Eating Your Feelings

This time of year brings a cornucopia of feelings. We're either stressed out from shopping, tired from all those parties or even "Hangry" at ourselves for indulging in too many holiday goodies. Luckily there's a new book that helps us eat ( yes, eat!) through our feelings. This new diet will help us and our bodies feel better.

The food and inspirational blogger Lindsey Smith has written, this funny and insightful book, Eat Your Feelings : The Food Mood Girl's Guide to Transforming Your Emotional Eating with recipes (Wednesday Books 2017).It's definitely the must have and must give gift for anyone that has issues with diets and moods. Ms. Smith is one of us, She eats junky food, she scrimps to save calories, the book could have been written by anyone, from millennial to baby boomer. The first half of the book offers explanations of why we eat what we eat. It even includes ancestry as one of the reasons for our tastes in food - not surprising  because genetics affects every other part of our lives. What I love about this book is how she parses out what makes us eat, how hormones and moods influence our meal and snack choices. Cravings are also spelled out  and it helps that she explains why they happen as well as the recipes that will help ease them.A big plus in the book is how not to rely on the scale but on our jeans.If they're too tight, then diet.Another bonus is how to create your food mood for the day. This includes making your bed right away along with planning the night before and setting your intentions.Comncerned foodies will also like the food additive descriptions and how they can mess up lives and diets.

Yes, this is a recipe book, but it also has explanations of every fruit, vegetable, nut, and grain. It's an excellent guide to bring to the supermarket. It's a great way to plan out meals and snacks. Another plus is the basic cooking guide that even the most novel of novice chefs can follow.  She also has a flavoring guides for the most popular cuisines, right now, from Italian , Chinese and Thai to Greek, Indian and African.The recipes themselves are grouped according to what they can do. If you're feeling sad then make peanut butter chip banana ice cream or dark chocolate sea salt brownies (that would cheer up anyone) There is also spinach lasagna soup to lift spirits too, Feeling exhausted and tired this holiday season? Then whip up a happy quinoa bowl full of mood boosting grains, cinnamon and blueberries or fun mini quiches made with an almond meal-Parmesan cheese flour. Boredom can be relieved with a quick nut butter fudge or a falafel burger with za'atar fries. This is the time of year when many feel stressed or anxious.Make  cookie dough contraband  complete with chocolate chips or a warm soothing bowl of comforting coconut curry to combat those feelings. Hanger pains get soothed with chunky monkey banana bites or the more filling roasted cauliflower mash,

Lindsey Smith had come up with the perfect recipe book.Eat Your Feelings is a great way to eat healthy and to train yourself not to always rely on food. It is fun and insightful - the perfect book for those who want to improve their lives and moods.

Fix it And Forget it Cuisine

It is the busiest time of the year, with holiday planning and shopping. Many home chefs feel like they have no time to cook a decent  for their families. Luckily there's a new cookbook out  and it involves slow cooker cuisine.

Fix It And Forget it Cookbook, Revised & Updated 700 Great Slow Cooker Recipes (Good Books 2017) edited by Phyllis Good is a great book for any home chef who relies heavily on their slow cooker for all sorts of meals. This is a very straightforward book. There's no introduction or explanation of slow cookers and pressure cookers. There's only an equivalence chart in the back with a short must have appliance and gadget list. The book goes straight into the first section, appetizer, snacks and spreads right away, This is a compilation of all sorts of recipes from all over the US, sent in by various home chefs.This is a simple book, with relatively uncomplicated recipes. It would make the perfect gift for the novice home chef, especially the college student who has just gotten their first apartment, The ingredients also are not fancy. It's what anyone , anywhere can find on their supermarket shelves in any of the fifty states. There are some fun chapters on bread that show a slow cooker gingerbread and hot drinks such as fruit punch and even hot chocolate. One thing that is lacking is that there should be a guide about what brand of slow cooker to buy, along with the difference between  pressure cookers and  slow cookers.

