Chicken with rice, all bound together with a quick sauce made with caramelized onions and warm spices, topped with a quick sauté of matchstick carrots, raisins, almonds and saffron. Sound, um, unusual? It's amazing. Whole Food, Fresh & Flexible. Budget-Friendly. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. High Protein. Great for Meal Prep & Feeding a Crowd.

Simple whole-grain muffins studded with soft, sour pockets of a late-spring treat, rhubarb. Rhubarb Muffins are barely sweet and oh-so-tender and definitely – definitely! – not cupcakes. For all who prefer a less-sweet, less-rich but ever-so-satisfying morning-bread treat, this is your recipe! ~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~ Victory! People! Did you hear crazy cheers of joy from the back yard this week?!! Did you see the CNN cameras? Did you see the headlines at Fine Cooking, Saveur and Gourmet? Did you watch the heavens part and world peace descend? Because I finally harvested my very own rhubarb – yep, those crisp, bright-red stalks of late-spring sourness – from my very own rhubarb patch in my very own garden. I harvested my own rhubarb! [insert squeals of glee] It's been a long, long time coming – a lo-o-o-n-g time, we're talking years, here. Interstate-transport, a cross-town move and transplant shock all contributed to the delay. My mom's rhubarb, our ...

A real celebration cake, layers of moistened sponge cake with strawberries and whipped cream between and spilling out the sides in joyful berry abandon. A Summer Tradition in Finland, Especially for Summer Birthdays and Midsummer. A Summer Celebration of Strawberries 'n' Cream. A Show-Stopping Layer Cake. Works With Perfect Home-Grown Berries and Good Supermarket Strawberries. Budget Friendly. Serves a Crowd.

A New Master Recipe An easy-easy frittata, a protein-packed egg dish for breakfast or a light lunch or supper. Most frittatas contain little to no milk, here the eggs are mixed with lots of milk, the result is a soft and silky quiche-like custard that envelops the vegetables and pockets of warm cheese. This is a breakfast or breakfast-for-dinner you'll make again and again! PS I just "knew" I should love both frittatas and Donna Hay. But it took this special frittata recipe to make it happen. Read on ... Real Food, Fresh & Flexible. Healthy Breakfast Fare. Weight Watchers Friendly. Low Carb. Low Cal. High Protein.

Dried beans cooked Greek-style until creamy with tomatoes and warm spices, a fresh, healthy alternative to American-style sugar-heavy baked beans for parties, potlucks and okay sure, even for dinner. :-) These beans are cooked in the oven instead of on the stove, no more boiling over a pot of beans! Real Food. Low Cal. Weight Watchers Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real .

The Recipe: Crisp, barely sweet pecan pieces lightly glazed with maple syrup. With five minutes, three ingredients and an hour in the oven, the payback is huge. The Conversation: Making the transition from processed sugar to natural sweeteners, one recipe at a time. ~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~ What's a Curious Cook to Do, Really? Way back last year, I became smitten with an oatmeal dish from Half & Half, a restaurant here in St. Louis. It's a heady combination of creamy oats, a barely sweet raspberry compote, fresh fruit and a spoonful of maple syrup. I l-o-v-e this oatmeal, the combination is magical! Half & Half's oatmeal recipe was published in my column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and later in Almost-Chewy Creamy Oatmeal . What wasn't in Half & Half's recipe, was Half & Half's candied pecans. Luckily, during our interview, the chef shared a big hint: "Half & Half candies pecans by cooking pecan pieces in sugar ...