Redolent of the spices of India, and especially warming during cold winters, Chai tea is a delicious beverage that has migrated from India to, well, everyone! You can find Chai tea lattes at Starbucks and other coffee shops, recipes on Pinterest, and premade at the store. But many of them have strange ingredients - and weak spices.

Blanketed with big-bushy trees that flame red and orange in the fall, then soak up the snowflakes in the winter, and burst with green the rest of the year, Holmes County, Ohio is a world apart. 
 
And along the road, it’s not uncommon to see Amish buggies with horses plodding along the gently, curving roads. 

 Cayenne Pepper. Not even hot.
 
Habaneros. They tickle. A little.  
 
But Bhut Jolokia. That’s where the real heat is. Chile heat!
 
Also called red naga, naga jolokia, and bih jolokia. But this hybrid chile from India is one of the hottest around. No wonder it’s garnered the name most know it as … Ghost chiles.
 

In just under two weeks, athletes from around the world will be marching into Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, carrying their nations’ flags.

Nature and the arts - they go hand in hand. I love outdoor theatre (especially Shakespeare) and concerts, for they combine the best of both worlds - being outside, AND the luxury of watching and listening to the arts in a special environment. And, of course, when you attend a concert outside, you bring a picnic - snacks, beverages, meals - and munch the whole time. It's glorious, and a way of life that attracts everyone. So when Gina Hyams published her latest book, The Tanglewood Picnic: Music and Outdoor Feasts in the Berkshires, I WAS IN.

Pureed soybean curds. Mmmmm. Who'd like a big plate of them?

Chockful of nutrients, low in calories, eating tofu has been linked to lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of certain diseases, including cancer.  

But that's not going to convince your kids to give it a try.

Welcome to the year of the monkey! February 8th marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year, celebrated by people throughout the world, especially in China. The 15-day festivities are a time to come together with family, express gratitude, and look forward to another year. In some ways, it’s like the American version of Christmas, New Year’s, and Thanksgiving Day all rolled into one, long celebration.

“Mom, what’s for dinner?” It’s a question my kids used to ask all the time. I found myself fumbling through my thoughts on a daily basis, too, about 3 p.m. wondering what should we eat tonight? The result, not always, but sometimes, was either picking up Chinese food, throwing together a quick meal that no one (myself included) was really looking forward to eating, or getting so overwhelmed with everything else going on that we had cereal for dinner.
 

Roasted turkey. Sausage speckled stuffing. Cranberry sauce. Mashed potatoes with gravy. Buttery dinner rolls. Pumpkin pie. Oh, and I forgot the green bean casserole. Unlike other holidays, the food expectations at Thanksgiving read out like a familiar grocery list. A traditional American Thanksgiving meal doesn’t tend to have many surprises—maybe there’s a little orange zest in the cranberry relish, or an extra swig of heavy cream in the mashed potatoes.