Chef's Notes Plus

Diabetes-Friendly Cooking

Amidst the flurry of concerns a new diabetes diagnosis can bring, what to cook for dinner can seem like a huge hurdle. Simple everyday tasks like packing lunch or entertaining friends brings a new set of challenges. Receiving the news that you have prediabetes or diabetes is a food lover’s […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Dress Up Your Roasted Veggies for Thanksgiving

One of the best and easiest Thanksgiving side dishes is a platter of simple roasted vegetables. We’ve talked about the basics of roasting veggies, but let’s talk about how to dress them up for the holidays. For a typical weeknight dinner, you most likely roast your vegetables in olive oil […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Drying Techniques for Preserving Foods

Whether it’s for long-term storage, sweet treats, or prep for a long hike, drying foods is a great way of not just preserving food by extending its shelf life, but also reducing their size and weight for efficient storage or carrying. There are multiple techniques for drying and dehydrating foods. […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Easy Jam for Your Farmers’ Market Finds (No Canning!)

Making jam can feel like an overwhelming project, mostly because of the labor-intensive canning process. But making jam doesn’t requirecanning and can actually be a really quick way to preserve fruits at their peak season! Depending on where you live, you are either knee-deep in strawberries or waiting expectantly for […]

Main Dishes

Eggplant Caponata Stuffed Shells

Makes 4 to 6 servings This vegan pasta dish is creamy comfort food at its very best. Make all of the components ahead of time, or even assemble the dish a few days before you’re ready to serve it for an ultra-convenient weeknight meal. Serve it alongside prepared marinara sauce, […]

Allergen Friendly, Salads

Fennel Salad With Blood Orange Vinaigrette

This simple preparation is full of big flavors. Crisp fennel, onion, and celery make for a refreshing salad paired with the sweet and slightly tart juice of the blood orange. Makes 4 to 6 servings Ingredients 1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 3 stalks celery, thinly […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Freezing Fruits and Vegetables

Freezing is one of the easiest and most flexible preserving methods – when you’re ready to eat something, you simply thaw it and finish it – and then you can replace the space it took up in your freezer with a new item. It is also one of the most […]

Allergen Friendly, Soups and Stews

Gazpacho

Makes 8 servings This is a very simple, straightforward, no-frills gazpacho recipe. It is tangy and fresh, with a full-bodied texture thanks to a generous pour of olive oil. Experiment with proportions to find your perfect balance.

Side Dishes

Green Lentils with Chard and Lemon

Makes 6 to 8 servings Ingredients 1 lb dried green lentils (lentilles du Puy) 3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 3/4 cup chopped cilantro Kosher salt, to taste 10 large Swiss chard leaves, stemmed and cut into chiffonade (see Chef’s Note) 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon […]