SamplesAs you'll see, I cover all sort of topics; I'm particularly interested in food, but I also like to explore lifestyle trends, family and child issues, travel, and more. Spring BreakCooking Light, March 2007![]() Spring officially starts this month. But, depending on where you live, Mother Nature may not have gotten the memo. This certainly applies in Colorado, where I live. In fact, we often get more snow in March than during any other month of the year. And though my family and I love the hearty stews and roasted root vegetables I make all winter, by this time we begin to crave lighter and brighter fare. If you're in the same yearning-for-spring mood, it's time to give your taste buds a tropical getaway, courtesy of flavorful citrus and tropical fruits. There's no need to search for rare exotica. Mangoes, papayas, pineapple, carambola (star fruit), and more appear regularly at most grocery stores, thanks to crops from California, Florida, Hawaii, and Mexico... Denver Lights UpSunset, December 2006'Tis the season for caroling, choirs, and sparkling lights — the kind of cheer that ushers even the most cold-averse out of hibernation. Downtown Denver is brimming with holiday performances — from soul-stirring a cappella concerts to Charles Dickens — while restaurants within walking distance of curtain call offer froufrou cocktails and après-show nibbles. Prefer boutiques to Broadway? The theater district is lined with finds guaranteed to entice last-minute shoppers.
From I-25, take Speer Blvd. east, then go north on Arapahoe St. to 13th, where you can enter the parking garage at the Denver Performing Arts Complex; several outdoor lots are also nearby... Wild About GameCooking Light, October 2006![]() Before I met a hunter, the only meat I ate came from the grocery store, neatly wrapped in cellophane. But then I met Dave, my husband-to-be and a hunter like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He introduced me to the real source of natural meat: grassy plains and other wild places where elusive animals fly, swim, run, and graze.
Now, many years later, I look forward to fall and winter, when my freezer fills with the bounty of Dave's hunting expeditions. With all that fresh meat appearing every season, I've had to devise creative and tasty ways to cook it. Although some cooks may shy away from wild meat because of its perceived gaminess, a few simple techniques tone down any overly strong taste, resulting in meat that is rich and flavorful... Women Helping WomenCooking Light, September 2006![]() If you peek into the cafeteria kitchen mid-morning at Denver's Richard Castro Human Services Center, you'll see a blur of busy women chopping lettuce, steaming tortillas, peeling potatoes, rolling dough, and otherwise prepping for the workday lunch rush. But what's really going on here goes beyond cooking: These women are changing their lives for the better, thanks to the nonprofit job-training program Work Options for Women (WOW).
In 1996, social worker Toni Schmid saw significant changes on the horizon for the low-income women with whom she'd worked for 14 years... Community TableCooking Light, June 2006Every Monday evening, a special dining experience takes shape at The Kitchen, a bustling restaurant in downtown Boulder, Colorado. It's Community Night, when chefs and co-owners Hugo Matheson and Kimbal Musk host a family-style meal for an adventurous group of up to 24 people. Sitting together around a long wooden table, new acquaintances may include jeans-clad locals and suited out-of-towners, singles and couples, professional stockbrokers and professional rock climbers—anyone who enjoys the company of strangers and a surprise menu...
Food As Medicine - Growing Up VegetarianAlternative Medicine Magazine, May 2006At age 8, Naomi Anderson realized the plastic-wrapped meats lined up in grocery-store displays were turning her stomach. “I would hate going down the aisles where they had meat,” she says, “because I really liked animals, and I hated that they had to kill the animals to get the meat.” It was then that Naomi, now 11, decided to become a vegetarian —one of approximately 1.4 million US youths who forgo meat, poultry, and fish. According to the Vegetarian Resource Group (a nonprofit group dedicated to education about plant-based diets), one-third to one-half of those kids are vegan, eschewing all animal products, including dairy, eggs, and honey...
Late-winter fun in Frisco, ColoradoSunset, March 2006Spring may officially arrive this month, but in Frisco, Colorado, March means snow — and lots of it. Within minutes of Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Arapahoe Basin ski areas, the town also boasts the Frisco Peninsula Recreation Area just 1/4 mile beyond its charming and historic Main Street, which is lined with excellent eateries for pre– and post–snow sport refueling...
It's the great pumpkinDelicious Living Magazine, Oct. 2005Linus was right: The mighty pumpkin brings good things to all who believe. Fancifully carved for Halloween or baked and enjoyed at holiday meals, this autumnal fruit's benefits extend well beyond the pumpkin patch. A cup of cooked fresh pumpkin provides 564 mg of potassium (good for lowering blood pressure) and 5,135 mcg of beta-carotene, believed to protect against prostate cancer (International Journal of Cancer, 2005, vol. 113, no. 6). Pumpkin's natural enzymes also work wonders for skin, says Melinda Milner, spa director at the Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay in California, where locally grown pumpkins appear in several body treatments... The Young and The Rested: Teens & Tweens Hit The SpasHealing Lifestyles Magazine, Nov/Dec. 2003The International SPA Association's 2003 Spa-goer Study, the first in the organization's history to include teen stats, reflects the burgeoning number of boomer families with kids - the demographic destined to be the next generation of spa-goers. According to ISPA's survey, forty percent of adult spa guests with children ages thirteen to fifteen have taken their offspring to a spa. The number of teenage clients increases as youngsters get older: Fully half of eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds with spa-going parents have enjoyed spa treatments, with or without mom or dad. In addition, according to Lauren Ash Donoho of the Hotel Del Coronado, teens influenced $300 billion in family purchases in 2002, including vacation destinations and off-time activities. That's a lot of decision-making power for a group not yet old enough to vote. Given these compelling statistics, it's no surprise that spas, salons, and resorts are jumping on the teen bandwagon, offering generation-specific treatments and kicking up the cool factor with teen-only hangouts... Time to EnjoyDelicious Living Magazine, Apr. 2002If you're the family cook, you've no doubt experienced that sinking feeling when the clock strikes 5 and you're still not sure what you're going to make for dinner. At these moments, succumbing to take-out temptation is nearly irresistible. But you don't want to reach for the phone too often, because few pleasures exceed sitting down to a nutritious meal made from scratch. There's nothing like a home-cooked dinner to satisfy the senses - indeed, to ground us, to center our thoughts, and to remind us of slower, simple pleasures. Therein lies the rub: How do you make a satisfying meal that still leaves you with the energy to enjoy it? Rushing through an elaborate recipe certainly isn't the answer. Instead, relax and cook simply, with unfussy techniques and tasteful, easy-to-find ingredients. As a start, stock your pantry and freezer with culinary staples and learn ways to cut meal preparation time... 10 Steps to Healthier EatingBody&Soul Magazine, Jul/Aug. 2002The road to health is paved with good intentions, but it soon gets tied up in a traffic jam of overwhelming, often conflicting, advice. Most of us want to eat better but don't have the time or energy that it seems to take to break bad habits, such as consuming too much salt, sugar or fat, eating too quickly, or buying foods made with preservatives or grown with chemicals dangerous to our bodies and our planet. But healthy eating is easier and more enjoyable than you'd think. The trick is to remember that the goal is within our grasp, though we don't have to grab it all at once. Here passionate foodies - nutritionists, health providers, chefs and other experts - reveal their stress-free tips for taking the first steps toward making food a banquet of nourishment and pleasure... |