Indian Samosas are one of the most popular appetizers in authentic Indian cuisine, and no wonder:  they are delicate pastries filled with spicy vegetables including potatoes, onions, peas, and the perfect mix of curry spices.  Typically, they are triangular in shape, and the pastry is on the puffy side while not being airy or insubstantial. …

We all know that baking is quite another thing from cooking.  Baking involves pastry and other delicate doughs created for specific purposes and designed to achieve very special results.  Timing is often critical, and matters of precise temperature can wreak havoc with your best efforts to produce that flawless souffle or perfect eclair.  But sometimes …

Feminist author Lierre Keith’s controversial book, The Vegetarian Myth, presents the alternative side of the vegetarian lifestyle.  She refers to herself as a “recovering 20-year vegan” who now purports the idea that human beings were not physically designed to eat a grain based or even vegetable and fruit based diet, and that nutrient dense foods, …

Being a vegetarian is good for people who go about it the right way.  There are always those who think that being vegetarian means eating nothing but cheese pizza and french fries (or, if they aren’t doing dairy, vegan cheese pizza!) and as a result, they don’t reap the same health benefits that serious vegetarians …

Many people have nutritional uses for marijuana, according to the interesting series of videos on YouTube that a friend pointed out to me last week.  Although I’m not a user of the real thing, I might consider trying some of the recipes using legal products from legalherbsdirect.com — but those would probably just be more …

Bill Clinton’s appetite has been the stuff of legend from the first moment he walked into the White House.  Among the foods he loved most were all the usual suspects for an unhealthy diet: burgers, steaks, cheesy chicken enchiladas, barbecue and french fries were frequently on the president’s menu.   During a campaign stop in …

Just because you’ve gathered a colorful array of delicious, nutritious vegetables into a basket in your quaint little Tuscany-inspired kitchen, that doesn’t mean you automatically know what to do with them.  In fact, many would be vegetable cooks have gone to great lengths chopping, dicing, and Julien-ing their favorite veggies, perhaps spending hours on getting …

Tomato season is nearly passed here in the Southern United States, and we Southerners love our tomatoes (also pronounced “tuhMAYduhs) in everything from classic tomato sandwiches and fresh salsa, to cold tomato bisque or gazpacho.  The prospect of the tomatoes being gone is a grim one, and not one I’m ready to face.  So, what …

Finding things to pack yourself for lunch can be a challenge.  Especially if you’re trying to maintain a healthy, plant based diet.  Some ideas include the humble peanut butter sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread:  just get the bread and spread it with 2 Tbsp of creamy peanut butter.  Add some fruit preserves or smashed …

You might be surprised to learn that heart disease is the leading cause of death in adult male gorillas living in zoos.  It’s true. But what does this mean for us humans?  Plenty.  Gorillas tend to respond in similar ways as humans do to dietary changes and the effects those have on heart health and …