Lisa on November 26th, 2011

If you grow or make a miniature version of something, people invariably call it cute. Just think of fingernail-sized champagne grapes, baby cherry tomatoes, and the Mini-Cooper. (I’d say the cutest car in the world is the VW Bug, but since it only comes in one size, it doesn’t make the list.) The one jarring [...]

Continue reading about Never Underestimate the Power of a Sprout

Lisa on July 1st, 2011

Now that summer is in full swing and we have zucchini and greens and herbs growing everywhere they can (found random cilantro in my garden yesterday!), it makes sense to combine these in-season favorites to create an easy summer meal.  Adding pecans and raisins to this dish gives you nutty-sweet kick + crunch, and using [...]

Continue reading about Having Scrabble for Dinner (a Q & Z Dish)

Lisa on February 11th, 2011

There are many ways to make a cookie great: use a natural sweetener like sucanat that contributes flavor as well as sweetness to your cookie, use a variety of whole-grain/whole-food flours like sorghum flour or teff flour or peanut flour that will likewise add dimension of their own to your cookie, and use a rich-tasting, [...]

Continue reading about Making Cookies Crunchier…and Chocolaty-er!

Lisa on May 6th, 2009

They look like perfectly-round brown apples, their light and crisp flavor is reminiscent of starfruit, and they have the texture of a Bosc pear:  they’re Asian pears.  You’ll probably find them encased in a white Styrofoam netting (meant to cushion them during transit) in the apple-and-pear section of your produce market.  Like apples, they hold [...]

Continue reading about Crispy, Meet Crunchy and Creamy

Lisa on March 27th, 2009

Making this smoothie is as easy as pie–and since it has a healthy helping of pecans accented by spices, it even tastes a bit like a pecan pie. I used almond milk as the base, but you could also use hazelnut, oat, or high-quality dairy milk. (Raw and grass-fed if you can get it!) The [...]

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Lisa on December 17th, 2008

What other fruit is made into sauce, juice, chutney, relish…and is equally delicious served alongside chicken or in a chocolate cake?  Not only are cranberries one of the few fruits native to the U.S., they’re also amongst our most-consumed.  I like to slip them into baked goods:  pumpkin bread, blueberry muffins, and brownies become even [...]

Continue reading about Versatile Cranberries