I’m so excited to have Phoebe with me on my blog today! Phoebe Lapine is a 28 year-old cookbook author, private chef, culinary instructor, blogger, and recipe developer. She was born and raised in New York City, where she continues to live and eat. In April 2012, Phoebe launched Feed Me Phoebe, a food blog that documents her healthy comfort food, gluten-free finds, and snap shots of her professional cooking world. Above ease and self-sufficiency, Phoebe believes that feeling good about your body and your food, is the most compelling reason to get in the kitchen and get cooking. She embraces a balanced diet, eats the good with the bad, and thinks kale lasagna is better than no lasagna at all.
What inspired you to create your own version of “healthy comfort food”?
My mother was an early adopter of the organic movement. Long before it was popularized, she fed me bowls of quinoa instead of Easy Mac. It left me with a real appreciation for good, home cooked food. And once I wasn’t under her roof anymore, I knew I had to teach myself to replicate my favorite comfort dishes. But I didn’t really become a “healthy” cook until I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and had to reevaluate how my diet affected my body’s ability to function. Through both of those influences, my dishes evolved into a kind of hybrid approach to healthy cooking—eating a lot of good with a little bad.
Where do you get some of your food inspirations?
I love all the Barefoot Contessa books – Ina Garten has been one of my biggest inspirations! The first cookbooks I ever bought myself were Jamie Oliver’s Naked Chef series. I think I just liked the name and thought he was cute, but the recipes are also fabulous. Recently, I’ve been loving Ottolenghi’s books, particularly Jerusalem and Plenty.
I love reading food magazines, but probably I draw the most inspiration from eating out and traveling. I love trying new things and discovering cultures through food. I try to log time in the kitchen with the same sense of adventure.
What made you interested in cooking?
I got my start in the professional cooking world in the least professional of settings – quite literally, in my 6 × 4 square foot kitchen, feeding friends from a pot of chili with a measuring cup instead of a ladle. Since I grew up with a mother who cooked, after college I started to make a point of recreating those meals in a small space and on an entry-level salary. I started my first blog with stories and recipes from that night of chili. My hope was to inspire my peer group to get in the kitchen and get cooking.
I see you are an avid traveler! What has been your favorite place to visit and can you share some amazing foods you’ve enjoyed there?
The summer after I graduated college, I went to Morocco with my mother. She lived there in her 30’s and hadn’t been back in over a decade, so it was a really special experience, especially since I had gotten to know Moroccan flavors through her cooking during my childhood. I now make lots of Moroccan inspired things like this Lamb Chili and this Lentil Soup.
What are your top five favorite foods you can’t live without?
It definitely puts the second H in healthy hedonism, but French fries! Other than that, mainly cooking ingredients: good hot Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, spaghetti, and homemade tomato sauce.
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Saute the onion and carrot over medium-high heat until soft and beginning to brown, 7 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, ginger, turmeric, chili flakes, and salt. Cook one minute more. Stir in the tomatoes, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, and cook until the liquid has reduced and the tomatoes are soft, 5 minutes.
Add the lentils and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until the lentils are soft, 10 minutes. Fold in the chard and cook until wilted, but still vibrant, 5 more minutes. Taste for seasoning.
Serve the soup in bowls with a wedge of lemon on the side or a dollop of Greek yogurt and some crusty bread.