The recipes are charmingly American. Think your aunt's favorite recipe or a church potluck supper. There are sections on beef,pork, chicken, turkey and seafood.Stews reign supreme here and there are several recipes featuring  classic beef stew. For some variety there's a sweet-sour beef and vegetables.  Roast recipes are also popular and novice chefs can create slow cooked ones to impress their family and friends.Ribs are at their best when slow cooked and there are a few good recipes for barbecue spareribs and pulled pork. Chicken recipes take a turn back to the 1950's with a simple coq au vin recipe and one that features the creamy and comforting chicken ala king. Sides can also benefit from a turn in a slow cooker and. Ms. Good has several baked bean ones. There are also a section on vegetables that feature glazed carrots and carmelized onions along with corn stuffing balls and cheesy corn. Potatoes have their due here and there are all sorts of ways to cook them from scalloped to even baked potatoes in foil. Slow cooked desserts are usually baked apples - and yes they're reprsented here along with pudding cakes in different flavors like apple, lemon and chocolate. You can also make various dessert sauces too in a slow cooker.


The Fix It And Forget It Cookbook  is a must have for any busy home chef. It also makes a nice holiday gift for the novice home chef who just bought a slow cooker. The recipes are easy but filling, the perfect combination during these busy days,

Teterboro's' Restaurant Row

Mention the town Teterboro to anyone from North Jersey and they'll say  "That's where the airport is." Now  it's home to an exciting row of chain restaurants. These are a welcome arrival to those living in southern Bergen County, giving us new eateries to try and enjoy.

For years' the southern part of New Jersey's most prosperous county  had mostly privately owned restaurants, offering the usual Chinese or Italian fare. Once  in a while an all you can eat buffet cropped up.Thnaks to the tearing down of the old Bendix Building , acreage opened up in this busy section of the Garden State. Wal-mart and CostCo took over and in front of them two , smart, shiny new strip malls. Locals can now enjoy everything from pizza to halal, from Japanese to frozen yogurt. There are even two chain restaurants , one the famed Texas Roadhouse and the other is BJ's. These are great burger and steak places that also offer pasta and tacos. I have yet to visit these but they 're on my must see list. I'm especially looking forward to Texas Roadhouse , known for their sumptuous steaks and  their cactus blossom, their take on the Bloomin onion. Their rattlesnake bites, namely jalapeno poppers also look intriguing while . their steaks are very impressive looking too.

I have eaten at most of the smaller restaurants, starting with Habit Burger. I reviewed it a year ago when it first opened, and was not happy with the result. I am planning on returning to see if they improved their recipe. One of the better eateries there is Sarku, a Japanese fast food place that features teriyaki along with sushi. Their shrimp and beef is excellent as is their chicken. Another good place to eat is Blaze Pizza where everyone gets an entire , freshly made pie I have to admit I did have reservations about this place, thinking it would be just blah generic stuff . Boy, was I wrong. The pizza tastes exaclty like the ones I've had in Italy. . Just a perfect marriage of sauce, cheese and crust. I also love the cherry soda they serve too.. The Halal Guys are another tasty stop,with pitas filled with chicken and tahini. They also have very good falafel too. The meal ends with a trip to Panera Bread. Nothing beats their cappuccino and holiday mitten cookies. That's another place I want to try for lunch too. There's also Sixteen Handles which has the best frozen yogurt and toppings. Try their Chocolate Brownie with a big blob of whipped cream.

If you're in southern Bergen County, visit the new Teterboro Lamding. Yes, you can shop at the Wal-Mart and CostCo, but try the wide variety of restaurants that are there. They are fun and different, perfect for a meal out.

Panettonne That Holiday Classic

The classic big boxes are standards right now in supermarkets and gourmet stores right now up until the New Year. They store gold of a sort,  panettones , those delicious buttery breads filled with everything from candied cherries to chocolate chips.Its' complicated recipe is now becoming an obsession with American bakers.

