Ask Chef Phyllis: Lent is early this year, and since my family has Cajun roots, we do celebrate Mardi Gras. After, we will fast forty days or at least give up some favorite food during Lent. We usually make a kind of gumbo (Cajun Shrimp Chowder or Cajun Gumbo) that is unique to our area […]
Category Archives: Self-Health Survival Guides
30
Jan
Jan
So I stumbled on a TEDx Talk that’s had my head spinning ever since. These talks usually get my wheels turning, but this one had a different feel to it. Maybe it’s the magnitude of the topic. Maybe it’s the personal nature of the topic. Or, more likely, maybe it’s the betrayal I felt spelled […]
26
Jan
Jan
Ask Chef Phyllis: I don’t doubt that people write to you about what festive meals to serve during the holidays, but my question is what to serve in between and after those costly feasts? That’s when I’m so burned out. Do you have any suggestions for crock pot meals, top–of–the–stove meals, or even simple, quick chicken meals that are cooked in the oven? […]
24
Jan
Jan
Versatile and tasty, cauliflower “rice” is one of the newest trends of the times. Formerly confined to a scant few home kitchens, it’s now making waves in the marketplace. You can even find it, premade and packaged, in some grocery store aisles. It’s essentially nothing more than plain old cauliflower that’s pulsed in a food processor to look like rice and then subbed into your favorite recipes instead of such. […]
23
Jan
Jan
In the world of alternative and holistic health, probiotics have been a topic of discussion for quite some time. Heck, even conventional medicine has come to recognize the health benefits they provide, and all of the TV commercials that tout them are yet another sign that they’ve gone mainstream (though not all are created equal). Lately, in the circle of resources I rely on, I’ve noticed another word creeping into the conversation: prebiotics. Hmm…Probiotics? Prebiotics? What’s the […]
19
Jan
Jan
Ask Chef Phyllis Everyone knows that English muffins came to America with Samuel Thomas. Everyone knows they’re a pain to make….kneading, rolling, cutting, and griddling. So I decided to make English muffin bread. That sounded like a solution. I tried six different recipes, some old, some new. Easy by definition, yet not so easy as the ones I tried didn’t produce the […]
17
Jan
Jan
The most common explanation I get from people who have difficulties eating a healthy diet is that they lack time to prepare home-cooked, nourishing food. Understandable. The pressure of jobs, commutes, and family responsibilities makes it quite difficult to put nutritious, quick meals on the table each night. For many of us, it’s not a […]
16
Jan
Jan
Let’s face it, people. In the cold days of winter, when it’s hard to get warmed up, there are days when you just don’t feel like cooking. Maybe you only have a thirty-minute window between getting home from work and getting to your son’s basketball game. Perhaps you worked overtime on a special project and […]
What’s Cooking at SRP?
Chocolate-Dipped Einkorn Shortbread (Two Ways): Pistachio-Cherry & Coconut-Chai Spiced
10
Jan
Jan
One of my all-time favorite quotes is by Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not a singular act, but a habit.” A new year is the perfect time for new beginnings and a significant chance to wipe our slate clean of negative habits. Come the start of the January, many of […]
09
Jan
Jan
In a perfect world, we’d only eat the foods that nourish us. Nothing but nutrient dense, grass-fed, organic goods at all times. We’d grind our own grains just minutes before baking our own bread. We’d stop off at our neighbor’s farm for our weekly supply of raw milk. If this sums up your daily life, […]
03
Jan
Jan
For many of us, the holiday season is typically full of bustling activity and a veering away from our usual routines. We frequently indulge in too much food and drink, and we feel added pressure to attend social and family functions. Our sleep patterns sway, and we experience even more stress as we strain ourselves […]
02
Jan
Jan
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but as of November 2017, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have made some changes in what they classify as “normal” and “high” blood pressure. Previously, your reading had to reach 140/90 to be considered high. Now, however, you’re labeled with high blood pressure with […]
27
Dec
Dec
I’d be terribly hard-pressed if I had to choose a favorite international cuisine. I appreciate and enjoy almost all good, wholesome food. And thankfully, today we have an abundance of globally inspired flavors and nutritional benefits at our disposal, so we’re free to experiment and introduce our taste buds to new foods quite easily. Every […]
26
Dec
Dec
When you think about this question, you may start listing off subjects related to the weather, politics, or other things outside of yourself. But the real power comes when you internalize it and do some real digging and reflecting. So, how will 2018 be different? For me, a few things come up. I’m looking forward […]
22
Dec
Dec
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 […]
20
Dec
Dec
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 […]
19
Dec
Dec
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 […]
13
Dec
Dec
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 […]
08
Dec
Dec
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 […]
06
Dec
Dec
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 […]