As I looked in my fridge this morning, the wind was a howlin’ through the empty shelves. I know I’ll go to the store tomorrow to shop for the long weekend, but in the meantime, why to make for dinner tonight was my big question.  I spotted a carton of eggs and hello!  My mind starting rattling off all sorts of meal ideas.  Eggs are a versatile and economical way to deliver protein to your family, and depending on how you prepare them, it could be low-fat as well.  Here are some delicious ideas for egg dinners.  Give them a...

One of my pet peeves is when the wedding hair outdoes the wedding cake towards decoration and complexity. (Keep it simple! Less is more!) Yes, this is a big day and you can play it up, but you still want to look like you. The first step in picking your perfect wedding day hair-do is to decide on your dress. Your hairstyle should work around your dress and facial shape. For example: If the dress has an extremely low back it might make sense to balance it with some hair left down. The next step is to be sure to do a hair trial...

Why I resisted potato bread for so long is a question I’m not psychologically prepared to answer. My idiotic prejudices and repressions, the arbitrary condemnations, the wholesale resistance to things that everybody else loves — these are matters for psychology, not food blogs. But whatever the reason for my dismissal of potato bread, what folly it was! Have you ever had it? The most famous brand is Martin’s, whose hamburger buns I also resisted, and still do. I will never use Martin’s potato buns! But the bread has changed my life. It’s thick, and moist, and sweet. If you make a...

I love entertaining, and summertime is my favorite time to entertain because of the casual, last-minute approach you can take to it. But I’m not a great cook…okay, I don’t cook at all, much to Rach’s dismay! So I’m always looking for ways to make take-out or delivery feel a little more special. I start by drawing my decorative inspiration from the food I’m serving. For example, for a fun way to serve up Chinese fare, why not take the party outside? Make a table cover out of Chinese newspaper by covering it with clear contact paper. Get a couple of...

This summer, my best friend from childhood and her three kids came to visit.  That put 5 kids in my house under the age of nine.  By the end of the weekend my friend and I had each sprouted two huge grey hairs and had a laugh over it, but it was well worth the effort to have these kids together. We decided it wasn’t the summer for us to afford a vacation away, so we made it a “staycation” at my house.  We quickly realized after the first few hours of catching up as adults that we couldn’t ignore the...

Last weekend, I attended my first potluck picnic of the summer. There is a very pretty park near where I live in Brooklyn, where it has become a summer ritual for a group of friends to hold elegant dinner parties with homemade food and a selection of refreshing, grown-up beverages. (Depending on which state you live in, the law may not encourage open containers of wine or beer; check with your local town or city hall). I love the potlucks because they trounce so many stereotypes about city living: that there is no outdoor space, that going out has to be...

Summer is finally here, although it may not feel like it in certain parts of the country (rain again?).  You still might not feel like eating hot  or heavy foods all the time, so why not give these salads a try that are meatless, yet still packed with protein and high in fiber and other nutrients. Grilled Shrimp and Grits with Spicy Salad Ingredients: 20 jumbo shrimp, de-veined and peeled with tail left on 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) Juice of 1 large lemon, plus 1 tablespoon grated peel and wedges for serving 2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper One tube prepared plain...

Summer is here. What we have all been waiting for, right? A break in the every day routine to take a breath, relax, and enjoy some down time. I don’t know about you, but my kids seem to need some time to transition to summer and a break in their typical routines. This is their third week off from school and I have to admit, it’s been slightly rocky. It takes a while to get into the swing of things and June is a funny month because real summer activities don’t get going until July. Soooo, I hate to admit it, but...

By now I am sure you have heard of the Master Cleanse diet. It’s the diet where for 10 days you don’t eat anything, but you drink a mixture of water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper.  At night you drink a huge glass of salt water which helps flush your system even further.  This combination of ingredients is all you need to detox your body and keep it running on a daily basis. I first heard of it a few years ago and thought it was the nuttiest sounding thing anyone could do.  First of all, I don’t really...