Serve me this soup daily for lunch and you'll hear no complaints. Tender, translucent pasta pillows, pale green from their pea-stuffed bellies, are buoyed by yellow lentils in a simple clear broth. Golden puddles of olive oil are suspended across the surface, pooling in various cracks and crevices. Your lips will glisten after a few slurpy bites.

Remember the pea dumplings I posted not too long ago? I've been using them twenty different ways ever since. This soup was a quick thing I threw together for lunch the other day while trying to use the last of them. There was a bowl of cooked yellow split peas over-staying its welcome on shelf two of my refrigerator and all it took was a good broth to bring the two together.

Don't feel like you need to make dumplings from scratch to enjoy this soup, although that would make the soup extra special. Your favorite stuffed, fresh pasta will substitute nicely for homemade dumplings - ravioli, tortellini, tortelloni, etc.

This stunning berry-studded breakfast quinoa is from Dr. John La Puma's recent release - Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine. I've written about just a handful of books this year (more to come, I promise!), but I wanted to highlight this one for a few reasons. It's a fantastic healthy-cooking (and eating) primer written by a someone who is both a doctor and chef. The book is text heavy and photo-free, but for those of you who want to dive into some of the ways food can work for you, this is a good overview. A chapter in his book opens with the following passage,

"...I have begun to think of a home kitchen in much the same way I think of a health spa - a place where people can come to be restored, feel better, experience pleasure, and become healthier. And this is how I'd like you to start thinking about your kitchen. Your kitchen is at the heart of your health.

In your home, you probably keep your medicine chest in the bathroom. I'm offering a second medicine chest, one that helps prevent diseases and symptoms and that you keep right in your kitchen cupboards, fridge, freezer, and pantry."

There's a lot going on here (in a good way). One chapter outlines the fifty foods that should be part of your pantry - those of you already cooking from a natural foods pantry have a big head start. To make the cut each contender had to demonstrate "that if eaten regularly it could prevent, and in some cases, actually treat - specific conditions and symptoms." The good news is, many of the fifty foods are flat-out delicious in their own right, and for those of you who are regular readers here, you'll find a cast of familiar characters - oats, quinoa, lentils, beans, greens, and agave nectar, avocado, and berries. Another chapter tells you which foods to eat (or avoid) based on forty common conditions.

The quinoa berry bowl is typical of what you'll find in the recipe section. Broadly speaking, the recipes are concise and approachable, with every ingredient working for you on both the flavor and nutrition fronts. You'll find recipes that are both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, and many that are easily adaptable either way. A few other recipes that caught my attention; Butternut Barley Risotto, Cinnamon Orange Dreamsicles, and Walnut Scented Dessert Pancakes. Now I know many of you will only buy cookbooks that have cover-to-cover photography, but I hope the shot at the top with give you a little glimpse of what you might be missing.

My diet is far from perfect, but I've learned over the years that if you surround yourself with delicious, healthy, real ingredients you'll discover and create amazing ways to use them. This book is full of ideas, helpful information, and ingredient-based inspiration. At the very least flip through it the next time you pop into a bookstore, and in the meantime enjoy the quinoa berry breakfast bowl you see up above.

Whitney Moss and Heather Flett are two crafty, creative ladies - I'm lucky to call them both friends. Remember the cute baby shower (waaaay back) where guests painted onsies and made do-it-yourself waffles? That was at Whitney's house. Some of you might already know them because of their Rookie Moms website or new book (The Rookie Mom Handbook) - today they are going to share their favorite kid/family-friendly cookbooks with us.

WHITNEY & HEATHER'S COOKING STYLES:

Whitney keeps it simple in the kitchen preparing healthy fresh foods and saving the cookbooks for entertaining. She and her husband, much like their three year old son, don't mind having the same things over and over again, so when a new favorite evolves, it's sure to show up on their table every week. Latest discovery: Veggie Tikka Masala from Cooking with All Things Trader Joes

Heather on the other hand obsesses over being June Cleaver in the kitchen- every night expecting the family to sit together at 6pm for dinner no matter what. Except that she's ditched her Ohio roots culinarily-speaking in favor of the variety of crazy California produce available in Berzerkely. If she makes meat and potatoes, it's likely organic free range chicken and organic sweet potato fries.

FAVORITE COOKBOOKS (the ones Heather & Whitney turn to most):

- With the little guys at our sides: Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up. This was a gift from Heather's mom and Holden and Julian (3 year olds) love it! Shows pictures of ingredients and the steps of the recipes.

- Favorite every-day cookbook: The Best 30-minute Recipe: A Best Recipe Classic (Best Recipe Series). Fast, fresh, really good. From the folks at America's Test Kitchen, this cookbook appeals to Heather's geekier nature. Although, c'mon with a preschooler at your leg and a baby climbing up the stool, nothing is a 30-minute meal.

- Favorite every-day cookbook: The Six O'Clock Scramble: Quick, Healthy, and Delicious Dinner Recipes for Busy Families. The website even has printable grocery lists to make the trip to Berkeley Bowl a little smoother. All meals are seasonal and easy.

- Encyclopedia of baby food:Super Baby Food. The gold standard for getting started making your own baby food as far as we're concerned. Heidi note: Ths is one of the books I bought for Whitney when she was pregnant with Julian - a great resource.

- Beautiful baby food: First Meals (New Expanded Edition). Creative with gorgeous presentation, a book to turn to when you need a spark of inspiration.

