Back to School, Back to Reality…

Saying that the last few weeks were anything but a whirlwind would be understating the current state of affairs. There has been no time to sit down and think about much, let alone form a plan for my weekly posts. The good thing of all this business is that many of my projects include cooking. In fact, lots of cooking and also lots of cookbook reviewing along with many cooks that are much better than I am. And best of all, it’s for a good cause and gives me the chance to learn, and in turn share delicious recipes, great cookbook ideas and much more with all of you. Here is to a great fall together. Come and cook with us!

A group of excellent chefs – and mothers at my kids’ school – have been tasked to select cookbooks for sale at a school book fair. Honestly, I haven’t seen that many great cookbooks in a while. From grilling, vegan, vegetarian, Southern, chicken, citrus, genius, GF, baking, GF baking, Peruvian, Mexican and Lebanese. It’s enlightening to see how hard it is to differentiate yourself in such a busy market coming up with great dishes across the board. What is in it for my readers? After picking the books we like, we’ll select dishes, test them and I’ll pass them along if they are quick, easy, colorful and, most importantly, delicious! And they will all be from the latest crop of fabulous cookbooks! What’s there not to like.

In the meantime, get back on track. It’s time to think about falling back into a routine that works for you and your family. If you had great ideas over the summer, now is the time to try to implement a few new habits. Because no matter how busy I am, I and we all strive for balance. Whether planning and cooking ahead for a week of meals or rather throwing together a dish based on what’s in our pantry, it’s all about finding what is right for me, you and our families. New dishes, recipes, cooking approaches only work if they are aligned with what we want and need, so let’s think about what is important to us and then give it a try. For instance, for me fall means a new CSA subscription (Bloomfield Organics is my new favorite in the Bay Area). It fills me with anticipation and forces me to be creative and try something I haven’t done in a while. Yesterday’s box was packed with chards, kale, baby lettuces, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and crunchy apples. In fact, I can see a chard gratin in my near future…

And above all, keep it fun and simple. Roasted new potatoes, colorful tomatoes with some burrata, a fresh pesto, roasted cauliflower or a greek salad. These are all easy choices that will add a punch of freshness and color to your table. It’s so well versed that it seems almost too obvious to state: shop what’s in season and it will help us find the balance on and off our dinner table. Or at least it will help us appreciate what mother nature is bringing us, every month, every season, every year. Come and cook with us!