The almighty pomegranate is native from Iran to the Himalayas and  has been cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region of Asia, Africa and Europe.  This mystical fruit with its healing properties and majestic apperance has been featured in Egyptian mythology and art, praised in the Old Testament of the Bible and referenced in the Babylonian Talmud*.   It has even gained distinction as a royal fruit in the literatures of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Homer*.   Pomegranate fruits contain maximum ...

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Since my mother moved back to Shanghai a couple months back, I’ve found myself not only missing her (terribly) but reminiscing back to all the Chinese traditions that she’s instilled in me over all these years.  I almost feel less Chinese without her — no more ancient Chinese medicines, no more meditation practices, no one to speak Chinese to, no one yelling over my shoulder “AIYA JOY put that back, why you always buy buy buy??  SAVE ...

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Back in March, Collin and I purchased our very first home together.  It was ragged, beaten down and was practically obliterated by termites.  The woman who owned the house before us lived here for over 40 years and never did a single update.  I want you to imagine that — original wall paper and carpet, stove tops and ovens from back in the 70s, we even found a hoover vacuum cleaner back from the the ...

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As celebration of FoodBuzz’s new Healthbuzz section, I wanted to discover the mysteries of the Raw Food diet.  This month, FoodBuzz selected my proposal for 24,24,24  I decided to invite a group of my friends and together we explored the beauties of eating raw through a 5 course meal. Does that sound Awesome Rawsome?  I think so.
This was probably one of the most challenging menus for me to think of — I mean eating RAW? ...

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You guys will not believe the weather we are having in Dallas.  For the 17 years I’ve lived in Texas I have never seen this much snow, a record breaking 12.5 inches of snow in a 24 hour period.  INSANE!!  We had a transformer blow out last night and the power went dead, thankfully we were able to seek shelther at Collin’s parents.  Thank goodness for family
We woke up early this morning and ...

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Glad to be back — I have been out of commission for the past week due to a gallbladder infection…ick.  December has been a riot thus far, first bronchitis then the gallbladder infection — thankfully the new year is only a few days away so I will be leaving all bad ju-ju behind.
I reviewed my resolutions from last year and realized that I have again only achieved a little less than half of ...

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While I was home, my gracious mother sent me back with this beautiful cut of Chilean Sea Bass.  OH the wonders of sea bass, this has got to be my favorite kind of fish.  Everything about it is perfect — the rich buttery flavor and firm texture of the delicate flaky meat are all reasons why I would eat this fish every day if I could.  I hear that it is becoming “over-fished” which breaks ...

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It is finally starting to feel like Fall in Texas and I wasted no time unpacking my scarves, sweaters and jackets.  Cold weather is short-lived here, so the minute I feel the brisk breeze, the refreshing sense of a chill, I rush to embrace all that is Fall — my favorite season of the year.
With cold, comes the need for comfort.  The nights have dropped down to the low 40s recently so I figured, what ...

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