***

To keep up with the Heather and Whitney, check in with them at the Rookie Moms website.

Related links:
- Rookie Moms Website
- Rookie Moms Blog
- Rookie Moms on Amazon.com

- Past cookbook list: Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi shares his favorite cookbooks.
- Past cookbook list: Grace Bonney of design*sponge shares her favorite cookbooks.
- Past cookbook list: Cookbook author Eric Gower shares his favorite cookbooks.

A big THANK YOU to Heather & Whitney for sharing their favorites with us.

Whitney Moss and Heather Flett are two crafty, creative ladies - I'm lucky to call them both friends. Remember the cute baby shower (waaaay back) where guests painted onsies and made do-it-yourself waffles? That was at Whitney's house. Some of you might already know them because of their Rookie Moms website or new book (The Rookie Mom's Handbook) - today they are going to share their favorite kid/family-friendly cookbooks with us.

WHITNEY & HEATHER'S COOKING STYLES:

Whitney keeps it simple in the kitchen preparing healthy fresh foods and saving the cookbooks for entertaining. She and her husband, much like their three year old son, don't mind having the same things over and over again, so when a new favorite evolves, it's sure to show up on their table every week. Latest discovery: Veggie Tikka Masala from Cooking with All Things Trader Joes

Heather on the other hand obsesses over being June Cleaver in the kitchen- every night expecting the family to sit together at 6pm for dinner no matter what. Except that she's ditched her Ohio roots culinarily-speaking in favor of the variety of crazy California produce available in Berzerkely. If she makes meat and potatoes, it's likely organic free range chicken and organic sweet potato fries.

FAVORITE COOKBOOKS (the ones Heather & Whitney turn to most):

- With the little guys at our sides: Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up. This was a gift from Heather's mom and Holden and Julian (3 year olds) love it! Shows pictures of ingredients and the steps of the recipes.

- Favorite every-day cookbook: The Best 30-minute Recipe: A Best Recipe Classic (Best Recipe Series). Fast, fresh, really good. From the folks at America's Test Kitchen, this cookbook appeals to Heather's geekier nature. Although, c'mon with a preschooler at your leg and a baby climbing up the stool, nothing is a 30-minute meal.

- Favorite every-day cookbook: The Six O'Clock Scramble: Quick, Healthy, and Delicious Dinner Recipes for Busy Families. The website even has printable grocery lists to make the trip to Berkeley Bowl a little smoother. All meals are seasonal and easy.

- Encyclopedia of baby food: Super Baby Food. The gold standard for getting started making your own baby food as far as we're concerned. Heidi note: Ths is one of the books I bought for Whitney when she was pregnant with Julian - a great resource.

- Beautiful baby food: First Meals (New Expanded Edition). Creative with gorgeous presentation, a book to turn to when you need a spark of inspiration.

To keep up with the Heather and Whitney, check in with them at the Rookie Moms website.

Related links:
- Rookie Moms Website
- Rookie Moms Blog
- Rookie Moms on Amazon.com

- Past cookbook list: Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi shares his favorite cookbooks.
- Past cookbook list: Grace Bonney of design*sponge shares her favorite cookbooks.
- Past cookbook list: Cookbook author Eric Gower shares his favorite cookbooks.

A big THANK YOU to Heather & Whitney for sharing their favorites with us.

Perfect lettuce glows. I don't know a better way of describing it. Unfortunately, the glow doesn't last long. From the minute lettuce is picked, you're in a race against time and the elements. Tick, it is getting smashed by your other groceries. Tock, it's starting to wilt. Great lettuce emanates a color and vibrancy that makes you believe it is still alive. Chances are, by the time you encounter lettuce in your local grocery store the glow has long since faded. I hate to be too snobby, but you really have to go to the farmers' market to seek it out.

Once you get in the habit of enjoying salads made from just-picked baby lettuce, it becomes increasingly difficult (if not impossible) to reach for those bags of pre-washed lettuce or spinach. While not much of a recipe, I thought I'd share a simple spring salad I threw together for lunch the other day - peppered with black olives, oranges, and walnuts. My hope is that it might encourage you to seek out (or grow your own) perfect lettuce this year. I just planted a bunch of lettuce on my back patio, but I'll save that story for a separate post.

A few tips:

- Good shopping is the key to making a memorable salad. Buy the freshest lettuce you can find and completely baby it. Bruised lettuce is bad lettuce.

- Wash and dry your lettuce as soon as you get it home, this way you'll have it at the ready for days to come. I use a salad spinner to wash AND dry my lettuce. Place the lettuce in the basket of a salad spinner. Place the basket of lettuce in the bigger outer bowl and fill the entire thing with cold water. Gently swish the leaves around to loosen up any dirt or grit. Drain off the water by lifting the basket out and dumping out the dirty water. Repeat once or twice more. Now spin the lettuce dry. Place in a bag in your refrigerator until ready to use.

- Don't cram your lettuce into the bag. Let it have some space. Think of your bags of lettuce as pillows - you don't want all the lettuce smashed together. Instead, aim to have it fluffed and even throughout its storage bag.

- Resist the urge to drown your salad, and keep in mind that you can always add, but never take away dressing. And I know you've heard it before, but it's important enough that I'll say it again - dress your salad just before you are going to serve it. Right that moment. Not five or ten or (god-forbid) twenty minutes ahead of time.