Environmental Nutrition

From restaurants to packaged foods to home cooking, portion sizes have ballooned in past decades. Many health experts link the rise in obesity rates with our tendency towards portion distortion -- a mismatch between our portion sizes and energy needs. Research by the ...Read more

I was craving a trip to Paris. It had been a couple of decades since we lived there, and we wanted to return to reminisce and celebrate a birthday. So why not recreate our past by finding an apartment so I could cook when I felt the urge? As a chef, visiting the open-air markets is an invitation to prepare a meal that is local, seasonal and ...Read more

This vegetarian chili has a fragrant touch of cinnamon for added flavor. Let diners top it with whatever suits their taste.

Four-Bean & Pumpkin Chili

Serves 8

Serving Size: About 1 1/2 cups

Active Time: 45 minutes

Active Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 1/4 hours

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 cups chopped ...Read more

TheKitchn.com

If you want a quick, fresh-off-the-griddle flatbread, it doesn't get much easier than this dough that uses just two ingredients. In just about 30 minutes, from start to finish, you'll be tucking into tender flatbreads that can be eaten with dip, rolled up with your favorite fillings, or used...Read more

If you know me well, you know that I love planning holiday menus. Halloween is no exception in the Batali household, and this year I'm going for a festive dish that's as equally elegant as it is "spooky." I'm talking about linguine with squid and its ink.

Squid, like other cephalopods (including octopus and cuttlefish), have an ...Read more

Fresh peppers, hot and spicy, sweet and crunchy, are the ultimate quick change artists. I roast poblanos and jalapenos for Mexican-style rajas, puree red and orange bells into soups and sauces, dice green bells and Anaheims for omelets and gingerly tuck habaneros into salsa.

When the farmers market baskets overflow with varieties not regularly ...Read more

The dryer does its thing, spinning round and round. Without doing that other thing: drying. Our clothes enjoy the ride, and when it stops, they tumble out, damp and dizzy, begging for another go.

We used to indulge them in this endless game. Then we pulled the plug. We snapped: Go play outside. Lining up the clothes on a clothesline called for ...Read more

We're over a month into the regular NFL football season. By now you should be perfecting your skills for that great pre-game eating experience known as tailgating.

Instead of the typical hot Buffalo flavor, why not shake up your tailgate Sunday with sticky, spicy Asian-style hot wings? These are baked, then sauced and served with a cool ...Read more

It seems every so often the low-carb craze reinvents itself.

My friend Debbie has been following a Ketogenic (keto) diet which drastically limits daily intakes of carbohydrates -- especially the simple ones like those found in baked goods, pop and sweet snacks.

She's been very successful with a focus of eliminating sugar, eating the right fats...Read more

I thought I made it clear. I don't like meatloaf.

In my very first column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch nearly four years ago, I wrote that I will try almost anything "except meatloaf. That is the one food I will not eat."

As it turns out, I am not alone in this perfectly understandable and even admirable trait. Our esteemed restaurant ...Read more

Sure, Meatless Monday may be a trendy slogan, but it recycles an old idea.

I was reminded of America's long history of dietary restrictions as I toured City Hall in Philadelphia. In a corridor by the Conservation Room, I spotted a black-and-white photo proclaiming: "Food Will Win The War. Don't Waste It."

During World War I, the U.S. Food ...Read more

Pluck a zucchini from a vine in the backyard then transform it to a plateful of fritters for supper, and the chin tilts a bit with pride. Pop the vacuum seal of plum tomatoes jarred in September then use them as a base for red sauce in January, and the chest puffs.

The real strutting begins, though, when the hunter brings home the bacon -- or ...Read more

Environmental Nutrition

What is millet? It may not be in most kitchens, but the popularity of this grain is gaining traction.

The folklore

First cultivated about 10,000 years ago in Asia and Africa, millet became a food staple around the world. The Bible refers to it in bread making, the ...Read more

Author Jamie Schler has a sure-fire hit with her new cookbook, "Orange Appeal: Savory and Sweet" ($24.99, Gibbs Smith), which is devoted entirely to oranges. Her love of oranges started as a child when she lived in Florida and has only grown larger as an adult. I'm not big on one-subject cookbooks, but this book made me think twice about that. ...Read more

In this vegetarian taco recipe, cauliflower is tossed with a smoky-tangy sauce made with honey, lime juice and chipotles in adobo sauce before being roasted. Serve with more hot sauce, if desired.

Chipotle-Lime Cauliflower Tacos

Serves 4

Serving Size: 2 tacos

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2 ...Read more

TheKitchn.com

There's one technique to learn to make better chicken breasts: pounding chicken breast into thin, even pieces. Pounding doesn't require any forethought or planning; it relieves a little mid-week tension, and helps chicken breast cook faster and more evenly.

If flattening chicken seems ...Read more