That old cookbook workhorse that keeps on giving

Anybody have one of those? It’s nothing special. It’s probably never been reviewed by anyone. But it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Mine is America’s Favorite Brand Name Light Cooking. Copyright 1998; I probably found it on a sale rack at Borders about 10 years ago. My mom has always said that if you get one good recipe out of a cookbook, it’s a success. This one has... Read More

The Perfect Scoop is Perfection

The reason I adore Weight Watchers so is because it really acts as a decoder ring for me to figure out exactly how much I can eat of what I really love. And something that I really love is ice cream. To be sure, there are some really delightful flavors of “1/2 the fat” varieties of Edy’s ice cream and I have found that a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich really hits... Read More

A K-Hole of Infinite, Spicy Proportions

At practically every meal in my house growing up, there was a dish of kimchi on the table. The accompanying bowl of rice was never too far. It’s definitely where I started loving hot, spicy, uh oh, I-think-I’m-sweating kind of foods. But unlike where I grew up in West Virginia, the spicy Korean pickled cabbage isn’t hard to find here in LA. There are whole entire factories... Read More

A recipe to scratch an itch…

I’ve been dying for some carrot cake, but not for the calories that usually come with it. I recently remembered a recipe I’d tried a few years ago and enjoyed, and tracked it down in “Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2004.” (The Cooking Light Annual, by the way, is a great compilation of the entire previous year’s magazine recipes, sans ads and superfluous articles.) In addition... Read More

Hollywood Bowl Time! (AKA the fancy picnic)

In Los Angeles, Hollywood Bowl season is upon us–when hoards of Angelenos dust off their wine backpacks and head out for nights of music under the stars, to hear everything from classical music to jazz to rock to “The Sound of Music” sing-alongs. And aside from a beautiful natural setting right in the middle of Hollywood, enjoying the lovely LA evening weather and hearing... Read More

Review of The Everything Cast-Iron Cookbook

What perfect timing! I was just raving the other day about my set of 3 cast iron skillets when I stumbled across this gem of a cookbook at the Borders in Hollywood. Granted, I was heavily influenced by the giant red and yellow signs screaming “40% off!” but a day later,  I’m still convinced this was a great find. Cinnamon Cooper shares my affection for the tradition... Read More

Homemade Fruity Sorbet

Spring has sprung, my friends! While the weather here in Southern California is going back and forth between bouts of cold and warmth, I’m taking advantage of this temperature indecision to perfect my ice-cream-making skills before the heat really gets going. After seeing several delicious options in my WW cookbook (a lovely birthday present from Chandra) and noting the great... Read More

Perfecting Polenta

Polenta is only two points per serving. TWO POINTS people! I recently discovered this deliciously flexible version of cornmeal at the grocery store – already cooked! I’ve passed these strange tubes of yellow before, and never thought to actually buy one. I just didn’t really know what you were supposed to do with it. After all, it was in a tube – not very appealing. But... Read More

Lavash Pesto Pizza

Like pretty much everyone ALIVE, I love pizza. Recently, Chandra told me that she’d made a quick, delicious pizza using lavash bread and a few other ingredients, much to the delight of her boyfriend. I decided to see if this lavash pizza idea would have the same effect on my boyfriend. Lo and behold, it did! I was very happy to discover that I could use some of the veggies... Read More