You know how there are some dishes you can’t eat out at restaurants or when anyone else makes them because they just aren’t the same as how you had them when you were growing up? I have a million of those dishes – meals that no one could make the way my mother made them. […]
It’s September and if you have your own vegetable garden, you are probably trying to find ways to use up all the bounty you harvested. Here is a simple and delicious dish to help you enjoy some of those juicy tomatoes and fragrant basil you planted. Tofu Pomodoro is crispy, pan-fried slices of tofu topped […]
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates There’s bad news, there’s worse news and there’s good news. The bad news is that I’m currently suffering from a relapse of my autoimmune disorder. The worse news is that because I need to keep my skin away from heat, my doctor has ordered […]
“Chi Chi Chia..” Who would have thought that the fad gift of the Chia Pet would end up being the source of a superfood decades later? But it’s true. Chia Seeds are an amazing food that you should add to your diet! This edible seed which comes from the mint family has some great nutritional benefits. […]
Last summer was the 2nd worst summer of my life. I’m not exaggerating. Between personal problems, illness and staying with my in-laws upstate who hate me, I felt like I was in the deepest level of Hell. I was lonely, mistreated and very depressed. The only bright spot was on the weekend when Tom and I would […]
Since I wrote the first part of my Farmers Market Daughter post, some good things have happened. I heard from Dammi who is in Sri Lanka with her mother again. It was nice to reconnect with her. She was very touched by my story about her. I also have been in contact with Save Animals […]
The first time I ever tried Thai food, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it the second time I tried it either. There was a Thai restaurant near my job in Tribeca and everyone loved it. My coworkers always insisted we go there for lunch. To me, everything tasted like it was covered in […]
Just when we got used to non-dairy butter, now we are hearing we shouldn’t buy anything that contains palm oil. Why? Isn’t it vegan? Here’s the short story : “the increased demand for palm oil, which is grown only in tropical environments, is fuelling destruction of the rainforest habitat of Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, pushing those endangered […]
During my child psychiatry fellowship I had an attending physician I greatly admired. Dr. G. was one of the smartest people I had ever met. She was compassionate and caring, choosing to work with needy adolescents in a municipal hospital rather than make money in a private institution. Dr. G. exposed me to great books, films and […]
On the 4th of July as we celebrate Independence Day of the United States, we should of course remember all those who are not free, humans and non-humans alike. And we should set an example for how easy and essential it is to liberate oneself from a lifestyle filled with cruelty so that one day all […]
Last summer I conducted multiple trials to come up with a gluten-free sausage that would not only taste great but would hold up on the grill. After many attempts, I came up with a recipe that I thought passed the test. But I knew I still wanted to play around and improve upon it. I […]
I’m proud to say that I have finally perfected the art of making veggie burgers and I need to go back and rewrite my older recipes to incorporate my new tricks. No more burgers that fall apart when you touch them. No more needing to coat them in flour or bread crumbs to give them […]
If you plan to visit Woodstock this summer…and you should…there are some things you should not miss. You definitely have to visit Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and see all the precious rescued farmed animals who are now living lives of safety and freedom. There is lots of shopping to do in town for t-shirts, memorabilia […]
“The Candy Man makes everything he bakes satisfying and deliciousNow you talk about your childhood wishes, you can even eat the dishes“ Growing up, I loved burgers. In fact, when I was a kid, my Dad would take me for breakfast before he drove me to school. He worked nights so for him, this meal […]
This post is a tribute to a very special rabbit along with a recipe to honor her. And who better to tell you about Fiona than her own Daddy? Gary Loewenthal, co-founder of Compassion for Animals and founder of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, is one of my vegan heroes who does so much to make […]
Yesterday was the 29th anniversary of my grandfather’s death. My grandfather died weeks after I turned 17, right before I graduated high school and just months before he would have become a great-grandfather. He had been ill for a while, battling Parkinsons Disease and cancer. His last years were bad and not what I want […]
As my cooking skills evolve, I not only have been coming up with new recipes but I’ve been revising old ones. Since I only became gluten-free about a year and a half ago, some of my older recipes need gluten-free versions. And as I have pretty much eliminated processed foods from my diet, some of […]
Growing up, every Sunday my mother would make two things: chicken soup with matzoh balls and a huge pot of tomato sauce for pasta. This weekly ritual represented both her heritage and upbringing: Jewish but always raised in Italian neighborhoods. In fact, my mother’s childhood best friend, Dolores (whose brother, Jackie Vernon, is the voice […]
Sometimes I would get home from school and see a bunch of foil-wrapped, ball-shaped packets on the stove. I would get excited because I knew what was in them: stuffed artichokes. Oh, how I loved when my mother made stuffed artichokes! The funny thing is that I hated artichokes. It may have been the weirdest […]
As you probably know, most of the recipes on this blog are gluten-free. When I read how a gluten-free diet can help autoimmune disorders by reducing inflammation, I tried it out. At first I didn’t do it consistently and not surprisingly, I didn’t feel any difference. But when I got serious and completely eliminated gluten […]
When I lived in the Bronx, there was a great but strange Chinese take-out place. Great because they made some really delicious food; strange because the food they made so delicious was Italian while their Chinese food…well…not so much. And I lived in a very Italian neighborhood so there were a lot of authentic places […]
Holidays and family. Holidays, family and memories. They go together, don’t they? Getting sick is no fun but when I was a kid, as soon as I caught a cold, my first thought would be “Yay, Mom is going to make me soup!” I loved my mother’s chicken soup with matzo balls. There was nothing like […]
When you read the label on a package of pasta, it says that a 16-oz. bag should serve 8 people. WHAT? I know portion control isn’t one of my strengths but how can 2-oz. of pasta be a full-size serving for a full-size adult? I swear I eat more than that just testing to see […]
Happy Purim! There is no way that I could improve upon my Purim blog post from last year. It’s really good, if I do say so myself. It covers my childhood Purim experiences, the link between Purim and veganism, the exploitation of women and more! You should definitely read it here. But I could […]
