With "Ready, set — choose, chop, mince, marinate," or words to that effect, the Ultimate Chef Challenge was off Wednesday afternoon.

Spicy Tofu Chickpea Curry is an easy, filling dish that can change people’s minds about tofu, if it is prepared with love and care.

The black bean dip I have revised over the years from a recipe I originally found in "Moosewood Kitchen Cooks at Home," is a big favorite in our house.

Perusing one of my many cookbooks a month or so ago when I was obsessing about opening a vegetarian restaurant, I came across a repeated reference to "sweating" vegetables. I had never heard of "sweating vegetables."  So what do we do?

Made with chick peas, also known as garbanzo beans, hummus is a versatile dish that is traditionally served with pita points, but is equally appetizing as a stand-alone side dish, or sandwich filler.

Well, the holidays are over, and the healing has begun. Here we are at the open door of 2009 looking in and wondering, "will this be a better year than 2008?" The truth is: who knows? These are certainly Interesting times.

Christmas time is upon the Virgin Islands until Three Kings Day and, as everywhere, food and drink traditions are a big part of what makes the holiday spirit. In the territory and on other Caribbean islands, Christmas is guavaberry time.

At the recent Christmas Festival "Soup Du Cure" fundraiser for Juan F. Luis Hospital, Ive and Carlos Lisse showcased sopón navideño, or Puerto Rican Christmas soup, a flavorful, brothy chicken soup with rice, green bananas, chilies, pigeon peas, cilantro, garlic and more.

While having lunch with some friends the other day, I was asked a simple question: What wines are customers buying more of recently? I had to think about this quite a bit because it made me realize that wine sales have changed significantly and rapidly over the past few years.

Bodacious: outright, unmistakable, remarkable, noteworthy, sexy, voluptuous (Merriam-Webster dictionary) Bordeaux: Wine region of France producing the greatest wines in the world. (My definition).