In her new cookbook, Shabbat, Recipes and Rituals From My Table to Yours, Adeena Sussman celebrates her love of the Shabbat dishes she grew up with as well as the Shabbat foods specific to the international Jewish communities that have immigrated to Israel and become interwoven in her adopted country. The recipes span from traditional Eastern European classics with a twist that she grew up with in her mother’s NorCal kitchen to Libyan and Italian Jewish culture and even the Mexican influences that an Israeli couple brought from his Oaxacan home of origin and now feature in a popular Israeli taqueria. The recipes—and photos—are crave-worthy and perfect for an erev Shabbat dinner table and while relaxing with family and friends the next day. I’ve included three of Sussman’s recipes from Shabbat in my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Food section: Colorful Vegetable Kugel, Water Challah, and My Mother’s Shabbat Chicken—which features yummy caramelized onions. Dig in! Shabbat Shalom!
Olivenhain Water District Awards Encinitas Landscape Designer for His Home's Waterwise Design
Backyard photo by homeowner Brad Lefkowits
You could call Brad Lefkowits’ award-winning home landscape a demonstration garden.
Lefkowits, a landscape designer who owns Waves Landscape Design, lives with his family in Encinitas. He received first place in the 2023 WaterSmart Landscape Contest from the Olivenhain Water District.
The property has a complex landscape filled with 170 varieties of plants, interspersed with swales and decking that he built, a fireplace and even a “mud kitchen” Lefkowits created for his kids — all for their benefit, of course — but also to show clients who’d like to see how the plants he suggests for them actually look in an established garden. Take a look and learn some cool lessons from him in my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Neighborhood Composting Creates Community
Tina Matthias and her backyard compost bin. Photo by Nelvin C. Cepeda for The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Composting has so many pluses, including alleviating food waste and creating nutrients for gardens. But add one more, as South Bay Sustainable Communities founder Tina Matthias has demonstrated: creating community. My new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home & Garden section reveals how SBSC’s composting demonstration program in her own Chula Vista neighborhood has brought together neighbors who didn’t know each other before. It’s inspiration to take into and act on in 2024!
Make Small Bites the Hit of Your Holiday Party
If you’re addicted to food blogs, you’ve probably read The BakerMama, Maegan Brown’s 11-year-old site for family-friendly recipes that include those for food boards, party spreads and small bites. In her blog, she also loves to share stories about her daily life in Dallas with her husband, Brandon, and their four kids: Baker, Bryce, Barrett and Brookie.
Brown’s just released her third book, “Brilliant Bites,”which is filled with 75 recipes for small bites that allow guests to graze lots of simple and very clever takes on everything from Blooming Onion Bites, Pancake Taco Bites and Banana Split Bites to Pumpkin Pie Bites, Apple Fritter Bites and Eggs Benedict Bites. My new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Food section takes a look at Brown and Brilliant Bites, with recipes for three perfect holiday brunch bites.
Three Novel Veggie Sides for Thanksgiving
Photo by Alejandro Tamayo for The San Diego Union-Tribune.
I had a great time with chef Brad Wise at Trust as he cooked up three novel vegetable dishes for Thanksgiving. For two he goes full out with what he’s best known for—grilling—creating Grilled Broccolini with Sumac Yogurt and Za’atar and Oak Fired Inspired Potatoes with Radish Butter and Vinegar Whipped Cream. Sooo good! The third, Beet and Feta Salad, made me squirm because I hate, truly hate beets. But I actually really enjoyed this dish, so I expect beet lovers to swoon. You’ll find my story and Wise’s recipes in this weeks Food section in The San Diego Union-Tribune. Happy Thanksgiving!
You Can Go Home Again
Photo by Nader Essa, published in The San Diego Union-Tribune
Sometimes the old adage “you can’t go home again” is simply untrue. At least, it has been for Jeff Holman. The former investment banker, raised in San Diego but having lived in New York and the Bay Area with his wife and three kids decided with his family that San Diego—specifically La Jolla—was where they wanted to put down roots. My new story in The San Diego Union-Tribune details the reimagining by architect Christian Rice and South Harlow interior designer Alicia Jonik of the original 1950’s ranch-style house. Rice doubled its size and the two turned it into a modern, two-story home with design elements that still fit into their Windandsea neighborhood.