Have you ever discovered something great for your self-health that encouraged you to make some changes in your life? Silly question, right? Of course, you have. Maybe you decided to have your kids pack a lunch rather than maneuver the school lunch options. Or, perhaps you made an appointment with a chiropractor for the first […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: I was at a class (kind of a party) where you were teaching cheese-making. I didn’t think about it until now, but you made dinner for the class using the cheese we’d just made. You prepared the meal while teaching the class and made it look easy. The lunch was Chicken Parmesan […]
Where do I even begin? This is the first question that anyone starting their path to healthy eating must answer—including myself. Learning how to eat healthy can be intimidating when you’re just beginning. I grew up as one of eight children, which meant my parents were more focused on providing enough food rather than the […]
The last twelve months have been so full of big happenings for me, it’s hard to believe it all fit into one year! Some events were terribly challenging: strings of trials that tested every ounce of my patience, peace, and perseverance. But these were offset by many things that were incredibly awesome and expansive. And […]
It’s Christmas Eve. Let’s keep things as simple as possible today, including this post, after the busy-ness of the weeks leading up to it. Allow yourself some downtime today to ease into the festivities with a rested spirit. The holidays can be a real struggle for some people. Making sure you have a calm mindset […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: It’s been awhile since I made homemade gifts, such as scented pine cones, zucchini-nut breads, and salted nuts, for Christmas. But I’m really finding that gift-giving has gotten out of hand. It’s frustrating and loses meaning. I’d like a good recipe for salty or spicy-sweet nuts to put in a glass jar […]
There’s no denying the fact that many people in our modern culture experience serious sleeping problems, which accounts for why so many of us are ingesting a potent and possibly dangerous synthetic hormone, melatonin. You may be thinking to yourself, What? I only take natural melatonin. This is a harmless sleep aid, and I won’t […]
An original take on a traditional Italian cheesecake. I’ve always been a fan of cheesecake—at least, the more familiar American-style, made with cream cheese and a graham cracker crust. The richness, the dense texture, the combination of tart and sweet… I’m really not sure what took me so long to get with the program, but […]
There is something incredibly satisfying about discovering the perfect gifts right in your own community. I can guarantee there are people close by growing, baking, and/or creating something they are proud of, no matter where you live. And they should be! It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there and hope your […]
Ask Chef Phyllis: It was interesting to see other bread recipes on your website. I love bread, and I liked the recipe for Portuguese sweet bread, which is famous in the Boston area. But I noticed not a mention of many other American breads. Have you ever heard of a Sally Lunn? My grandmother, who […]
In 1971, my mother, Christie Whaley (then Phillips) was an artist just getting her feet underneath her a few years out of college: a new wife, newly arrived in New York City after a lifetime in the Southern states, newly initiated into hippie counter-culture and anti-war activism. As an artist, she was still experimenting with […]
Anyone who’s been reading my blog over the years knows I hold a distinct fondness for lamb. It’s a sentimental thing for me, and a main staple of the island where I grew up. We didn’t eat a whole lot of red meat in my family—mostly poultry and fish and the occasional roast. For most […]
We all have stories to tell, and the holidays are the perfect time of year to share them. While there is always bustle and chaos preparing for the festivities, there’s also time for connecting and relaxing. These pockets of time cry out for reminiscence and nostalgia—storytelling. Storytelling is a gift for you and others. As […]
Ask Chef Phyllis At Christmastime, I make a huge three-cheese, three-meat lasagna. I admit that it’s a lot of work to prepare, but when all done, it’s done. Put it in the oven, relax with my guests and family, and pour a glass of wine is all I want to do. An antipasto is an […]
It’s a certain truth that dynamite comes in small packages. I want to discuss just such a shot of dynamite in the form of a powerful, 52-page booklet that was hidden among my favorite health reads: Why Your Doctor Offers Nutritional Supplements by Stephanie Selene Anderson with Mark R. Anderson. Above the title of the […]
A Moroccan-inspired holiday hors d’oeuvre The final month of the year has arrived, and with it an abundance of fresh, vibrant energy and seasonal cheer! I love so many things about this time of year. As a mother, it is fun to see the joy and awe in my daughter’s eyes when we decorate the […]
If you celebrate Christmas, you have exactly three weeks to finish your gift buying. If you are feeling at a loss for some special person on your list, one of the methods I use to pick out the perfect item is to pay close attention during our conversations. When I do, they tell me, unwittingly, […]
Reprinted with permission from author, Rebecca Thistelthwaite, and LocalHarvest. I have written about community-supported agriculture (CSAs) before and so haveprevious writers at LocalHarvest. CSA farming is truly at the core of what LocalHarvest does connecting consumers with farmers in a mutual relationship of reciprocity. But times are changing. Consumers have an ever broadening expanse of options to locate […]
The description of a new TV show says, “Friendship isn’t a big thing, it’s a million little things.” Well…yes. You can say the same thing about a life, and a marriage. But I wish to mention here that there’s so little information about the third stage of a girl’s life, widowhood, that I decided to […]
Fool-proof tricks for juicy chicken breast, every time I sure am enjoying the slow-down of the season this year. Last fall, I barely had a chance to breathe in that sliver of time between the bustle of summer and holiday preparations. I had a lot going on then—family obligations, unexpected traveling, tons of gardening—and simply […]