Now that the holidays (and food-related excesses) are behind us, it’s time to focus on our health. More than a few of us have an “Eating Clean” resolution on our agenda this year. Which is why it’s completely apropos to introduce you to Einkorn wheat, an ancient species of hulled wheat. Einkorn, which ISN’T corn (translates precisely to “single grain” from German) is man’s first form of cultivated wheat, grown by farmers over 10,000 years ago. Historically, we know that Einkorn has been forgotten and has been passed over for higher yielding and more glutinous (for bread-making) wheat crops.
But today, [...]

By Natalie Greggain, Contributing Editor
Every holiday season I get extremely excited about all the parties and fun I’m about to have with loved ones, but I simultaneously become terrified that January will come along and suddenly a month’s worth of wine and holiday goodies has turned into a brand new tire sitting around my waist. Yikes! As you may know, it’s not a nice feeling at all. And getting rid of that spare tire is always a heck of a lot harder than accumulating it!
There are two things you can do to avoid gaining weight. They’re pretty simple [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
As with all families, our Christmas morning’s agenda is all about opening presents and pulling fun gifts and treats out of stockings. But before that even happens, everyone needs to hold tight until the coffee and hot chocolate drinks are made and, more importantly, that the Chelsea Buns (our Christmas morning tradition) are baked. We nibble on these wonderfully gooey, decadent Chelsea Buns that I have prepared the night and just popped in the oven that morning.  They are sooooo easy to make and delicious and serve as Christmas morning breakfast appetizer, a prelude to [...]

Nothing plebeian about this little California bubbly. Karma Fine Beverages has re-conceptualized how we should be drinking our effervescent wine: in single-serve (187 ml), wide neck bottles, ready for the taking right then and there, no glasses or straws necessary.
The wine itself has been described as “clean, crisp and dry”. That would be exact. Nothing froufrou about this custom blend of French Colombard and Chenin Blanc. However, if you like to dress up your Brut, this wine lends itself very well to that, as does the bottle which was designed to be topped off with a variety of liquors and [...]

By Natalie Greggain, Contributing Raw Food Editor
This is an exciting time of year for everyone. Halloween is not so far behind us, Thanksgiving is coming up, soon the Christmas/Holiday parties will start to roll in and before we know it, it’ll be New Year’s Eve!
If you eat any sort of restrictive diet (vegan, vegetarian, raw, low-carb), or you’re simply trying to keep some weight off, this can be a tricky time of year. Unless you live in an organic vegan haven or your hippie parents raised your entire family vegetarian, chances are you’re the only one who thinks you [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Now that we have provided the easiest and most succulent Thanksgiving menu…

The magnificent appetizer, the Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions
The ridiculously easy to make, so delicious Tomato Consommé
The elegant and palate cleansing Crab with Grapefruit Salad
The recipe for the main attraction, the Turkey itself
And for the requisite Stuffing. The picture is not pretty, but the stuffing is out-of-this-world-delicious
The “secret sauce”, our unbelievable Gravy
The moist and delectable Dutch Apple Torte

… we thought it would only be fair to include the shopping list. We figured this out after Anne-Marie had to dig through the recipes to write her own list. Though, she [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving weekend is a week away. Oy! This is the last recipe in our fail-proof, fool-proof, easy AND succulent Thanksgiving recipe series. And for your convenience, let us relist them here:

The magnificent appetizer, the Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions
The ridiculously easy to make, so delicious Tomato Consommé
The elegant and palate cleansing Crab with Grapefruit Salad
The recipe for the main attraction, the Turkey itself
And for the requisite Stuffing. The picture is not pretty, but the stuffing is out-of-this-world-delicious
The “secret sauce”, our unbelievable Gravy

And here, we have arrived in a short [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
My daughter’s 7th birthday was last Monday and we, of course, made cupcakes for the special occasion. My daughter wanted the Funfetti cake mix by Pillsbury (what not homemade?!) with store bought icing (it was her request). So, this was going to be a piece of cake (pun intended)! And to top them all off were beautiful Only Sweet Papers Butterflies by Rogue Confections.
Only Sweet Papers are edible parchments that allow you to decorate your own cakes or cupcakes with beautiful images. You can even personalize the parchments by uploading your own photo, artwork, or [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
You all know that we, at The Succulent Wife, love to entertain and we also love to entertain the easy way.  I was looking for fun and easy hors d’oeuvres for the upcoming cooking club that my husband and I are hosting (see our story about our Cooking Club). It was lucky for me that I was sent a copy of the Tastefully Small Savory Bites Cookbook by Kim Hendrickson. It is full of both hot and cold, innovative and, did I already say, easy, tapas recipes. Perfect for our evening of appetizers and martinis.
We [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Since writing this series on our foolproof  and oh-so easy Thanksgiving Dinner Menu (see our recipes for the appetizer, soup, salad, turkey and stuffing), I have been reliving this amazing meal – I can almost smell the savory aroma – and now, I can hardly wait for Thanksgiving. I no longer sweat it when having friends and family over because this whole meal is so easy to prepare. And, in fact, my family likes this grand fare so much we repeat it all over again at Christmas.
A big plate of mashed potatoes and gravy makes [...]