Eat. Drink. Better.

Give me a piece of paper and pencil and I might choke out a few stick figure drawings for you. I’m not much of an artist in the traditional sense. But give me a chunk of cheddar, some beer, fresh veggies and other local ingredients from my home state of Wisconsin, and I transform into the artistic ninja of my kitchen here at Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B. Give me a palette of local, homegrown flavors and I can channel my inner culinary muse.

Case in point: Wisconsin Melting Pot Cheese Soup, my recent entry into the Wisconsin State Fair’s “Cornucopia Challenge” culinary contest, featuring ten different Wisconsin-produced ingredients. This recipe below garnered a third place white ribbon in this culinary contest category sponsored by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation’s “Ag in the Classroom” efforts to promote Wisconsin products.

Ready to take on your own private “Cornucopia Challenge,” creating your own signature dish featuring your local fare? Here are four tips to get you thinking creatively about combining your area’s flavors into a state fair ribbon worthy dish: Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been living in Poland for ten months now. When I first got here, a few food ideas stood out to me that I thought were cool. After ten months, I have picked up a couple more as well. Hope you enjoy the food tips Poland has to share. Read the rest of this entry »

Through the ages, food and sex have been linked together, all the way back to Garden of Eden. Today, it seems so simple to fix sexual health issues with a little pill, but when we take a deeper look, your overall health and wellness can have a huge effect on your sex life. It’s important to go back in time, say goodbye to your pharmacist for the time being and reexamine the links between food and sex right there at your local grocery store.

Old school aphrodisiacs were often chosen as such due to their shape or resemblance to certain body parts, as well as for the chemical reactions that take place in the body when eaten. Today, research shows that certain aphrodisiac foods do contain vitamins and minerals that can help to enhance your overall sexual vitality. As a vegetarian or vegan, getting enough of these nutrients can ensure that your evenings will be filled with excitement and pleasure. There is a plethora of healthy, sexy and vegetarian food for you to choose from to get your groove on tonight.

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I confess, I’m slow to change.  At least when it comes to cooking.  A devout recipe follower, I measure my cups and teaspoons and follow recipe direction as if they were sent from above.

Until this week, when I finally took our new solar oven out of the box.  We bought this Global Sun Oven last winter to use at our farm and B&B, Inn Serendipity, with all good intentions.  No plug in required, just open it up and heat up and bake.

Which is where I got stuck, as I would not only be cooking out of my box, I’d be cooking out of my kitchen.  But my husband, John, helped by setting it up for the first time, conducting a mini-science project that even our seven-year old could handle of angling it to garner maximum solar gain.  I had one of my new favorite pies ready to stick in the oven (“Strawberry and Rhubarb Streusel Pie” – recipe below), and took it outside instead. Read the rest of this entry »

Clip coupons.  Shop sales.  Stock up.  While everyone seeks ways to save on food costs in today’s economy, most of the “tips” offered are sounding like a stale rerun, repeating the same conventional basics over and over.

Maybe what we really need is a time of crisis is to rewrite some of the old rulebook.  Maybe we need a dose of frugality innovation.
With that in mind, here are some fresh perspectives on saving a dime while saving the planet.  For those in the Madison, Wisconsin area, come join me for my workshop on this topic of cutting costs while eating well at the upcoming Isthmus Green Day on April 25 at the Monona Terrace.

1.  Use it Up
Every year around early spring, my family and I go on our annual “food buying detox diet” where we literally go cold turkey as best we can on buying food.  This isn’t as depriving as it sounds as we focus on eating through the pantry, using up all those items we already invested in that are often lingering near expiration dates. Read the rest of this entry »

Just to be transparent here, I am not a vegan. This doesn’t stop me from exploring Bryant Terry’s latest book, Vegan Soul Kitchen. I like the earthy blend of soul food traditions that Terry creates so well for this book. The twist, of course, is that the collard green recipe doesn’t call for bacon — every recipe is vegan, healthy and layered with flavor.

What you won’t find in this book is a laundry list of the usual recipes. What you will find is recipes for many soul food standard ingredients that Terry has made his very own, giving each a unique spin and a soundtrack to set the mood.  Both the music picks and the rhythm of the recipes vary in composition from pure, simple and soulful gospel to complex jazz arrangements a la Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. This is not your same old cookbook. And I like that. A lot.

Standouts on my list of first to try include, appropriately, the greens that in season right now: Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux, Sweet Sweetback’s Salad with Roasted Beat Vinaigrette, Wilted Swiss Chard and Spinach with Lemon-Tahini Dressing. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that 479 degrees Fahrenheit is the optimal temperature for popping corn? 479° knows it, and makes artisan popcorn the old-fashioned way, from scratch, by hand, here in San Francisco.

Arnold’s organization actively practices the four pillars of SOLE - sustainable, organic, local and ethical - “by working with farmers who practice sustainable organic farming and employ fair trade practices, ensuring that both our planet and its people are well taken care of.”

I am so inspired by the brilliant founder Jean Arnold. 479° Popcorn uses the finest organic ingredients as well as savvy sustainable business practices.

Here are some of their signature sweet and savory popcorn flavors: Read the rest of this entry »

There are contrasting approaches to population health in the news this week. Russian officials have more or less ordered Russians to change their diets – the Federal Consumer Protection Service claims Russian adults now weigh two kilos more than they did a decade ago, while children are a kilo heavier. Now that the recession is likely to drive Russians back to cheaper calorie-rich but nutrient-poor foodstuffs such as bread and potatoes, there is a fear that this weight gain, which began in the boom years, will accelerate in the bust ones. Read the rest of this entry »

The olive tree contains great symbolism. We all know and love the beautiful branches depicted in art, the delicious olives, and olive oil naturally, but did you know that olive leaves are medicinal and healing? Olive leaf extract comes from the leaves of the olive tree, and the leaf contains antioxidants as well as antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory healing properties.

Recorded history of olive leaf’s medicinal use dates back thousands of years, as it was used by the ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean cultures as a medicine and health tonic. Olive leaf is the first botanical cited in the Bible as well. Now modern natural medicine has rediscovered the healing leaves of the olive tree.

These days, olive leaf is known in science worldwide to be anti-aging, and an immunostimulant, that can also act as a natural antibiotic. In fact it was recently proven that an extract made directly from fresh olive leaves was shown to have an antioxidant power almost double green tea extract and 400% higher than Vitamin C.

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Ever since reading the novel Dandelion Wine in grade school, I’ve been rather curious about the culinary history of this common garden plant. Many consider it a weed, others think it has magical seeds that grant wishes when blown, however, what few realize is that it has been a medicinal healing plant for centuries.

Some like dandelion root as a tea, and it’s also sometimes made into a tincture or supplement. Dandelion is also known to be very rich in vitamins C and K and beta-carotene, and additionally a good source of calcium and iron. Traditionally it is known as a liver tonic, so drinking a tea that has dandelion flowers blended with it makes sense for those looking to take better care of the liver. Many folks make pancakes with the flowers, and interesting salads and all sorts of wild recipes with the leaves.

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