Tabbouleh is a delicious, fresh Lebanese salad made with parsley, mint and a little bit of bulgar. This “Harvest Tabbouleh” is a heartier, cold-weather-friendly version of the traditional Lebanese dish. It is a widely variable recipe. No pumpkin on hand? Substitute butternut squash, acorn squash or sweet potato. No bulgar? Substitute quinoa or couscous. No sliced almonds? Use any other toasted nut or seed. No craisins? Substitute finely diced apple. Top with feta cheese for added depth. 

As fall rolls into the mountains, so too does the season for soups, stews and chilis. Cold weather sparks cravings for all food warm, hearty and comforting. But, while the weather is still balmy early in the season, cast iron skillet recipes are a nice way to transition into cold-weather food. One of the best things about the skillet? There is minimal clean up involved. Below are two quick and easy cast iron skillet recipes I’ve been enjoying lately. 

Healthy skin is sold to us every day. Bottles and jars of every shape and size contain soaps, creams, oils, and tinctures that promise perfect skin. Just buy this one, new product and all your skin qualms will be quelled. But deep, deep down we all know the truth. Good skin, just like any aspect of a healthy body, starts from within. And a huge part of what is “within,” is everything we choose to eat. 

For the first time in six years, Jackson County will have a new vendor providing meals at its jail and senior center after commissioners voted unanimously July 20 to award the contract to Georgia-based Skillet Kitchen . 

Aphrodisiacs have a long and sexy history. Named for the Greek Goddess of love and beauty (associated with Venus in Roman mythology), an aphrodisiac is any food or substance that increases sexual desire, arousal, behavior, performance or pleasure. 

One of the spices I love most is cayenne pepper which has capsaicin in it. Capsaicin is shown to help increase your metabolic rate! It does this by increasing your internal body temperature which in turn makes you burn more calories. So the spicier food you eat... potentially the faster your metabolism. Think about like harissa or other spicy additives to food that can up those internal body temps! 

The gut and the mind are more connected than one might think. There is a reason we use expressions like “butterflies in my stomach,” or “go with your gut.” There is a reason you feel nauseous in certain situations.

Eating, whether you’re food obsessed like me or not, is a huge part of our lives. At least three times per day, every day we are alive, we get to decide what we put into our bodies. Influencing that decision are taste buds, hormones, cravings, nutrient needs, cooking and baking impulses, culture, friends, family, location, money and more. 

“Giovedì gnocchi, Venerdì pesce, Sabato trippa”

Literature abounds with references to stone fruits. They signal something luscious and, if not romantic, intensely pleasurable. But there is also something dark about them.