Ask Chef Phyllis: Pain d’Epices from France Have you ever heard of pain d’epices? French for “spice bread,” it’s literally a kind of spiced sweet bread (with cinnamon, ginger, and anise seed), but Europeans think of it as a cake. Compared to the old familiar fruit cake, this version, although sweet, is far less complicated […]
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Dec
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I’m one of those people who thinks it’s wise to take stock, with brutal honesty, of myself and my life at year’s end. Yes, I retreat to a quiet place where I can concentrate and take a serious look into my life. I reflect on my spending habits, on the time I wasted, on the […]
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I was recently presented with the task of reinventing a classic comfort food found in diners: biscuits and gravy. The challenge was to elevate this dish using real, whole food ingredients. Skeptical at first that I could accomplish this with much success, I was incredibly impressed by the outcome. So much so that I knew […]
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Ask Chef Phyllis: If my grandmother didn’t make Cuban pork for New Year’s Day, she probably made oxtail stew. Both leave plenty for leftovers and are festive enough for any holiday. My experience is too lacking for me to recall what was in this stew except for red wine and tomatoes. But my grandmother’s stew […]
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Every family has unique holiday customs they call their own. Growing up in a large, nontraditional, multispiritual family, our rituals were as diverse and distinctive as us. We pulled pages from cultures and religions around the world and imbued them with our own important traditions. Against this backdrop and our collective imagination, we created winter […]
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Ask Chef Phyllis: My daughter came over the other day and said, “Remember when you could buy a good date-nut bread in the supermarket?” I thought yes, I do. And then, without blinking an eye, we went and looked for a recipe card that my mom gave me when I first got married, and it […]
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Imagine that tomorrow you wake up with a terrible fever and sore throat. Your first instinct is probably to check the medicine cabinet for something that hasn’t yet expired. Either that or you head straight to the local drugstore for your tried and true flu-zappers. But when it comes to health today, many people are […]
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I wrote last week about staying strong and healthy through the busy holiday season. Nutritious food is one of my most important pillars of self-care, especially around this time of year when illness is aplenty (and downtime not so abundant). One of my secret weapons is to sip on rich, nutritious meat stocks throughout the […]
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One of the hardest decisions pet owners have to make is deciding when it’s time to put their companions to sleep. But addressing the topic and discussing your options while your pet is still healthy will make it that much easier when the time comes around. I recommend that you start by making a list […]
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The subject of becoming forgetful as we age isn’t new. It’s a secret worry we all feel as we search for lost keys or forget what we went to the kitchen for. The fear of ending up with lost memories in a nursing home is enough to send anyone into a mental meltdown! Sadly, we’re […]
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This time of year is made for rest and recharging. The cooler temperatures and darker days beckon us to look inward, recover our strength, and give our body, brain, and spirit a break. Unfortunately, this time of year is also very demanding. Expectations and pressures from both others and ourselves are often heightened during the […]
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According to my 2017 Celebrate Everything calendar, it’s National French Toast Day, my friends!! Hooray! French toast is one of my favorite ways to use up the stale loaf of bread sitting in my pantry closet. Surely, you must agree. (Don’t tell me if you don’t. K? K.) I mean, what could be simpler? All […]
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My grandmother’s name was Ruth, but she was known as “Bubbie” for as long as I can remember. My father tells me that at Hanukkah she would make an extremely tender beef roast with prunes or dried fruit in the sauce. He smiles when he tells me that the roast was brought to the baker’s […]
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There are five general health-related components of fitness that are essential to consider when teaching the basics of physical education. In health clubs and fitness facilities all around the world, these components are used as a way to measure an individual’s fitness. As a personal trainer, I perform several fitness tests on my clients before […]
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I’m pretty sure I’ve confessed this before to all you readers, but here I go again: I’m one of those people. I enjoy holiday leftovers far more than the original meal itself. And not simply because when there’s leftovers I have one less dinner to prepare (though occasionally that’s a welcome break). It’s just that […]
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Nov
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Dear Fellow Humans, Thanksgiving is this Thursday. Surely you haven’t forgotten. But perhaps you thought we’d skip right over it this year, what with all of the Christmas stuff showing up so early at the store and in your neighborhood. Alas, I spoke with the Thanksgiving folks, and they assure me that Thanksgiving has not […]
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Nov
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Holistic massage is an excellent healing method that’s been around for centuries in many cultures and countries. Touch is natural. It comforts the human reaction to stress and pain, conveying support, calmness, and compassion. Have you experienced that post-massage feeling? Your body is relaxed. Your mind is clear. If the occasional massage can make you […]
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In a recent blog post, I interviewed David Thomson, a medical hypnotherapist. After I completed the interview and wrote up my findings, it was suggested to me that I should also consider doing an article on prayer. Well, dear readers, although I don’t consider myself an expert on this complex subject, I can nevertheless say […]
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Growing up, I don’t recall ever seeing any heavily sweetened Thanksgiving side dishes on our table. I’m talking candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green bean casserole with condensed cream of mushroom soup, and jellied cranberry sauce shaped exactly like the can it came from. Instead, our celebrations were more like the traditional American Thanksgiving, and […]
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Nov
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This is a question I’ve been wondering about lately. Being the mom of boys, I notice certain things now that I didn’t notice with my brothers. Granted, my brothers are both older than I am, which is probably why I missed it when puberty struck and left each of them with a protuberance on their […]