When summer is turning to fall, many of us are working on overdrive, with the “back to school” feeling in the air.  Everyone around us is starting to get sick. After a busy week of work last week, it ocurred to me that it’s time to take preventative measures to fortify my own immune system.

I usually opt for leeks in many recipes where you may use onions. They’re sweeter and more delicate, and a great way to maximize flavor. Here’s a simple, no fuss-yet satisfying way to prepare them.

This is the time of year, when zucchini is very much on my mind.  I seem to be constantly brainstorming various uses for this ever present and abundant vegetable.

My Clafoutis fixation began when a thoughtful dinner guest brought dessert. It was several years ago on a warm summer night in Brianny, a small village in Burgundy France.

A few weeks ago I find myself at the Whitehouse – on the OTHER side of the fence!  I was strolling through Obama’s fantastic new Whitehouse Garden on a sunny Saturday afternoon, walking amongst the rhubarb,the honeybees, nibbling on sorrel!

One of my most favorite ways, to help cool off in the summer, is to have a glass of iced hibiscus tea. I make it in big batches so I always have a pitcher on hand, perfect during the hot summer days and nights when friends stop by unexpectedly.

I have been really digging spring, and all the produce it has to offer. While I was just away on a yoga and culinary adventure in Italy, I had the good fortune of fava beans fresh picked from the garden.

This recipe was inspired by my urgent need to use all of the perishable ingredients possible when my fridge suddenly decided to stop cooling. It hardly even deserves a formal recipe because of its simplicity.

Yuri and I met before our last Harvest Time in Harlem class to test the recipe we received from Slow Food In Schools #4 Suginami Tokyo. We figured we should give it a good test run and work out the perfect measurements and techniques before teaching the kids. I’ve made sushi before, but never sushi with a flower inside.

This recipe is particularly timely for Passover, as there is no flour and the leavening agent is egg whites. If you use an ice cream scooper to create a dome like shape, my macaroons are like mini cakes. For an elegant decadence, dip them in your favorite melted dark chocolate and give them a dusting of edible gold.  

I made this for my last two house-guests and they’ve been requesting the recipe ever since. This is by far one of the most popular dishes in my breakfast repertoire, although note that it makes for a great lunch or dinner also.

When you have an insatiable sweet tooth, I recommend a sweet potato dish. This is the dish I came up with recently for someone who always wants sweet flavors and  whose most favorite vegetable happens to be Sweet Potatoes.

I recently had a request from a magazine to create some lighter versions of standard dressings. One of my favorite ways to lighten up dressings is to use pureed vegetables in the actual dressing to create a richer texture without the heaviness of cream or egg.

It’s all about reinventing the leftovers, creating new variations on the theme, so there are new flavors that make you look forward to the next meal. 

I just discovered this new fruit variety on a horseback ride through the coconut jungles of Little Corn Island in Nicaragua.

By popular demand…They’re pretty and tasty, and, if you use a heart shaped cookie cutter they make an excellent edible valentine.

It wasn’t until I went to England that I had my first “real scone”, more like a proper biscuit and less like a hockey puck. An afternoon tea party can be a refreshing diversion from your average holiday soiree. I made these for one recently, and everyone loved them.