Between the heartbreak and the heat, every cell in my body craved something cool, juicy, savory, sweet, and absolutely delicious. This salad hit all the marks.

The juicy watermelon perfectly complemented the peppery bite of the arugula, creating a harmony of flavors that delighted even the most broken of hearts. The crunch of the pistachios, the softness of the cheese, and the cool, crisp, sweet watermelon satisfied my tasty texture desires.

A friend recently requested a Quinoa recipe and I instantly thought of this super-duper yummy Quinoa Breakfast. In fact, this is my favorite summer breakfast meal. It is simple, and I always feel ready to take on the world after eating it. I hope that you do too!

A Few Quinoa Facts

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is actually a species of Chenopodium grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds. Yum! It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal as it is not a grass and its leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable.

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has officially declared that the year 2013 be recognized as "The International Year of the Quinoa." Yay!

This dreamy recipe will tantalize your tastebuds and nourish your dream-state.

Tart cherry juice is one of the powerhouse ingredients that live up to the ‘food as medicine’ hype. Research has shown that it can help to improve sleep, reduce muscle soreness & inflammation, and may even reduce belly fat. That’s a lot of goodness packed into these little antioxidant nuggets of juicy joy.

Tea is often the drink associated with bedtime, adding in a bit of tart cherry juice might elevate your bedtime ritual to a whole new restful level. This delightful elixir combines one of my favorite sleepy-time teas with the tangy taste of tart cherries.

Tart cherries are high in melatonin, the hormone that controls the sleep-wake cycle, and a few small studies have shown that they have promising effects on sleep.

I love soups. In fact, every Sunday (Soup Sunday), I make soup for the week — especially during the cooler months. Having soup on hand makes for easier meal prep throughout the week. Plus, most soups freeze well. So I can stock the freezer for days when I don’t have the time or bandwidth for preparing a meal from scratch.

In my household, we have different nourishing needs. My partner often prefers more meat. I prefer more vegetarian meals. For this recipe, I cook it up until the point where the lentils are fully cooked. After that, I divide the soup before I serve. I add the kale and corn to my soup and the Polish Sausage and spinach to his.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

I love the taste of cardamom for sweet treats and savory dishes. Most of the cardamom bought here in the states is green cardamom. It has a strong, sweet, pungent flavor and aroma, with hints of lemon and mint. But there’s also black cardamom with a smoky note and hint of menthol. Green cardamom pairs nicely with sweet treats (think Scandinavian baked goods), fruit, and savory dishes like curries and kababs. Yes. It is that dynamic.

Today we’ll create some simple Cardamom Bliss Balls for a super simple tasty treat. They’re a perfect match for your morning coffee or afternoon tea.

The star of this dish is rooty dish is the knobby celery root. But this funky root doesn’t party alone. It’s joined by its skin-loving companion, the carrot, and Omega-rich fish friend. If you’re looking for a new dish to add to your menu that will nourish you through the midlife ‘pause (hello perimenopause) and be great for the family and on the go, then this Polish fish dish is for you.

This year our Crab Apple trees are fruiting to the point of limbs nearly touching the ground.

Now, if you are in upstate New York and have an apple tree in your yard, then you know that all apples are about to start abandoning their post. You may have already experienced these tiny tarts dive-bombing your car and your head. You might even be enjoying the sweet stench of those that are composting themselves right there on your lawn.

When a branch finally made contact with my thick head the other day, I realized that I needed to do something about it. Really?! Why on earth was I letting these wonderfully organic and insanely accessible food bits go to rot? And why-oh-why wasn't I enjoying the reaching up, squatting down, and all the wonderful movements associated with gathering my harvest. So I grabbed two of my largest bowls (one for each tree) and started collecting my bounty.

You can’t beat a warm and gooey baked banana. This super simple recipe is a perfect dessert for quenching your sweet-tooth without the guilt. Plus, these delicious morsels will make your house smell divine!

Baking bananas bring out the fruit's natural sweetness and turn them golden with a soft, gooey texture. They taste amazing all on their own, or you can dress them up with a range of toppings. I like mine with toasted pecans, walnuts, or coconut.

Here's a little background on this probiotic delight. I think you'll find that it be your new go-to gut-loving drink. They're super easy to make, and once you have the hang it, you can experiment with a flavor of the season. 

Kvass is a traditional fermented Slavic and Baltic beverage commonly made from rye bread. The bread-based Kvass tastes a bit like a sweet, non-alcoholic beer. From my research, Kvass only has up to 1% alcohol content (usually less). My first experience of this bubbly beverage was a somewhat traditional Beet Kvass. Since then, I've experimented with gluten-free recipes like the sweet and rooty Orange, Ginger, and Carrot Kvass. Now that peaches are in season, it's time for a different brew. 