Tejal Rao wrote about this holiday must have in yesterday's New York Times Food section. The recipe was usually the domain of expert Northern Italian bakers , thanks to its' complexity . According to Ms. Rao, it is wildly sensitive , demanding and occassionally infuriating. It is a yeast dough , after all and that is not always easy to deal with in baking.It is a high maintenance dough . The end result should be an airy crumb that can be pulled apart with the ease of pulling apart cotton candy It should be sweet and light ,melting on the tongue.It should be as weightless as cake and have a slight tang like sourdough. Many Italian bakers begin with lieveto madre the starter.Some recipes don;t call for this,Jim Labey of the Sullivan Street Bakery  has a recipe that calls for less sugar which also means no starter . The home baker can just make a simpler version of it called pan d'oro or golden bread. It's essential a panettone without all the  mixing and baking drama.
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Prosperous households made the bread as early as the Medieval Period.. Even back then there was an obssessive amount of attention being paid  to technique and ingredients. Over the years as it became mass produced, it took on the qualities of a mass produced, perfumed sponge. One American baker from San Francisco, Roy Schvartzapel has elevated the recipe after tasting an artesenal one. It has a wispy  texture, melting instantly in his mouth and he recreated it with the help of Italian baker Iginio Massari outside of Milan. He makes small batches of it to sell. Other bakers have tried , some have relegated their doughs to the garbage. Screw up on it and it becomes trash. Everything about the panettone has to be perfect, from the fermentation to the timing, to the temperature, from the emulsion to the starter. Even as something as straightforward as mixing can have pitfalls. Maybe the best bet is taking the slices and turning it into a yummy bread pudding that starts off with toasting the panettone slices  and then covering them with an eggy milk mixture.It's then baked in a aluminum tented pan for forty-five minutes. The end result is a  puffed, golden treat , perfect for a holiday dessert.

Good home bakers should try this Italian treat. It can be a challenge but worth it. If not you can always buy it and turn it into a tasty bread pudding.

Soul Food Vegan Style

Can  soul food known for its' use of sumptuous ingredients do an about face and become healthy? Yes! There's a new wave of African-American chefs and home chefs who are embracing this lifestyle. The result - the same delicious flavors with a new spin.

Kim Severson wrote about this movement in today's New York Times Food section.,Typically soul food is awash in fats, dairy ,and sugar. This had led to obesity, hypertension and diabetes amongst African-Americans for decades. Many are looking deeper , going back to the vegan West African cuisine, their ancestors ate.Another game changer is infusing newer dishes with Caribbean spices to make them more exciting.\.It is catching on, There are books on black veganism by A.Breeze Harper who wrote the anthology Sistah Vegan: Black Female Vegans Speak On Food, Identity, Health and Society along with Tracye Mcquirte's By Any Greens Necessary :A Revolutionary Guide For Black Women Who Want To Eat Great, Get Healthy , Lose Weight And Look Phat. These are life changers, breaking women of color from bad eating habits and easing them into healthy, more veggie-centric ones. It also doesn't hinder the fact that Beyonce and Jay-Z have embraced the lifestyle  by becoming partners in a vegan meal kit service.Several other rap stars have also gone meatless and dairyless.Oprah herself  took the vegan challenge and even presented it to her staff to give up meat.sports star such as the famed Williams sisters, Venus and Serenad meat and its' trapping to improve their game.

It is tough to give up the delicious flavors like bacon infused collard greens and the classic fried chicken. The last is the hardest, partly because of tradition and partly because of the taste. Surprisingly, it can be duplicated, much to the chagrin of the naysayers. Cauliflower can be used for the meat according to chef Jenne Claiborne, It'll have the same desired crunchy crust as the chicken but without the added fat.she also uses soy milk so there's also no added calories. Chef Caliborne has also made vegan collard greens, subbing in the fat back with soy sauce and smoked paprika. Ms Severson has given Chef Claiborne's Oyster Mushroom Etouffee, which is loaded with veggies and even dulse or seaweed flakes as opposed to the usual, seafood, chicken or Andouille sausage. There is also her mall style vegetable stir fry that includes chickpeas, bell peppers and broccoli. The sauce is sweetened by the addition of medjool dry dates. with this recipe, you could add the soy chicken strips to make it a little more like the real deal. Even desserts have been given the vegan treatments. Butternut squash has been used for  eggs in sweet potato pie.

The popularity of vegan soul food  is spreading. It's not giving up old classics but reinventing them for a healthier diet. There's the great flavors without all the fats and sugars.

Edward & Sons Animal & People Friendly

Vegans and vegetarians have it hard during the holidays .It's difficult to find festive foods that are free of any animal products. Now add the problem of gluten allergy and it  becomes darned difficult. Luckily, there's a company, Edward & Sons that can help them navigate through the season.

