Health & Nutrition in the News

A new study was released by the New England Journal of Medicine this week: “Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates”. In the study, 811 individuals were divided into 4 groups and each group adhered to a particular diet. The diets varied in macronutrient composition (meaning the percentagels of fats, [...]

Bean Sprout Salad

This refreshing cold dish is often made with shredded poached chicken breast, but in deference to the start of Lent, here is a vegetarian version. You can find bean sprouts in Asian markets and, more and more often, in the Asian vegetable section of conventional stores. Be sure to pick sprouts that look clean and [...]

The Original Chicken Rice Bowl

In Southern California, with its large Asian population, the “rice bowl” is a common item in many restaurants, from the ethnic mom & pop shop (many of which make a great one!) to fast food joints (both those that qualify as Asian, like Yoshinoya, and downright American ones, like Jack-in-the-Box, all of which are pretty [...]

Braised Beancurd with Mushrooms

Warm and nourishing and vegetarian (although the original recipe often contains a bit of pork)! I usually prefer the silken version of tofu, but for this dish the regular water-packed firm variety works best. You can use fresh mushrooms or rehydrate dry ones for 30 m in hot water – if you do the latter, save [...]

…and forgive us our sins?

Last week I finally watched Our Daily Bread, a documentary by Nikolaus Geyrhalter about industrialized food production in Europe. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it highly (and so did the New York Times, LA Times, and a host of other reviewers!) There are a plethora of movies and videos produced on this subject by [...]

Chef’s holiday!

I’ll be taking a long weekend to spend time with family, but I’ve posted a menu for celebrating Valentine’s Day in style. Back in the middle of next week with more on cooking healthy Chinese food at home from whole, close to the source ingredients!

Menu: Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day! What better way to say, “I love you” than by preparing a homemade meal from scratch for your sweetheart? (And if you create it from local, organic, sustainably raised ingredients, you’re sending a love note to  Mother Earth as well!)
the recipes

 black pepper edamame
spicy cold noodles with sesame tahini
red beans and rice
chicken with [...]

Red (or Green) Bean Soup

This warming winter “soup” is really a dessert or snack item, and it is traditionally served for the Lantern Festival, the last day of the lunar New Year celebration, which just passed. You can sometimes find it (or another sweet soup) served gratis at the end of a restaurant meal. You can increase or decrease the [...]

Basic Stirfried Noodles – Lo Mein

Noodle dishes make frequent appearances at banquets and birthday parties in China – the long noodles symbolize long life, so they are never broken or cut before serving.
While the kids and my husband tend to prefer soupy noodles (see Pan-Asian Noodle Soup post, for example), I have a weakness for stirfried noodles, called lo mein [...]

Stirfried Daikon

A very basic vegetable stirfy – simple to make and extremely satifsying. For best results, be sure to leave the daikon a little crunchy. Daikon, also called Asian radish, can be purchased in Asian markets, but it’s also more and more readily available in conventional grocery stores that feature an Asian vegetable section. My favorites of course [...]