I love the simplicity of this recipe. A shortlist of ingredients makes prep a breeze. Plus, these pancakes keep well for 2-3 days and reheat quickly in a toaster oven. So I always double or triple the recipe so that my efforts can continue to nourish me over the course of a few days.

You’ll get the best results with this recipe if you use ripe bananas: go for the ones that already have brown spots. You'll also find that making smaller pancakes will give you the best results. The larger ones tend to break apart when they’re flipped. Pile up a big stack of pancakes on your plate, top it all off with some coconut yogurt, berries, and drizzle maple syrup (or honey, if you like), and enjoy!

This recipe is one of my favorite summer Polish dishes! Traditionally, Chłodnik is served with warm mashed potatoes. Together they create a combination that is rich with flavors, varying textures, and contrasting temperatures. Every bite is a sensorial delight. 

Chłodnik (pronounced h-wo-d-neek, meaning cooler) is perfect for those hot summer days. Plus, this lacto-fortified bowl of flavor will nourish your gut with each bite. Thanks to those wee microbes, the soup is in a lacto-fremented kefir or buttermilk base, it keeps well for nearly a week as the live probiotic bacteria feed on the sugary starches in the veggies. It's one of those great dishes that can nourish your palate for days on end. 

Kvass is a newcomer in my life — a very welcome newcomer! As you probably know, consuming a variety of fermented foods helps you get all the health benefits of bacteria and keeps your colonies refreshed and varied. This is why I always embrace any new fermented food I learn about, and kvass is a must-try.

This is a wonderful recipe for a quick and nourishing breakfast! It's even fancy enough to serve at your next Sunday Brunch, and it's guaranteed to rock your taste buds. 

Kale is a super-duper nourishing and low oxalate food. You can cook, blend it, massage it, and serve it in a stew. It's packed with antioxidants, and it's a cruciferous vegetable, which means it can block an enzyme that causes swelling in the joints. Just one cup of kale contains 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. That's some serious nourishment.

Golden Turmeric paste is a combination of ground turmeric, oil (this could be coconut oil or ghee), water, ground black pepper, and other spices heated until melted and turned into a paste for the purpose of using it in turmeric milk, smoothies, curries, etc.

I’m a BIG fan of any recipe that simplifies daily life. But the super wizardry of this recipe is that it increases the nourishing value by pre-activate the turmeric by mixing it with pepper and simmering on the stove for a while. Once it’s made, my favorite way to use the turmeric paste is to add it to a little warmed homemade coconut with a bit of honey for a soothing golden milk.

Pesto is one of my favorite things to make and have on hand. Always! I keep a jar in the refrigerator and frozen pesto cubes in the freezer! It is one of my secret weapons for sneaking in a little extra dose of green goodness. I put spoonfuls of it on just about everything. I tell you, it makes any meal feel gourmet.

And the best part... this recipe takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish.

Humans have made strong brews with natural ingredients to combat illness for generations. The actual term "fire cider" is widely attributed to herbalist Rosemary Gladstar. Rosemary has been touting the health benefits of fire cider for more than 30 years. In her 1999 book, Rosemary Gladstar's Herbs for the Home Medicine Chest, she recommends making a batch of fire cider as soon as cold and flu season hits. 

I recently had a run-in with a tick that landed me on antibiotics. It’s one of the joys in living in a region with an AMAZING AUTUMN but a high incidence of both Lyme and Anaplasmosis. Now, to be fair, this is only the 4th time that I’ve taken antibiotics in over 30-years. I’m feeling confident in my body’s ability to both utilize these meds and heal from it all.

That said, I needed something handy to eat with my antibiotics to keep my tummy in check. Plus, who doesn’t need a quick treat that nourishes the brainy bits? Enter the Brainy Bliss Balls.

I didn't grow up eating fresh beets—only the ghastly canned variety at holidays. I absolutely abhorred every stinkin’ bite of those dirty, soggy excuse of a beet. It wasn’t until years later when I was working in fine dining that I experienced the divine flavor of perfectly roasted beets. Since that first bite, I’ve been hooked on beets. Roasting beets are still one of my favorite ways to prepare them.

This Curried Pumpkin Soup is one of those recipes that comes to you in a dream. Literally! I had a dream about this soup for two nights in a row. Finally, I could wait no more to experience it in the waking world. This soup is now a favorite in our home and a staple in the Fall months. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do.