This California  company is a godsend to vegans everywhere. It started in 1978 long before vegetarianism and anything organic became hip. Their first product was a miso cup, a nourishing instant soup, again made long before any of the more popular cup of soups. The ingredients were freeze dried yet wholesome, packaged in a simple packet. Their products have now evolved into ones that have no artificial colors or flavorings. Moms will  be grateful for the fact that none of the products have been made with chemical preservatives and hydrogenated fats. The company is divided in sections. There's Premier Japan which has Hoisin and teriyako sauces. Their Native Forest line is perfect for vegan bakers. It has coconut milk, both liquid and powdered that work well in baking and creating a dairy free whipped cream. This is a company with a conscious and it promotes and supports fair trade with by buying its' artichokes and coconuts from fair trade farmers. Edward & Son not only caters to vegans and animal rights activists, but is also to those with ADHD, gluten allergies along with soy and lactose allergies.

I was curious about the company and wanted to try their products.The miso soup is interesting  and easy to make. It's combining the miso with water and then adding a mix of dried soy and greens. The soy bits were very silky and creamy and they were  a nice foil to the briny saltiness of the miso. I think I will try the seaweed variety made with wakame seaweed next. I also have the Golden Gravy mix which will go well with seitan slices and mashed potatoes. Edward & Sons has a good variety of macaroni and cheese mixes and they're definitely on my radar.The Alfredo Mac made with brown rice elbow macaroni will be the one to try. They also make gluten free cake cones - my favorite  - and I decided to give these, too, a try.I used the richly decadent Talenti brand of ice cream - coffee chocolate chip to fill it. I like their gluten free cones better than the regular ones. They are crisper than the gluten ones and best of all the bottoms don't become soggy once the ice cream drips down,

This holiday season  - look to Edward & Sons for all your holiday cooking and baking needs. You can create a delicious and healthy meal and dessert with these good for you products. There's no need to scrimp on flavor,

Gathering And GIving

One of the hallmarks of Southern cooking is feeding others, and providing them with comfort. A new cookbook emphasizes this with a variety of sweet and savory recipes. It's perfect for the cooks who love to cook and give.

This great cookbook is Love, Welcome, Serve- Recipes That Gather And Give (The Hachette Book  Group 2017) written by Amy Nelson Hannon, the owner of Euna Mae's Kitchen Shop and   food blogger. She is a Southerner, straight from the heart of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas and that homey hospitality shines in her recipes. There's even a section at the back of the book that tells home chefs what recipes gather people together and which ones give. Since Ms. Hannon is deeply religious and a preacher's wife, every section begins with a quote from Brilliant Saverin to Mother Teresa about opening up one's home to others/ The book opens up with a parsing out of kitchen ingredients, and true to her Southern roots, recommends using Hellman's mayonnaise along with full fat ingredients. Other recommendations include using richly flavored Vietnamese cinnamon, freshly squeezed lemon juice and the more expensive Neilsen-Massey vanilla extract.There is a handy must have list of equipment that every home chef must have as well as what foodstuffs should be in the fridge, freezer and pantry.

The recipes themselves are cozy, ribsticking ones.The book is divided into different sections from Bites That Welcome To Meats, Mains And Hearty Stews and finishes with For The Love Of Sweets. This is a Southern cookbook so there's a lot of cream cheese , butter and sweet tea used. Still, the book has a huge swath of Mexican and Italian dishes too.There are also regional ones such as Texas Firecracker a marinated Saltine, zinged up with red pepper flakes and garlic.She also gives a tasty pulled pork recipe, loaded with spices, perfect for a Saturday night get together with friends.Her Easy Mozzarella And Meatball Bake is kind of lasagna minus the pasta and would be a great weeknight meal. The sides cover everything from Roasted Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts to bacon and brown sugar collards. Southern baking is also represented. Home bakers will love Ms. Hannon's biscuits as well as her scratch pie dough recipes.Another plus of the book is that it has recipes for homemade chicken stock,tomato sauce, whipped cream and even hard shell chocolate sauce.

Love, Welcome, Serve, Recipes That Gather And Give is the perfect holiday gift for the home chef  and baker that open their kitchens.it has yummy recipes that can feed a whole table of guests or as a comfort to those in need. it shows that love not only comes from