By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
I’m a wannabe locavore (that means eating locally produced food all year round). But, living in the Midwest, it’s just not practical. I need food with color all year round, not just in the summer.
With farmers’ market season rolling in, I can play the locavore part  - for a few short months at least. I get ambitious strolling down the market, poking fruit and veggies and asking questions on how to prepare obscure produce such as garlic scapes or salsify. All this freshness is so tempting that I invariably stock my basket with much more than my family can [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
I almost remember attempting to cook pasta in the microwave when the microwave was first introduced to the consumer market. What year was that? 1984? Ugh. I worked at my first “real” job at GE at the time and was very proud to be among the first microwave owners. There were so many gadgets and techniques thrown at us back then to get us to cook and bake eh-verr-y-thing in the microwave. I was never successful at anything but reheating and it’s been that way for the last – ouch – nearly 30 years.
That was the same [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
With spring barely palpable and, in Chicago, many frosty days still in the forecast, my family instinctively turns to comfort foods. Pizza, predictably, is one of those foods. I mean, homemade pizza.

By Audrey van Petegem, Chief Editor
Did you know that the number one New Year’s resolution this year was to lose weight*? Did you also know that almost half of Americans make a resolution every year and only about 8% succeed to reach their goal? If you are one of the many whose New Year’s resolution was to lose weight – or at least not gain any, there are some great products available to help you reach your goal.
Here is a list of my favorites:

Hapi Fork - Introduced at this year’s CES (Consumer Electronic Show), the Hapi Fork is getting a lot of [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
Wow, it was nearly 6 years ago that I mentioned stevia on this blog. At the time, the ingredient was not well known, whereas now, it’s found on all grocery store shelves. Though it is all natural, pure stevia has its detractors. It has a bitter aftertaste which doesn’t make it a good option to sprinkle on foods. Personally, I still enjoy it in already bitter or sour drinks such as coffee, tea or lemonade. Not so good on oatmeal.
The new kid on the block of the all-natural, no calorie sweeteners is the Monk Fruit (also known [...]

Happy THANKSgiving!
You’re all prepped. You have run back to the store (or sent your kids who can now drive) 5 times to pick up last minute (or like me, forgotten) items. You have planned to give the floor a good mopping and the kitchen counters a good cleaning just after the turkey goes in. You even thought of putting a fresh hand towel in the bathroom. Your table is set and candles ready to light. You timed your shower moment exactly, so that you actually have enough time to style your hair and finish your makeup (evenly, on both eyes). [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
Nothing much has changed much since our “Thanksgiving Shortcuts” article of last year. I’m still filled with equal amounts of trepidation and apprehension. I’m looking forward to hosting all my guests but have not quite yet wrapped my head around how I will conquer the Thanksgiving-dinner-prep list.
As with last year, I’m always on the hunt for shortcuts. That’s not cheating. It’s resourcefulness and inventiveness. Right?
Anyhoo, here are some of the new “shortcut” ideas that hit my radar this year:
 

 
Hooray Purée –  Originally conceived to provide “added-in” nutrition to kids meals, these convenient packets are a great way to add [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
My husband always says that everything has been invented already. Most oftentimes, I disagree vehemently because that’s just a depressing thought. That there would be nothing new for us to discover? If something is completely REinvented, does it have to count as something that was already invented… Hummmm, that’s a philosophical discussion for another time. At the moment, I want to share with you my favorite reinvention of the season.
The Pressure Cooker. Yes! Remember that scary device that was in our mothers’ kitchen and threatened to explode if you so much as looked at it, not even [...]

The Succulent Wives are taking a little (very little) time off this summer. While we are still actively working on bringing you new content and ideas every week, we have also decided to bring back some of our favorite posts from the archives, those that are still timely, relevant, useful and that deserve to be revisited. Thanks for allowing us to recharge. We promise that we will be coming back with more new ideas and recommendations for cool stuff than you’ll know what to do with…
By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
I previously wrote about these fantastic, almost-better-than-bakery-bought chocolate croissants by Trader [...]

By Amie Valpone, Culinary Marketing Consultant & CEO of the gluten-free blog, The Healthy Apple.
Summer is truly the time to enjoy the outdoors and organize impromptu gatherings and salads make it easy to feed a hungry crowd. Here’s a refreshing gluten-free and vegetarian pasta salad for those summer BBQ or picnics that would satisfy anyone’s palate.
FRESH PARSLEY ASPARAGUS PENNE SALAD

Ingredients
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
1 pound gluten-free penne pasta
1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise into thirds
4 ounces goat cheese, broken into pieces
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon zest
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
¼ tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. [...]