Watch the video 3:23
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I visited my dear friend, Caroline Courtauld’s, English country house, Spencer’s and its gorgeous gardens www.spencersgarden.net at the height of mid-summer. The stunning 1 ½ -acre garden was at its peak and awash in a sea of vivid colors. It was spectacular!!

As we toured the grounds, Caroline explained that she prefers the French method of growing vegetables alongside flowers instead of the typical English design of keeping the two separate. The garden has an impressive variety of organic vegetables. We feasted that evening on a light spinach soup, steamed zucchini, and the first of the season’s broad beans and pan-seared salmon. All of the succulent vegetables were picked right before dinner.

In addition to her role as Mistress of Spencer’s, Caroline Courtauld is a distinguished author and photographer of a number of books on Burma, Hong Kong and China, as well as a documentary film producer. She is also a Director and passionately involved in Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, an organization established by her late friend, Maggie Keswick Jencks, (who was a respected author, landscape designer, and painter) with her husband Charles, the noted architect. The fourteen centers offer help for cancer patients and their families, including information, benefits, advice, psychological support, and courses in stress reducing strategies. No appointment or referrals are necessary and everything is free of charge.

Watch the Video 3:13
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A good fire, a fresh vegetable, some garlic and you have most of the makings for a great vegetable stir-fry. This is one of my basic recipes that I use with all fresh vegetables including broccolini, but you could substitute any vegetable from baby cabbage hearts, green beans, snow peas, zucchini to spinach. Just adjust the cooking time accordingly. I cook a bunch and serve it with grilled seafood, chicken, or meat and some rice for an easy dinner. Make a bunch and reheat it, eat it at room temperature, or add it to soups and stews.

Enjoy!

Nina

Watch the Video 7:00
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By day, Kim Severson is an esteemed food journalist for the New York Times. Now she is also a published author who has written “Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life”.

In the book we learn how Marion (Fanny Farmer) Cunningham, Alice Waters, Rachel Ray, and Ruth Reichl, a veritable Who’s Who of the cooking world, have taught her life lessons that helped her come into her own.

In this enlightening interview, Kim shares how these famous women and others have shaped her life.

Enjoy!

Nina

Watch the Video 3:18
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Taza Chocolate is a small, wonderful company that makes extraordinary organic, stone-ground dark chocolate. It’s a true bean-to-bar company located in Somerville, MA, but the chocolate bars are sold in numerous stores nationwide. Come along for a personal visit with Alex Whitmore, co-founder, who apprenticed with traditional chocolate makers in Mexico.

As if you didn’t have enough excuses to eat dark chocolate for the flavor, there’s also the health factor. Among the benefits of chocolate:

• High in antioxidants. Taza chocolate has three times the amount found in milk chocolate.
• Contains mono-unsaturated fat, so it helps lower cholesterol.
• Helps promote blood flow, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Go to the recipe section for a sumptuous, flour-less chocolate cake.

Enjoy!

Nina

Click here for recipe.

Watch the Video 3:07
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The Cheese Room at La Fromagerie, Patricia Michelson’s legendary store in the middle of London, is like no other. Inspired by her visits to artisanal cheese makers all over Europe, Patricia designed a special, refrigerated haven with the same conditions of a cheese aging room. You can get up close and personal with roughly 150 to 200 cheeses!! And you don’t even have to go to London to get a personal tour from Patricia.

Watch and enjoy!!

Nina

Watch the Video 3:24
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La Fromagerie in London is a food lover’s paradise, and it’s not just for the extraordinary selection of Europe’s finest artisanal cheeses. The store is filled with other delectable treats: selected wines, oils, freshly-baked breads, cakes, and other pastries and jams, all made under the discerning eye of the owner, cheese expert Patricia Michelson. The food changes with each season. It’s also located in one of the best foodie neighborhoods on Marylebone High Street.

Enjoy!

Nina

Watch the Video 2:43
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Would you expect cafeteria food to be even more delicious and healthier than your Mom’s?

