Many readers have inquired about a recipe that was on Rachael’s show last week using pumpkin in a chocolate cake box mix; the recipe was simply one box of devil’s food cake mix which you made with one 15-ounce can of pure pumpkin puree, that’s it. Stir and bake at 400 degress in prepared muffin tins for 20 minutes. The puree replaced the eggs and oil. Yum. There are many healthy substitutions for higher fat ingredients like oil and butter in baking recipes. Applesauce, pumpkin, prune and other purees are great oil and butter substitutes in cake, quick bread and muffin...

Quinoa (not pronounced how it is spelled - keen-wah) has been around since it was a staple of the ancient Incas diet, but just in the last few years has it been readily available in major supermarkets. Why? It is a complete vegetarian protein, gluten -free, has a low glycemic index, and is easily digested, making it a healthy and satisfying option for vegetarians, people with food allergies, and those looking for a meatless meal that delivers flavor and nutrition. Quinoa means “mother grain;” in addition to protein, it provides calcium and iron and is a great whole grain substitute...

If you have been to your local farmers market or even grocery store lately, you can’t help but notice that all varieties of winter squash in all their glory are abundant right now. Summer squash varieties include zucchini and yellow squash but winter squashes are their funny looking, oddly shaped, quirky cousins that are prevalent in the fall. Squash is delicious, healthy (chock full of vitamins A, C and E ) and versatile, but sometimes it’s hard to know which type is which, much less how to cook them. Delicious in soups, stews, pastas and purees, here’s the skinny on...

The leaves are changing, Halloween is coming, the air is chilly - isn’t it time to cook with pumpkin? Not just for pies, pumpkin is delicious in sweet and savory dishes and packed with nutrition. It’s loaded with vitamins A, C, K and E, minerals, fiber and antioxidant carotenoids. Canned puree is easiest to cook or bake with, but you can make your own puree by putting a few slits in a pumpkin and baking on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for  an hour or until a knife goes in the pumpkin easily. Scoop out the seeds and discard and then scoop and...

It may be October, but there is plenty of tailgating season left. Even if your favorite team isn’t faring well, it’s all about the party, right? Any excuse to get outside and enjoy good food and friends. The Cooks at rachaelray.com did some investigating and found some of the newest gear (and Christmas gifts for many family members) for your next tailgate: Motorized Scooter Cooler We are not kidding here. Whoever thought of this is a genius. You sit on a motorized cooler on wheels which is powered by a 300 watt electric motor. It holds a case of beverages and goes...

September is almost over so if you planted some basil this summer, seeing as fall has abuptly arrived in colder climates, now is the time to harvest this tasty herb or lose it. Here is a brief basil primer: Basil varieties There are dozens, if not more, varieties of basil plants, but some of the most popular are: Sweet basil is the most popular variety with deep green leaves and a mild sweet flavor. Genovese basil is used interchangeably with sweet basil but has crinkled, turned-in leaves. Lemon basil looks and tastes like sweet basil but has a mild lemony flavor. Thai basil has purple flowers and stems and...

I don’t know about you, but I have a ton of cherry tomatoes sitting on my counter… my local co-op food market had some beautiful home grown yellow cherry tomatoes I couldn’t pass up, and my neighbor just brought over some traditional red beauties. So I will be preparing some meals where these sweet gems will be the stars. Here are some quick and easy ideas on how to use up cherry tomatoes now that they are in such abundance: Top a pizza: Crush tomatoes roughly with your hands, bake mixture on pizza dough with fresh mozzarella for a rustic pizza. Roast...

The good news keeps pouring in - studies show that following a Mediterranean Diet has many benefits for overall health and can also help in combating heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, even cancer and Alzheimers. In fact, many studies show that this way of eating can prove to be more beneficial than following a strictly low-fat diet. Mediterranean countries consume relatively high amounts of fat yet its population has a significantly lower incidence of cardiovascular disease than Americans. One study showed that people who followed a Mediterranean-type diet had 65% fewer deaths than those who did not, and it can...

Dear Cooks, When a recipe calls for fresh mint, which flavor of mint do you use?  There are so many different flavors that I just don’t know which one a recipe calls for.  I would think that different flavor would make the recipe different or does it? Love your show and try to catch it everyday. Thank you for such a great morning show. Love You, Sue Lierle Sue, You should use whatever mint you can find.  They are interchangeable so don’t drive yourself crazy looking for a certain flavor.  You can experiment to see which kind you prefer, but generally speaking,...