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Cranberry-Orange Pecan Muffins

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**For decades I enjoyed a very fulfilling career as a journalist, author and editor. Aside from my family and career, my great passion was food. In 2001 I published 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes.** That book went on to sell over 400,000 copies and its success was a life-changing event. At that point I decided to make my hobby my career. Since then I have written 15 cookbooks, which in total have sold over a million copies. In the process of writing cookbooks, I became extremely interested in the science of nutrition and In 2006 formalized that interest with publication of The Healthy Slow Cooker, which contained an abundance of nutritional information in addition to recipes. Since then, I’ve actively followed the exciting developments occurring in the field of nutrition, including the emerging science that looks at interactions between genes, gene expression and nutrients. That interest eventually led to my most recent book, You Are What Your Grandparents Ate. If you would like to know more about me, my family and my life, click About. In the meantime, thank you for dropping in. I hope to see you again.

Tour Dates for YOU ARE WHAT GRAND PARENTS ATE

judith.finlayson

Roasting is an easy way to cook a whole fish --- t

Roasting is an easy way to cook a whole fish --- the simplest treatment is seasoning with salt and pepper, stuffing the cavity with lemon slices and cooking in a hot (400 to 425 F) oven. Depending on size, you’ll have a delicious main course in less than half an hour. But every now and again, I feel the urge for something different so I was intrigued to try this approach from @edeneats . The fish is scored (allowing the spicy flavors to seep in) and slathered with a garlicky harissa salsa. Here I used small branzino and the results were delicious.

How’s this for steak and eggs? Pan-fried sirloin

How’s this for steak and eggs? Pan-fried sirloin finished with a Dijon-mustard spiked peppercorn sauce. The recipe is from a Portuguese cookbook ---apparently steak topped with a fried egg is a popular café dish in Lisbon. I added smashed potatoes to the mix and enjoyed every bite.
Although I watch my consumption of red meat and source it carefully, as @brain.health.nutritionist recently noted, beef is a great brain food. Not only is it an excellent source of protein, it provides a range of nutrients that support brain health, including vitamin B 12, choline, selenium and zinc. Where I live, we’re heading into another Covid-generated lock-down, which makes nutrients like zinc, which helps to keep depression at bay, even more valuable.

I often have salad to complete a meal because it’s one way of adding variety to my diet (thereby expanding my intake of nutrients, including gut-friendly fiber). In summer it’s a no-brainer because so many farmers grow wonderful varieties of lettuce but once winter sets in the choices are limited. Kale is one cold-weather option but many people don’t care for it because raw kale is unpleasantly chewy. However, with just a little TLC kale can really shine in salads. Firstly, it needs to be tenderized, so for starters after removing the fibrous center rib give the torn leaves a light massage to relax them. They will soften more after being tossed in a vinaigrette. Another option is to roll up the leaves like a cigar, slicing them ribbon thin. This exposes the cut edges to the vinaigrette allowing it to penetrate and tenderize the leaves.
It’s worth persevering because a good kale salad ---like this take-out version I recently enjoyed from @alobaryorkville, which includes delicata squash, feta and candied pumpkin seeds --- is a real treat in addition to being a nutritional powerhouse.

Usually when I cook clams it’s for an Italian-in

Usually when I cook clams it’s for an Italian-inspired pasta sauce but remembering our trip to Spain’s Basque country a couple of years ago brought back memories of aromatic platters of garlicky steamed clams. I love that combination of briny clam juice and pungent garlic spiked with just a hint of white wine and lemon juice. I’m also a great fan of the Michelin-starred chef Nieves Barragan Mohacho, whom I first discovered @barrafinalondon, one of my all-time favorite London restaurants. In her book Sabor, she shares recipes based Spanish home cooking, the foundation for her latest venture @sabor_ldn , where I’ve also enjoyed a wonderful meal.
Spanish home cooks apparently steam tasty bivalves in a flavorful fish stock, spiked with wine and loaded with parsley and garlic. It is customary to slurp up the sauce from the shells, but I decided to veer from tradition and served the dish in soup bowls, over mashed potatoes. It may not have been conventional but we thoroughly enjoyed every delicious morsel. And btw all that parsley and garlic is, in addition to other things, very good for your gut.

Split pea soup, made with a ham bone is Quebec-sty

Split pea soup, made with a ham bone is Quebec-style comfort food and one of my favorite winter restoratives. Basically, it’s bone broth with vegetables (an onion, carrot and celery mirepoix) and yellow split peas, seasoned with herbs like garlic, bay leaf, thyme and just a pinch of cloves. If you’ve enjoyed ham over the holiday, it’s a great way to recycle any leftovers: shred the meat and add it to the broth for the final 30 minutes or so of cooking.
Need I say that split peas qualify as a “superfood” pulse? They are packed with protein and gut-friendly fiber, among other nutrients and a bowl of this delicious soup will warm the cockles of your heart and keep you going throughout the day.

It’s not exactly a “new year, new me” approa

It’s not exactly a “new year, new me” approach but I decided to bake my own seed bread to have on hand for sandwiches and healthy snacks. Good whole grain bread is one of the few things I miss while living gluten-free and this nutrient-packed loaf of pumpkin, sunflower, psyllium and chia seeds held together with quinoa and almond flours, is exactly what I needed. After baking and enjoying some warm bread, spread with our friend Bruce’s homemade Seville Orange Marmalade, I cut thinnish slices for the freezer. Quickly toasted they will make a great base for sandwiches or snacks. The recipe came from one of my Christmas gifts, the gut health cookbook Help Yourself by @lindsaymaitland .

