Introducing the new "power food", a raw broccoli salad made sweet with fruit and nuts and tossed in a simple vinaigrette. It's a favorite with kids and grownups alike, light and fresh and fruity. COMPLIMENTS! "We took this salad to a potluck - it was a real hit!" ~ Doris "...it was delicious!" ~ Tziiki Parents know that kids really do say the darndest things. One night, friends from the next town over nvited me to join them for supper, Mom, Dad and sons Andrew and Nate. We sat down to chicken, rice and a big platter of steamy-green broccoli. I asked if the boys’ play toys included Power Rangers. “Sure!” exclaimed detail-happy Andrew and listed off Power Ranger guys. I conjured a dramatic voice. “Do you know,” I began, pausing for effect, “that broccoli is a power food?” Gregarious Nate looked impressed, as if glad to learn something so important. “No, I didn’t know that!” And hence our table conversation turned to power ...

Welcome to a special edition of Kitchen Parade, an introduction to Iowa 'pioneers' who are raising pork for Niman Ranch with new-but-old practices. If you like, skip straight to this week's featured recipe for Thick Chops with Mustard Crust , a 2003 column published online today for the first time. Otherwise, prepare to meet some happy pigs ... If there is a single place from which this country emits a steady heartbeat, it’s the swells and dales of Iowa, the state that means ‘beautiful land’ in the language of one its native tribes, the Ioway. Lub-dub, lub-dub. The more urban our country, the further the separation from our agrarian roots. And thus we must travel farther — or stretch deeper like trees reaching for water during drought — to seek out and understand the sources of our nourishment. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub. In early September, Elise Bauer and I joined a group of chefs and other passionate food people in Iowa as the guests of Niman Ranch , the m...

Oatmeal cookies with a twist, a banana twist, that is. Move over, banana bread! They're slightly chewy and sweet with real, ripe banana flavor. Real Food, Fast & Fresh. Great for After School Treat. Budget Friendly. Low Fat, Just Two Tablespoons Butter for 30 Cookies. Rave Reviews. What're you waiting for?!

So here's a thrifty meal, a throwback to another time when nothing-but-nothing went to waste. It's a simple budget supper, on the table in minutes, just meaty pork chops browned in a hot skillet, the pan deglazed with leftover coffee, forming a sweet, syrupy glaze. For anyone who needs to make a meal almost out of air? This is it. Whole Food, Simply Prepared. "Plain" But Resourceful. Mere Minutes to the Table. Another Quick Supper , a Kitchen Parade Specialty. Hearty & Filling. Budget Friendly. Weeknight Easy. Low Carb. High Protein. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free.

So here we are, on the cusp of summer and fall, one foot still entrenched in heat and humidity, the other lifted to step onto the Labor Day weekend bridge. (Is it three o'clock yet?) Here's a few recipe ideas from the Kitchen Parade archives, ones that to me, seem perfect for the cusp, the bridge. See you on the other side. Late Summer Recipes (click a photo for a recipe) Explore all the best recipes for summer but these three are so good, you'll make them again and again, all year round. This column features easy Italian appetizers , pictured is a simple olive paste that looks so impressive spread on rounds of bread with a bit of cheese and pimento. Maple Glazed Salmon has been Kitchen Parade's #1 recipe all summer long. Have you tried it yet? Vichyssoise may be hard to spell and pronounce but the simple potato and leek soup is dead-easy to make. Early Fall Recipes (click a photo for a recipe) Ratatouille ma...

For a taste of summer come winter, put aside summer tomatoes now, by slow-roasting the tomatoes for a long time – yes, a long, long, LONG time, no measly couple of hours. After testing many batches of slow-roasted tomatoes, I finally fixed upon the perfect combination of time and temperature, oil and herbs, a collection of tips and techniques. Slow-Roasted Tomatoes are something really special ... don't let the tomato season pass by without a batch or two or three. Or four. Fresh & Seasonal. Vegan. Weight Watchers Friendly. Whole30 Friendly. Low Carb. Great for Meal Prep.

We all collect great brunch recipes, especially ones that can be completely or partially prepared the night before. This tomato basil quiche, from a 2003 Kitchen Parade column that's published online for the first time, is a real favorite, one I've served summer and winter for many years. Here's the recipe for tomato basil quiche . And if you're looking for still more ideas, here's my collection of great brunch recipes .

Readers who poke forks into this column regularly know to expect no tomatoes in January (unless canned) and no blueberries til July (unless frozen). To stay in synch with the seasons, I write most columns a year in advance, often more. This week’s intended column was written during the glory of 2006’s peach season when Missouri- and Illinois-grown picked-just-yesterday peaches piled high in supermarkets and super farmers markets. Imagine a fresh peach pie topped with clouds of whipped cream spiked with almond flavor. Imagine peach preserves spiked with jalapeno. Imagine … Too bad, for 2007’s spring freeze decimated the local peach crop. What’s a seasonal cook to do? Scramble, that’s what, just like our farmers, replanting when they can, getting by when they can’t. So today’s column features another local favorite, Pevely’s 1% cottage cheese that luckily’s available year-round. Pevely Dairy dates back 120 years and was the 1904 World’s Fair milk concessionaire. It’s now par...