I still have my grandmother’s bent up metal spatula and, until a few months ago, her garlic press which was only capable of mashing cloves into wafer thin slabs that still required my mincing by knife. I wasn’t close to my dad’s mother who often showed her love through military organization. Instead of big chubby arm clenches, we got our grandmotherly hugs from her drawer dividers and don’t-touch soap rosettes in the wash room. Thank goodness my dad gave bear hugs. For whatever warm-touchy expression might have been hard for her to share, she shared her love through meals and well, utensils. I love that spatula and it seems to love me back. It marks the heritage of family cooking handed down from the generations. I have more remarkable, steady, kind to non-stick surface spatulas in the lot and admit, they’re more go-to while the grandma spatula supervises (anyone thinking Toy Story 4 – Forgotten Utensils). Technology usually wins out in our modern kitchens. Afterall, this is crunchtime.

Such is the case now for the wok. There’s been some wok shaming out there. For good reason.

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I wasn’t looking for a veggie burger until someone on television made it so enticing that I couldn’t resist. It took three “mmm”s of approval by someone eating it, before I gave in to a recipe that had been created by a tv weatherman. Turns out, there is a little magic to this Meatless Monday consideration.

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Wait-before you turn away from this idea because, like me, you spend most of your time trying to get oil out of your life, let me share the science behind cooking with oil and then let me implore you to try this approach one time and see that we can make fish taste impossibly restaurant-quality good in our own kitchens without much effort.

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This wonderfully simple and scrumptious salad is anything but boring. Once you try it, I believe it will become an essential addition to your recipe arsenal because a simple salad that tastes more like fine dining can elevate an entire meal. I dare you to serve this salad alongside instant macaroni & cheese see if your diners question their palates.

Bibb lettuce salad found its way to our menu awhile back after looking for the most approachable recipe from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon cookbook. The vinaigrette comes together with little effort. It makes ample amounts for several meals and, most important, makes us feel like chefs. “The vinaigrette may be the most important sauce in the cook’s repertoire,” Keller shares, “the idea behind it – combining fat and acid, is simple and the variations are endless.”

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We’re not fulfilling FDA’s food pyramid, despite fresh lime juice affording some fruit properties. Margarita sorbet will, however, satisfy one of the major happiness groups on our pyramid of life. You know the section, just below spiritual enrichment, right above spa treatments, to the left of baby goat videos. That’swhere we’ll find the take-the-edge-off group (placement and prominence varies).

The effort to joy ratio works here, especially for entertaining. Hands-on time is manageable and of course this is a complete do-ahead preparation. What you’ll have is the most sublime concoction with the most perfect kick that you can’t believe you made yourself, fulfilling yet another section of our life pyramid – achievement.

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