Part of the holiday fun is being gifted with cookb

Part of the holiday fun is being gifted with cookbooks. And since we certainly haven’t been out and about, it’s been a particularly good season for trying out new recipes. How could I resist this mash-up treatment for pork chops: Pan roasted with shallots, topped with herbaceous chermoula and finished with a dollop of labneh? It’s the first recipe I made from Eating Out Loud by Eden Grinshpan and it provides lots of gut-friendly alliums and greens, along with probiotic yogurt. I eat healthy but I also want my food to be delicious. The big, bold flavors that characterize recipes developed by @edeneats can deliver on both fronts. For sure I’ll make more.

I’m grateful that we’ve been able to enjoy the

I’m grateful that we’ve been able to enjoy the scaled-down holiday season with good food and wine, some of which was provided by Toronto restauranteurs, who rose to the occasion with remarkable take-out options like this steak tartare from @tanto.toronto . Unpacking their perfectly organized take-home bags (complete with re-heating instructions where applicable), duplicates some of the feelings of being nurtured that are part of a good restaurant experience. I’m well aware that too many people are not as fortunate as we are and I try to compensate in my own small way by donating to organizations that address food security by helping to feed people in need. How about you?

You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy smoked salm

You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy smoked salmon with latkes. I always make mine with starchy russet potatoes so they hold together without added flour but for this version I took a tip from Jewish food authority @ joan_nathan . She recommends partially precooking the potatoes, then refrigerating the patties for a couple of hours before frying them. I was interested in testing this technique because refrigerating cooked potatoes increases the amount of resistant starch they provide. Resistant starch is becoming popular ingredient these days because it resists digestion and nurtures the beneficial bacteria in your gut. When your microbial buddies digest resistant starch they transform it into compounds like short-chain fatty acids, which have numerous health benefits. Among its virtues, laboratory research suggests that resistant starch helps your body to absorb minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc.
I served these latkes (which were delicious) with mouth-watering double-smoked salmon from @hookedinc and a dollop of crème fraîche . A perfect holiday treat.

What to make when you have leftover egg whites? Ho

What to make when you have leftover egg whites? How about meringue cookies? These tasty little morsels have a delightful melt-in-your-mouth crunchy texture and are very easy to make. Basically, you just whip the egg whites to soft peaks and gradually add sugar beating until they stiffen up. In this version I included vanilla, very finely chopped toasted almonds and chocolate chips. As always, meringues are baked at a very low temperature (250 F) for about an hour. You can easily fancy them up by tinting them to a pastel shade or piping through a bag, but this very basic version (spooned on to the baking sheet) tastes just as good and works for me. I plan to serve them as an accompaniment to homemade chocolate ice cream.

If you are anything like me, canned tuna is one of

If you are anything like me, canned tuna is one of the things you stocked up on as part of your surviving Covid strategy. It’s so nutritious and a staple in so many recipes. One of my favorites is classic Salade Niçoise, which I usually serve for dinner when I’m feeling like something light. I add a few cooked vegetables—- green beans and potatoes, hard-cooked eggs —- and go easy on the anchovies. By the time it’s assembled, a Salade Niçoise hits numerous high notes on the nutritious eating scale: it’s loaded with a variety of nutrient-dense whole foods, including leafy greens and omega-3-rich oily fish, as well as brine-fermented olives, which provide that healthful elixir olive oil while boosting gut health.

“Tis the season for roasted Brussels sprouts. T

“Tis the season for roasted Brussels sprouts. That makes me happy because I really enjoy the in-your-face-flavor of these delicious little members of the cabbage family, so much so that back in pre-Covid days when I used to entertain, I would cook them just to the point where they are slightly underdone, spear them on fondue forks and use them as dippers for that equally cheeky Italian concoction of garlic, anchovies and olive oil, known as Bagna Cauda. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. It also makes me long for the days of holiday parties, but that’s another story.
Anyway, Brussels sprouts are also very, very good for you. The nutraceutical powers of cruciferous vegetables are well known, as are their cancer-fighting capacities. Among their benefits, they provide substances that set the stage for the production of sulforaphane, which improves the expression of genes that can slow down the growth of cancer cells. And yes, as members of the cabbage family, Brussels sprouts also qualify as a leafy green, so eat up and enjoy.

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Take A Peek at Chile Pepper Bible Recipes

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More fun reading on my Facebook page:

Fascinating article from the Daily Mail – and just one more reason to love chile peppers.
A little interesting read to end the weekend…. from Northwestern University
On the heels of my post about why you need a mortar and pestle, here’s a great article from Serious Eats exploring the world of Indonesian chile pastes
One of the most entertaining moments I had while researching The Chile Pepper Bible was reading Lauren Collins’ article Fire Eaters, which appeared it The New Yorker magazine. You may think chiles are not a laughing matter, but this story delivers on laugh-out-loud moments.
Ah, the ghost pepper. Here’s another article from The Atlantic every chile pepper lover can enjoy:

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