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Holiday Pastries: Lemon-Cranberry Scones, Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps and Carrot Cake Cookies

Holiday Pastries: Lemon-Cranberry Scones, Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps and Carrot Cake Cookies

Moms and grandmas are known for cooking with love, but cooking to show people you love them isn’t exclusive to moms and grandmas. Especially during the holidays, I love to share home-cooked meals and desserts with friends and family.

This year, I attended a potluck brunch filled with delicious flavors including biscuits and sausage gravy, kale frittata, purple cauliflower and leek quiche, lemon…

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Poached Eggs 3 Ways

Poached Eggs 3 Ways

People in San Francisco love brunch. The wait more than two hours sometimes to get a bite of brown sugar-glazed bacon or brioche french toast. I’ve never been a huge brunch-goer, but I have experienced some of San Francisco’s well-known spots (Zazie, Sweet Maple, Mission Beach Cafe) without the wait by going early.

One of my favorite brunch meals was spinach and mushroom eggs benedict, a…

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Mushroom-Lentil Bake with Egg

Mushroom-Lentil Bake with Egg

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Often we look at something, whether it be an object, place or relationship, and simply see it at surface level. We might see a worn book as tattered and not worthy of $10 instead of seeing it as a well-loved gem that many have read over and over again.

Last week I ate at a Vietnamese restaurant that had an outdated facade, but once I entered, I could tell it was a…

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Corn-Potato Soup

Corn-Potato Soup: A recipe that's warm and nourishing

In the winter, as the cold settles in, I’m often reminded to nourish myself with things that make me warm, from soup and lattes to yoga and long hikes. But it’s not just during the cold months that we need to bring warmth and nourishment into our lives.

Tangible things that make the body warm like hot foods and activities that increase your heart rate are what people initially think of when they…

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Carrot and Kale Thai Soup

Carrot and Kale Thai Soup

At the start of the year, many people make New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, exercise more and drink less. While these goals are well intentioned, they often last a couple months — or sometimes as short as a few weeks.

To me, New Year’s resolutions should be goals or things you want to do for life, not just a couple months. And that may mean not making your resolutions very extreme. For…

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Kale Salad with Lentils Folded into Yogurt

Kale Salad with Lentils Folded into Yogurt #proteinpacked #summersalad

With a bountiful supply of homegrown vegetables, it’s easy to simply have a lunch or dinner of veggies. The flavors may be filling and satisfying but I need a sufficient amount of protein to stay full. Lately, I’ve been eating a lot of hard-boiled eggs, spiced chickpeas and Greek yogurt.

To add variety, I whipped together a lentil-yogurt salad to mix with greens of your choice — I opted for kale.…

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Garden to Table Salad

Garden to Table Salad #farmtotable #homegrown

There’s nothing more pure than picking vegetables from your garden and making a meal from them. Organic in nature, homegrown vegetables are fresher and more flavorful than anything you’ll buy at the store.

The farm-to-table movement has exploded across the U.S., and that same concept can be applied to your own cooking. If you don’t have a garden or a friend with a garden, simply join a CSA to get…

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Zucchini Noodles

Zucchini Noodles #veggiepasta #lowcarb

In health magazines I often read about the healthy versions of comfort foods. While I’ve never been a huge spaghetti person, I’ve always wanted to try making veggie pasta. It looks so simple, refreshing and flavorful.

In the past I’ve made veggie pasta that doesn’t require a spiralizer such as raw zucchini lasagna, but last month I bought a basic spiralizer to experiment with new dishes. This…

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Pea-Walnut Puree

Pea-Walnut Puree #appetizer #easyrecipe

Once a month, I help out with the culinary demos as a volunteer with CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture). Renowned chefs and cookbook authors come to share a recipe — and samples — with the public, and as a volunteer, I work alongside them to prepare the recipe.

A couple weeks ago Sascha Weiss, the executive chef at The Plant Cafe in San Francisco, prepared a…

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Roasted Cauliflower Steak with Quinoa

Roasted Cauliflower Steak with Quinoa #vegetarianentree

Vegetarians rejoice because you can have steak too — it’s just a different kind of steak. I’ve often read cauliflower steak recipes and thought It sounds so simple, yet the presentation is of restaurant caliber. This rendition uses all parts of the cauliflower to make a cauliflower puree that’s simple yet elegant.

Ingredients:

> 1 head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch thick “steaks” > 2 tablespoons…

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Caprese Quinoa Bake

Caprese Quinoa Bake #healthyitalian

While I love the flavors of pizza and pasta, I’m not always in the mood to eat that many white carbs or order an entire serving. Plus, Italians love their large pasta dishes and single-serve pizzas that are more appropriate for two. This recipe brings the Italian flavors to a dish that has whole grains and less cheese than your classic pizza or pasta. It’s easy to cook and makes great leftovers…

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Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad

Hearts of Palm and Avocado Salad #officesalad #officelunch

A couple weeks ago, I had a delicious meal at La Bodeguita del Medioin Palo Alto and was inspired by a simple yet flavorful salad. The Palmitos salad is composed of hearts of palm, frisee, avocado, red grapefruit, sugared walnuts and a lime vinaigrette. The combination of flavors was both refreshing and filling, so I decided to try to recreate the salad. It’s slightly different and combined with…

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Lentil and Cauliflower Soup with Gruyere Cheese

Lentil and Cauliflower Soup with Gruyere Cheese #lentilsoup #vegetablesoup

I’ve always loved veggie-dominant soups, preferring minestrone to chicken noodle, even before I stopped eating meat. When I stumbled upon this recipe from Martha Stewart, I knew I had to try it because it combines the components that I love about lentil soup (minus the ham) with those from minestrone soup. The smoked gruyere cheese on top is the perfect finishing touch, especially as the cheese…

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Zucchini Salad

Zucchini Salad #rawrecipe #saladnirvana

When summer decides to come in the middle of March, the last thing I want to be doing is slaving over a hot stove or oven. But that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice flavor or variety just because you aren’t turning the temperature up to 350°. This raw zucchini is simple, healthy and delicious. The lemon flavor truly shines in this recipe, while the almonds provide a crunch and the feta a…

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Raw Fig Bars with Pecans

Raw Fig Bars with Pecans #rawdessert #vegandessert

I was never a fan of Fig Newtons growing up — I opted for Oreos or chocolate chip cookies. But as people say, your preferences, including your tastebuds, change every seven years. While I still love sinking my teeth into a rich piece of fudge, my sweet tooth often opts for fruit flavors instead.

Last year, I followed a raw diet for three days, and after three days, I was ready to eat simple…

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Vegetable Farro with Figs and Sunflower Seeds

Vegetable Farro with Figs and Sunflower Seeds. A delicious and simple recipe to make in your slow cooker. #slowcooker #healthyeating

Every week I plan my meals for the next week or two, so I can do grocery shopping on the weekend and schedule the cooking throughout the week. Recently, I remembered my slow cooker, which hasn’t been used since last winter. The slow cooker can be a woman’s — or man’s — best friend.

The only challenge is finding recipes that are healthy, and in my case, vegetarian. A majority of slow cooker…

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Curried Heirloom Carrot Soup

Curried Heirloom Carrot Soup #heirloomvegetables

Carrots are a staple in my fridge. If I don’t have any other veggies, I’m bound to have these — and most likely they’re the heirloom variety from Trader Joe’s. I’ve made carrot soup with crisped chickpeas before, but this soup has new textures and flavors thanks to the leek, fennel, celery and apple.

Ingredients:

> 2 tablespoons unsalted butter > 1 medium onion, chopped > 2 medium leeks, halved…