Hey there, folks. It’s been a minute, and I thought I’d tell you why. (Don’t worry: It’s good news!)

I’m excited to let you know that I’ve been writing a book called “Your Plate & the Planet,” which is a practical guide to cooking and eating sus…

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In my last post I mentioned that the recipe for rhubarb-almond cake yielded a beautiful byproduct: rhubarb syrup. I’ve been putting mine to good use, particularly in a pair of vibrant seasonal cocktails and a refreshing non-alcoholic spritz.

If you don’t want to whip up the actual cake, you can still make the syrup as follows:

Rh…

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I don’t know about you, but I didn’t mind sweltering for a couple of days this week when temps briefly hit the 90s. Frankly, it took me that long just to thaw out from the very chilly Spring weather we’ve been experiencing. And while I’m now back in a wool sweater and the forecast is for a cool, damp Memorial Day weekend, I’ve decided to embrace the mom…

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I usually don’t fall for viral food trends, but when Instagram started feeding me video after video of people making a most-intriguing “no-water chicken soup,” I stopped scrolling and started paying attention.

I learned that the simple, satisfying dish orig…

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Welcome, and happy May! It’s always a celebration when my friend Adeena Sussman is back in the States from her adopted home of Tel Aviv—but when she’s here for the launch of a new cookbook, it feels like a national holiday.

There was such a palpable buzz of excitement the other night when she took the stage at the Streicker Cultural Center at Temple Ema…

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I was laid low last week after an old back injury flared up out of nowhere. For a few days the only comfortable position was horizontal, so I had no choice but to lie around under the influence of muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories, and Epsom salts.

After a few days of self-imposed hibernation, napping, and Netflix, I was delighted when Dale turned u…

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When I began dreaming up today’s recipe, nighttime temps were still in the 30s and a sudden hail storm had just left a crunchy white blanket of icy orbs glistening on the ground. Soup seemed like a swell idea—especially one that involved the o…

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If Claudia Roden’s Orange and Almond Cake and Niloufer Ichaporia King’s Cardamom Cake had a baby—who inherited none of its parents’ cardamom or orange genes, but instead shined bright with lemon—it would look like this zingy, fragrant flourless dessert.

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So how is this baby related to its progenitors? Well, I borrowed Roden’s technique of boili…

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I ran around NYC last week having all kinds of fun: Finally saw Oh, Mary!—such a hoot!—and celebrated a dear friend’s birthday with not one but three culinary adventures (to be revisited in another newsletter). What I did…

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Beets, like the month of March, can lean winter or spring. Simmered in hot, vinegar-spiked borscht with shredded cabbage and tender chunks of beef they become the ultimate snow-storm fare. Blended smooth with sour cream and served chilled as cold borscht, they’re as refreshing as it gets on a steamy day.

Beet salads bridge the gap. Tossed with bracing w…

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This vibrant, cohesive little meal is so good I’m putting some form of it into weekly rotation. It looks like there are lots of elements, but it’s truly fast and easy—simple enough to make for yourself on a weeknight, but elevated and delicious enough for a special dinner. And it doesn’t get more nutritious than this.

It’s also adaptable. This time I us…

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Tuesday ushers in the year of the Horse—and not just any horse, but the bold, rowdy, once-in-60-years Fire Horse. So after shedding whatever no longer served us during the year of the snake, we’re on the precipice of a period of rapid transformation, intense energy, and, hopefully, groundbreaking progress.

Gotta love a zodiac sign so powerful that the bi…

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It was three below when I (quickly) took the dog out this morning, and the weather app tells me it’s 2° now. I’ve found myself capturing screenshots of my early-morning temperature readings, perhaps imagining that I won’t believe this later—that I may need to remind myself, in an …

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I’ve been watching the news out of Minneapolis with the same sense of anguish, anger, and incredulity that you may be feeling. I also watched with interest and empathy this week as so many folks in my community shared their struggles trying to balance political, professional, and personal responsibilities.

Small-businesses, including lots of local resta…

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This soup is so simple, I didn’t think it was going to be a hit with anyone but me. But when I made it for the family as a “hundred-year” hurricane approached, everyone was mad for it. (Read “Hurricane’s Make Me Hungry” here.)

The soup gets so much flavor from the Parmesan rind, I really encourage you to use one. Never throw them out—just stow them in th…

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You know that scene in Season 2 of the Bear where Sydney makes an omelet for stressed-out, pregnant Sugar? I know I’m not the only one who, the next time I hit the market, grabbed a box of Boursin, a bag of Ruffles, and a bunch of chives so I could make …

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Tomato soup is the coziest soup.

Now before you scroll down to the comments to register your dissent, hear me out: Every soup has its own relevancy. Chicken soup is deeply curative and nostalgic. Add matzo balls and it feels ancestral; even ceremonial. Beef-barley is soul-satisfyingly hearty. Ramen is gr…

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Hanukkah and Christmas are behind us, and as I write—gazing out my windows at a blanket of deep, freshly fallen snow—the 7-day celebration of Kwanzaa is leading us brightly toward the new year.

I hope your holidays have been filled with joyful gatherings—and of course lots of delicious things to eat and drink—and that if this time came with emotional or…

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I imagine that like many of you, during this week of Hanukkah and horror I don’t feel much like celebrating. The losses have felt unbearable and relentless.

What’s undeniable, though, is the need to gather with family and friends, to hold them close while maintaining precious tradit…

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When my childhood chums Ellen and Jen asked if I would contribute a lentil recipe to their Substack, , the first one that popped to mind was mujadara. A simple, satisfying dish that originated in the Levantine region of the Middle East…

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