Explore Global Sustainable Cuisine at The Perennial Plate

For David Klein and Mirra Fine, the principles of the weekly food video blog The Perennial Plate, good eating starts with knowing what you're eating intimately, and how local foodstuffs create a rich, sustainable, adventuresome way to live.

The Perennial Plate, now in its third season of weekly episodic videos, blog posts, and recipe sharing, it trekking around Asia. Click on a social media map to see daily progress of our globetrotting duo (Mirra is the woman behind the video camera, David handles the on-screen interactions with locals).

Here's a recent video to show you an example of their wonderful work. Visit The Perennial Plate, and develop the weekly habit of checking into delicious dining, done with sustainability and adventure in mind.

SippitySup's Flourless, Butterless Orange Almond Torte

Gluten free? Butterless dessert? Are you kidding? If your New Year's resolution is to eat in a more healthy manner, then it might be worthwhile to seek out recipes that cut down a bit on butter, but look for recipes that don't wimp out on flavor. Click this link for a delicious Orange Almond Torterecipe; "Andrew Cake" is what Greg Henry of the excellent food blog SippitySup calls it (after the recipe he "stole" from his buddy Andrew Wilder). We love Greg's humorous food videos, and the recipes and points of view he features are always spot on. Speaking of New Year's resolutions, we can all use a little more humor in the New Year, too!

Julia Child Video Remix

Happy holidays in most homes usually mean hours of happy, albeit sometimes harried hours of cooking. We're hoping that your kitchen is filled with good cheer as you prepare your holiday meals. We found this great Julia Child remix on her 100th Anniversary to get you in the mood for season song and food prep!

It's the Season for Pumpkin Cheesecake!

You're lacking in culinary imagination if you think pumpkins are only for Halloween and Thanksgiving decor. On the contrary, pumpkins are perfect perfect ingredients for delicious dishes, including pumpkin cheesecake. <Set your tastebuds for "mouthwatering."> We've found two recipes we wanted to share with you, one is the Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe from Angie McGowan of The Family Kitchen, and the great end result is pictured above. (Click on the photo or the link to access the recipe.) We liked the way that there was some extra zing by adding gingersnaps to the graham cracker crust, and the cheesecake will turn out lighter with Angie's addition of ricotta cheese mixed in with the cream cheese and pumpkin base for the filling. An alternative recipe is given in the following video from Richard Angerone of Richie's Kitchen. His recipes are always simple to follow, and you'll find that with a springform pan, the ingredients and recipe elements, and the tips he gives on the video, you're well on your way to pumpkin cheesecake happiness.

Elizabeth Gilbert Releases Entertaining Cookbook from her Great-Grandmother

Jay Johnson - This past Sunday was an 84-degree hot one in the idyllic river village of Frenchtown, NJ, but the scene was anything but tranquil. An electric buzz ripped through the main street as folks queued up for a limo ride to Two Buttons, the great Asian and world imports store that Eat Pray Love author Elizabeth Gilbert and her husband Jose Nunez own, along with a complex of other conscious businesses ranging from a Pilates studio to a whole-foods restaurant. But what about that limo ride?

Liz was autographing copies of her latest book, a cookbook reissued with contributions from Liz - the cookbook originally published by her great=-grandmother Margaret Yardley Potter called At Home on the Range. The book is fantastic. Whip-smartly written with a real gourmand's eye for the offbeat, the delicious, and the divine. Here's the video of her pre-Mother's Day appearance on Good Morning America.

Irwin bought an amazingly colorful Thai porkpie hat and I picked up two copies of the cookbook and stood in line to say hi to Liz, chat with Jose while we stood in line (busy serving red wine to everyone, always the perfect host), and then have Liz autograph one copy of her cookbook for my daughter Meredith and her partner Chriss and one for Irwin and me (to which we had her sign it: All My Love, Julia Roberts).