Bon Appetit Management, an on-site restaurant company that prepares food for 400 locations, including the University of San Francisco, MIT, the Getty Museum, and Yahoo!, makes food from scratch using local ingredients. Their commitment to sustainability, health, and reducing the carbon footprint is remarkable. We need more companies like Bon Appetit who are doing a stellar job and trying to make a difference. Watch the video and drool.

I first met Fedele Bauccio, Bon Appetit’s co-founder, at “Cooking for Solutions”, an extraordinary annual event at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (Bon Appetit is a primary sponsor). Award-winning baker, chef, and cookbook author Jim Dodge, who is Bon Appetit’s Director of Special Events, is one of the main organizers. The gathering, which is now in its ninth year, brings together celebrity chefs, renowned wineries (Benziger, Chappellet, and Sanford wineries), press, and the general public. The two-day event of non-stop information panels, cooking demonstrations, and signature gala celebration is devoted to raising awareness and discovering how to protect the health of the soil, water, and ocean wildlife. And it’s FUN!!!

Enjoy!!

Nina

Watch the Video 2:59
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Asian pears, also called Chinese pears or pear apples, are firm, crunchy, and surprisingly juicy. When my body felt dry and my throat was scratchy, Dr. Zhu, my Chinese doctor, prescribed some “Steamed Pears with Honey and Jujubes” (dried red dates). Once steamed, the pears become tender and the resulting broth is soothing and not overly sweet. (It’s a great winter dessert!) You can also use Bosc pears and if jujubes are unavailable, you can substitute candied ginger or prepare simply with honey and cinnamon stick. When I am feeling indulgent, I add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. BTW, they are also delicious at room temperature or cold. And you can reheat them in the microwave.

Enjoy!

Nina

Watch the Video 2:36
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I strongly believe that Traditional Chinese Medicine is very effective in helping with many conditions, including preventing colds and the flu, jet lag, and insomnia, and it is not uncommon for doctors to recommend Chinese herbs. In our last video I visited my Chinese doctor (“R U Yin or Yang” video). Dr. Chun Han Zhu gave me an herbal “prescription” for a soup, so my next stop is Boston’s Chinatown where I visit my favorite herbal shop.

Some of the herbs Dr. Zhu recommended are:

• Dang gui or Angelica sinensis, an herb commonly used to treat women’s reproductive health issues and also recommended to help prevent and treat some forms of cardiovascular disease
• Huang Qi or Astragalus is recommended for treating the common cold and upper respiratory infections because it helps to strengthen the immune system
• Go ji or Wolfberries which are believed to nourish the “yin,” strengthen blood, liver, and the kidneys, and contain anti-oxidants.

Go to the SpicesofLife recipe section for a delicious and easy recipe, Poached Pears in a Cinnamon-Ginger Syrup.

Stay tuned for the next video where you can join me in the kitchen while I make Steamed Black Bone Chicken Soup. YUM!

Nina

Watch the Video 4:56
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Dr. Chun Han Zhu, a brilliant Chinese doctor who lives near Boston, has been a teacher, healer, and mentor for many years. In this video he explains some basic principles of yin and yang. He also offers suggestions of how you can avoid colds and the flu in the colder weather by eating certain foods that will provide balance and strengthen the immune system.

As Dr. Zhu explains, it is helpful to know whether you are yin or yang. Ideally, you should be diagnosed by a Chinese physician, but here are some tips that might help you to know what type you are.

Yin Body Types

• Listless or lacking energy
• Thin and Pale-faced
• Vulnerable to infectious disease
• Relaxed, easy-going and quiet
• Sensitive to cold

Yang Body Types

• Usually superactive, hyper, full of energy and vitality
• Generally heavyset or overweight
• Flush-faced or ruddy complexion
• Restless or impatient
• Not sensitive to cold

Stay tuned for the next videos where we explore a Chinese herbal store and then make two dishes that are great for the winter.

Enjoy!

Nina