There was a time when muffins were the plain Jane cousins of cupcakes, back before they were laden with chocolate chips and dried cranberries, covered with thick layers of streusel topping and loaded up with butter or oil and lots and lots of sugar. They had few ingredients and were usually served with butter and…

Consider the lentil for a moment:  cheap, easily stored, quick cooking, high nutrition, and eminently flexible. And did I say cheap, er, inexpensive? Yet here in the US, the lentil is an ingredient probably the majority of home cooks have never tried to prepare on their own. Time to change that, perhaps with a resolution…

Part of my extended family loves rice, with just about anything and everything; part of my family does not. Some of the latter are great lovers of bread. Pita bread, whole wheat bread, bread. So when I was thinking of making a lentil and sweet potato curry, I began to think about naan along with…

Sometimes the best place to start with a cooking or baking project is with the sides or accompaniments. Think about your basic boneless, skinless chicken breasts. On their own, they are really pretty tasteless and, well, dull. However, prepare some great sauce or cook up a vegetable side and add some marinaded and braised chicken…

First there were just boiled eggs dipped in salt and pepper. Then perhaps came the egg salad sandwiches, then the deviled eggs. Now, every time you open the refrigerator, you are still faced with three, four, or even more colored creations staring you in the face. Will the family really accept another night of eggy…