresh herbs make the most amazing salads and tasty tapas for warm evening celebrations!

As many of you have noticed over the last few weeks, I have started to post updates (nearly) every day – and below you’ll see a small selection of posts from last month. For a complete listing, check out the July 2009 archive of “Chew On This” »

Wanna be in the loop? Get a weekly email update every Friday evening with the week’s posts and updates – or choose to get one every two weeks. Scroll to the bottom to find out how.

Happy and Healthy Cooking,

Jennifer

Food for Thought, Some Poetic Words

I’ve always loved poetry and still read from my collection when I need inspiration. The other night I was visiting a dear friend of mine who’s a chef and he jotted this little ditty onto a napkin for me, I’d like to share it with you.

Washing Fruits and Veggies

Concerned about pesticides on your fruits and veggies? If you only have enough room in your grocery budget for a few organic “must haves”, then zero in on the following 12 fruits and vegetables. In this article, I also explain my philosophy on waxed fruits.

Soups For Summer

When the summer heat wave hits, I start to think about recipes that don’t require the oven or stove top, and that’s what inspired my recent recipes in Self Magazine. In this post, I focus on easy-to-make, flavorful summer soups that only require a few fresh seasonal ingredients.

Grocery Carts and Peacocks

A large peacock guarded the front door and strutted around the shopping carts. He barked at a rooster who dared to cross his path while winking at the curvaceous hens. He was clearly the king of the grocery carts but where was the peahen?

Feeding Time

During a recent visit to a dairy farm, I spotted one of the farm workers filling an orange bucket with milk. Why? That’s what I wondered too. Join me on my tour of farms, getting behind the scenes.

Iced Tea From Rooibos

Red bush – or Rooibos in Afrikaans – tea comes from the leaves of a bush that grows in southern Africa and like many teas has valuable antioxidants. If you’re craving flavor, it comes in vanilla, orange, peach and even red bush chai. Don’t forget to get my recipe for rooibos -iced tea!

Cows and Champagne

“Don’t worry, we’ll be able to take a two hour nap before the wedding ceremony starts.” That’s how a recent trip to Germany began. As we later arrived on the family farm, we were greeted by grazing cows while waiters rushed around with trays of icy beers and champagne.

Dance Your Ass Off

The other night, I tuned in to “Dance Your Ass Off” to see what their nutrition and fitness plan would entail. The first thing I noticed was how handsome and beautiful all the dancers are.

Vital Juice

I’ve been cruising around a new site that has some great tips, from 15 minutes of sane talks about the health benefits of vedic meditation to “get skinny in 10 minute” that explains how to exercise even if you have only 10 minutes to spare.

How To Make Food Taste Better

Cooking at home should not be a chore, and there are some basic tenements to cooking that will make your time in the kitchen more efficient and more enjoyable! Here’s three basic techniques, no culinary school required!

Cherry Crush Lemonade

Lemonade fits the bill as a refreshing summertime drink while you’re cooling at the pool, finishing lawn work, or just need a break. Pomegranate and acai get a lot of press for their benefits, but cherries can also add to your antioxidant arsenal.

Cooking with Lavender

Lavender has a refreshing clean smell that is unmistakeable, which has made it a scent in the forefront of the perfume industry. But lavender isn’t just for soap and shampoo, I use it to flavor summer dishes!

Salty Sweets – Licorice Candy

Licorice is an acquired taste for some, but I’ve always loved it. When I was a kid, I constantly begged for hard licorice drops – but that didn’t prepare me at all for the hundreds of coin-sized pieces of licorice during my recent travel to Germany.

Recipe for Tomatillo Salsa

I’m not fond of raw tomatillos, but once they are gently cooked – either roasted in a pan or boiled for a few minutes in water – and mixed with chilies, cilantro and lime, they transform into a bright and tangy sauce, fresh and cool for warm summer days.

What’s Eating You?

Chronic stomach pain isn’t fun – I used to be a chronic overeater, and it was tough to teach myself to put the fork down when I started to feel full. Yet even after I got a handle on my overeating, I still suffered from stomach pain. So I started to incorporate certain foods into my daily meals, and that did the trick!

How To Make Vanilla Ice Cream

When I was a kid, ice cream was synonymous with summer. I had a trained ear and could pick out the perky chimes of the ice cream truck from miles away. Here’s my recipe for home-made vanilla ice cream…

4th of July Menu

Everyone loves the savory tastes of grilled foods on Fourth of July. Grilling is easy, but why not try some new flavors for your grill this weekend like my Jalapeno flank steaks, turkey burgers or chipotle shrimp? Check out my other suggestions for an awesome celebration!

Deviled Eggs

Some of the old fashioned favorites have never gone out of style, take Deviled Eggs for example. Have you ever made hard-boiled eggs, where the yolk has a dark greenish hue? Here’s how to get around that…

Easy Summer Entertaining

Summer entertaining becomes so much easier when you have the right tools for the job at hand. Wow your guests by cooking with cheap tools that professional chefs use in restaurant kitchens.