Here you’ll find everything I’m preparing in my kitchen - from veggies, to leftovers and pasta. I eat simply, and I cook for one, but love cooking for others. And no matter what, I always pause to plate pretty.
Most of my meals are often times the result of freestyle recipe free ingredient riffing and a trip to the vegetable market. Produce is my passion, and I hope that you won’t simply come here for a recipe - but that you’ll read, cook and create a new story of your own.
I believe there’s power in a stocked pantry and freezer. From traditional Italian dishes to alternative sweets, vegan and vegetarian swaps - there’s something for everyone.
Let this serve as inspiration and let’s eat!
Lately I’m dropping beans into bowls like they’re hot …
1) ’Cause they’re easy to cook (hello, can opener!) and prepare well ahead of time.
2) They’re inexpensive, while also being filling. See more on #3
3) Finally, they add a meatless, high fiber protein pop to mealtime.
If you know my cooking and weight loss story, you know I love lentils. Lentil soup was the first meal I prepared in the summer of 2001 as I was forced to cook for myself while I was living on a small working farm in Ashford, CT. Recalling meals of my childhood, I remade my grandmas lentils until I got the pot of soup just right. Packed with fiber and protein they’re one of my favorite meal bases
Read MoreInspired by an epic Friday night meal of branzino, eggplant, zucchini, salad and wine I planned to relive it at home. A kingdom for grilled branzino every day, deboning and picking pins like a professional - but it gets costly … sometimes a lady has to get her wild flounder on because the price is right at the fish market.
Read MoreMaking salsa is simple. It requires little prep, minimal tools and ingredients that are easy to come by in your grocery store. A certified crowd pleaser, great for vegetarians, vegans and even your meaty buddies (scoop this fruit salsa on a burger, shrimp or salmon) and delight everyone around your table.
Read MoreLately, I feel like it’s a miracle I’m even cooking. My spirits have been struggling, my energy low, although I’m working to wear smiles on the outside. After a day of substitute teaching, I sometimes want to close my eyes and nap, but most days I confront the light, my kitchen and make peace with myself.
Read MoreToday I had my favorite kind of day; a day spent cooking with a kind hearted, hard working and beautifully spirited client I can call my friend. My clients aren’t people I work for, they’re people I consider friends and those I teach and learn from through shared experiences. Julie and I spent 4 hours in the kitchen making soup, sauce,
Read MoreI’ve just now realized it’s Halloween weekend and I’m home on a Saturday night in a solo soup slurping contest with myself. I like to keep it really real.
3 reasons to stay in, stay safe and Saturday night soup when you’re 38:
Read MoreToday it was 65 degrees and gloomy all day in NYC. A slight chill was in the air, a slight chill only soup could solve. I’ve been on somewhat of a grind to find work, so I’m a little slow in body and mind these days, but still feel happy and pretty hopeful overall. It’s when I step into my kitchen to cook that the most hope fills me up.
Read MoreOn Monday I gave you a recipe for one of my three ways with eggplant, and I’m doing this so the cook that I know lives inside of you can start to look at their food a little differently. The concept of Three Ways with Tina was born out of my long term singleness, weight loss maintenance and joy of cooking; creating and shedding new
Read MoreWith summer officially gone, so with it goes seasonal eggplants and many of my other farm fresh favorite vegetables. The eggplant will likely be prepared in my kitchen in the coming months, clearly not locally sourced (don’t produce shame me), so I scooped up three purple beauties at a farmers market last week.
Read MoreBreakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day. I go to sleep thinking about eating breakfast because I look forward to quiet mornings and setting up my day. Breakfast time allows me to put myself first before my time becomes someone else’s - be it school or a client. And if you’re not into cooking or trying to take some steps toward healthier habits, breakfast is a good place to start.
Read MoreMy love for turkey meat has grown over the years. I’ve found ways to jazz it up, from adding vegetables and herbs to the mix, to topping it with onion jam or caramelized cabbage. Turkey meat on its own still reminds me of diet food and that time my parents bought me these pills called “Fit America” where one eats an Atkins style diet
Read MoreOne of my all time favorite spring/summer and early fall events is the picnic. There's an art to a picnic, you see. One does not want to pack food that is messy or cumbersome, as proper picnic food should be portable, light and easy to eat. The best picnic baskets, if you ask me, are filled with fresh fruit, nuts, spreads, bread, olives, a
Read MoreLast Thursday I was walking home from work and took a terrible typical Tina tumble on the street. My bod is beat, which makes it kinda hard to do like life stuff. No one to grocery shop or do my laundry. I was tired and grandmaster cranks - but I knew the most helpful and healing thing I could do was take care of myself.
Read MoreA few weeks I bought my favorite pre-peeled and pre-cooked Gefen Organic Beets.
Why do I love these whole peeled, ready to eat, vacuum sealed, organic beets?
Because they are mess and hassle free, my weeknight lunch prepping and snacky friends.
Put them in a quick salad, eat them as is (I'm strange, I can snack on sweet beets and sometimes I crave exactly that) or turn them into your favorite dip.
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