If you've spent a New Years Day in the Deep South, then you know that nothing starts the year off right like a "mess o' greens." For luck and good fortune, you simply must have black-eyed peas and greens on the first day of...

Let me say right up front -- I am the last person to espouse a Grinch-like attitude toward the holidays. Christmas was always a huge deal in our household when I was growing up, and the delights of the table were front and center. Family and friends gathering together to...

Now that the overwhelmingly gustative holiday season is nearly upon us, thoughts of turkeys and sweet potatoes and other culinary delights begin to intrude upon our everyday cogitations. Those of us who strive for a reasonable degree of environmental consciousness in our menu planning...

By this time, we all pretty much know that we're supposed to be eating whole grains, and lots of them. But if you're anything like me, your notion of exactly what constitutes a "whole grain" (as opposed to what, a "partial grain"...

Many more years ago than I care to acknowledge, when I was a wee nipper in rolled-up pants and short-sleeve shirts, my brother Brian and I used to look forward every spring to visiting a local patch of woods up the street in suburban...

Feeling a little short on cash these days? Plant some ginger in your yard, it will guarantee prosperity. Or maybe you're apprehensive about dragons and serpents? A few stands of lemongrass around your home should effectively repel them. Looking to attract and hold onto...

You can see the Hollywood sign from just about anywhere on the campus. Only a few miles away, it floats against a rippling ridgeline and a blue sky, a legendary symbol of glamor and riches that has inspired countless youths to pursue their lofty dreams.

But for most of the...

Time was, opening a new restaurant in Los Angeles often involved offering a menu with any number of exotic ingredients from remote corners of the globe and fielding an intimidating staff with a whole lot of attitude. But as the classic Dylan tune would have it, "the times, they are...

May is National Mediterranean Diet Month, so what better time to think about adopting healthy food habits that have been shown incontrovertibly to benefit just about every conceivable portion of your life and physical well-being -- cognitive abilities, disease prevention, and heart health to...

Mr. McGrath. I hadn't remembered that name in years. He was my mother's butcher when I was a wee lad, in a small town in New York. It was always an adventure and a treat to accompany my mom on her weekly visits...

If any vestiges still remain of the history lessons of your early school years, you may recall that Benjamin Franklin favored the turkey to be designated as the national bird, and was deeply disappointed when the bald eagle won that title. But did you know that centuries earlier, the Aztecs...

Given the current vampire craze in pop culture (what, you aren't a fan of Twilight or True Blood or Vampire Diaries?!), I find it a little disappointing that the classic age-old protection against these seductive creatures of the night has not been getting more...

However you want to spell or pronounce it, this beneficially altered version of milk could save your life, or at least prolong it! There's a wealth of nutritional goodness to be had here, but the real treasure trove is the unique presence...

I don't know if it's the strange moon-rock-like appearance, or perhaps the fact that overcooking results in a bitter and unappealing mushiness, but cauliflower has always been the under-appreciated step-sister in the cruciferous vegetable family. Upright stalks of broccoli get to dine with prime steaks, and common cabbage is considered...

"To beef, or not to beef - that is the question..." Okay, so Shakespeare is twitching a little in his grave right now; but punning aside, this is a valid and hotly-debated question in food and nutrition circles, and invites discourse in the environmental arena as well. I could produce...

As the years go rushing by, I find myself becoming more aware of, and concerned with, the ability of the foods I consume to provide more than just basic nutrition and oral gratification. Studies are revealing more and more all the time that the correct foods can make significant contributions...

It's a foggy but balmy morning. You and your main squeeze are strolling at the water's edge on a mostly deserted beach. That brownish clump of seaweed (or so you thought) in front of you suddenly sits up, utters a rather sad little bark,...

So you're at your local fishmonger's, and you've been trying to get your family to eat more fish because you know it's good for them, and you're eyeing that wild-caught salmon yet again, and your littlest one pipes up beside you, "Mommy, I hate that fishy fish!"... What's a concerned...

According to Greek mythology, the origins of the mint plant are to be found in a tale of lust, betrayal, and spite that rivals any contemporary prime-time reality show. We are told that Hades, god of the Underworld, cast his wandering eye upon a...

Mention onions, and the immediate response you're most likely to get relates to their lachrymal properties - "they make me cry!" An intriguing theory as to why this is so can be found in ancient Turkish folklore: the story is told that "when Satan was cast down from...