Bon Appetit – Just Plain Good Food
Jolly Holly Traditional Festive Foods
Published December 4th, 2018
by Tammera J. Karr, PD
As with most, our family has traditional holiday foods we look forward to, on Christmas Eve, my mother would serve oyster stew, and on new year’s it was black-eyed peas and ham for good luck. Others in my family may have made tamales like my great aunt, using her mother’s [...]
Parsley – More than a pretty garnish
Published September 16th, 2018
by Tammera J. Karr, PhD
Many of us grew up seeing parsley as the attractive green garnish on dinner plates. The vibrant taste and wonderful healing properties of parsley are often ignored in its popular role as a table garnish. Parsley is so much more than a pretty garnish or filler plant in the garden. [...]
Eating Foods by the Season for Health
Published August 10th, 2018
By Tammera J. Karr, PhD.
Cultures throughout the ages have celebrated the return of spring after a long, harsh winter by eating the first new greens available. Native Americans took advantage of fresh, wild plants to supplement their winter diets of dried foods; foraging in woodlands or near streams could bring in an entire meal [...]
Eating Spring Foods ~ Asparagus
Published May 15th, 2018
By Tammera J. Karr, PhD.
©2018
With spring weather comes seasonal foods like asparagus. This is one of those foods harvested from fields and meadows across Greece to Ireland, providing critical food-based nutrients for many with methylation challenges. Today we are learning more about the MTFHR gene that approximately 40% of the nation’s population. [...]
Artichoke – a thistle bud for health
Published April 2nd, 2018
by Tammera J. Karr, PhD
Why do people eat artichokes? Is it a love for mayonnaise dip? Boy I hope not, what about the opportunity to have warm garlic butter dripping from your fingers? …. Hummm maybe. Artichokes are a native to the Mediterranean region, and they play a major role in the regional cuisine. [...]
Watercress – Traditional Food for Health
Published March 13th, 2018
by Tammera J Karr, PhD
Watercress is an aquatic leafy green plant that is a close cousin to mustard greens, cabbage, and arugula. Watercress tastes much like the wild Miners lettuce of the Pacific Northwest. Watercress has been cultivated in Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas for millennia, for use as both food and medicine. [...]
BUILDING A HEALTHIER BISQUICK
Published February 27th, 2018
by Tammera J. Karr, PhD
My mother-in-law Libby (1918-2013) along with many other women in my family grew up in a generation of making do. For most of her adult life, Libby lived in remote or rural areas of the Pacific Northwest, including Crater Lake National Park, where my father-in-law worked as an equipment operator [...]
Chocolate – more than Candy
Published March 12th, 2017
by Tammera J. Karr, PhD
Millions of people worldwide love chocolate in all its many forms. This food of the “gods” comes from the cacao trees. The most common variety of cocoa comes from the Forastero making up 90% of the world crop. The rarest variety Criollo is sought after by artisan chocolate makers.
The [...]
Old Fashioned Broth for Health Makes a BIG Comeback
Published March 5th, 2017
by Tammera J. Karr, PhD
Many long-time readers of this column know I collect old cookbooks. My oldest cookbook is European and American Cuisine by Gesine Lemcke from 1895. On the title page is the following statement – “Beauty, Health, and Happiness depend upon the kind of food we eat.” This sentiment changed profoundly by [...]
Eat Your Nuts
Published December 31st, 2016
by Tammera J. Karr, PhD
One of my favorite nuts is pecans for baking and cooking. They are softer and do not cause canker sores in the mouth like walnuts can. The buttery rich flavor of pecans makes them one of the most popular nuts native to American. They are rich in nutrients, minerals, and [...]