CHRISTINA COOKS: BACK TO THE CUTTING BOARD Season 3


#301 - The Macroterranean Way

The Macro what? Terranean who? I have spent my career straddling two worlds: Mediterranean eating and macrobiotics with a dusting of Chinese Medicine. One day it hit me. Both are about great food and wellness so let’s make a marriage! The result is s a delicious and unique way to nourish ourselves.

Recipes:

Crostini with Black Kale & Agridolce Shallots

Orechhiette with Cauliflower, Pine Nuts & Raisins

Fregola Salad with Zucchini

#302 - The World’s Healthiest Diet

Is there such a thing as the world’s healthiest diet? Yeah, man! Think of it this way. Many Mediterranean countries boast delicious food and some of the longest lives in the world. Let’s discover what all those veggies and great olive oil have to do with living long…and well.

Recipes:

Kale and White Bean Soup

Cauliflower Pizza

Lemon Pound cake with Blueberry Compote

#303 - The World’s Sexiest Diet

Sophia Loren, Penelope Cruz, Anna Magnani, Caldia Cardinale. What do all these beauties have in common? The Mediterranean Diet, baby. Let’s take a page from their book and sample the world’s sexiest diet.

Recipes:

Penne Arribiata

Lemon Pepper Quinoa Salad

Prosecco Pound Cake

#304 - The Tomato

The tomato…or love apple, pomme d’amour, pomodoro. No matter how you slice it, this fruit is one hot babe. A great source of nutrients like Vitamin C and lycopene, the Lycopersicon Esculentum is as sexy as it is delicious. Giving love to love apples.

Recipes:

Corn and Tomato Soup

Pasta alla Norma

Tomatoes Stuffed with Couscous

#305 - Verdure

Verdure or as we call them here, vegetables are the heart and soul of plant-passionate cooking. Talk about serious commitment; veggies give us every single shred of nutrition we could possibly need. Us and them? A match made in heaven. Let’s fall in love with veggies.

Recipes:

Tomato, Fennel and Chickpea Soup with Garlic Toast

Farro con Verdure

Whole Wheat Lasagna with Vegetables

#306 - The Drama of It All

High opera is the signature of Italian culture. When we think of Italians, we think colorful gestures, musical language, high fashion, fast cars and lots of drama. Even Italian food isn’t shy and retiring. It’s bold and sensual and bright; it demands your full attention.

Recipes:

Israeli Hummus with Fried Chickpeas

Artichoke Risotto

Cuccidati

#307 - The Beauty of Wellness

I love people watching and nowhere is it more beautiful than in Mediterranean countries. I love the delicate wrinkles that mark a life well lived. I love the smile lines and crow’s feet that come with joyful living. I love how so many people age gracefully. Let’s embrace aging well with what we eat.

Recipes:

Chickpea and Chestnut Soup

Peach, Hazelnut, Tomato and Arugula Salad

Pain d’Epices

#308 - The Heart of the Story

Ah, our hearts. They beat with life; they grieve with sorrow; they pulse with love; they pump life through our bodies. We don’t take very good care of our tender hearts though. And yet, they fight for our lives every minute of every day. Much of our hearts distress can be linked to our kitchens, so let’s talk about giving our hearts some seriously delicious TLC.

Recipes:

Lentil Fritters

Avocado Hummus

Farinata

#309 - La Dolce Vita

When we feel great, life is sweet. When we don’t, we want to curl up on the sofa and watch old sitcom re-runs. If you want to live the sweet life, you have to take care of yourself. And it begins in the kitchen. Time to live the good life today on Christina Cooks.

Recipes:

Niko’s Vegan Bouillabaisse

Mini Spiced Chocolate Cakes

#310 - Never Enough Pasta

Sophia Loren famously said, “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” I don’t know about you, but if she looks like what pasta can do for our looks, I…am…in! Pasta is warm, comforting, sexy and yummy so maybe our Sophia is right. Let me show you why there’s never enough pasta.

Recipes:

Fusilli with Spring Pea Pesto

Cacio e Pepe

Maccheroni with Sicilian Pesto

#311 - Mangia Fagioli

In Northern Italy, people are known as “mangia fagioli” or bean eaters. They should also be known as “inteligente” since eating beans is one of the healthiest habits we can develop. Packed with protein, fiber and complex carbs, beans satisfy like almost no other food. Time to mangia fagioli.

Recipes:

Skillet Pasta e Fagioli

Speedy Lentil Bolognese

Gnochetti with Chickpeas and Breadcrumbs in a Garlic Tomato Sauce

#312 - A Life of Wellness

Ah, wellness. The umbrella term for…what exactly? What is wellness and how do we grab some for ourselves? Wellness is that elusive state of balance we achieve when our pistons are all firing in sync; we’re cooking on all four burners. And speaking of cooking, let’s do that…for wellness.

Recipes:

Orange Fennel Salad

Spiced Apple and Quinoa Porridge

Penne with Arugula Pesto and Grilled Leeks

Sicilian Fruit Cookies

#313 - Living the Good Life

Life is hard. We face unprecedented challenges in the best of times, so when things are hard, they’re really hard. So what has food to do with living the good life? Simple. You can’t live well without it. Let’s cook for living well.

Recipes:

Black Rice Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Mint and Pistachios

Whipped Eggplant with Butter Beans and Herby Roasted Maitake