The key to understanding bone health is understanding minerals. The primary mineral in your skeleton is calcium, but bones do not live on calcium alone. Drop a piece of chalk (calcium carbonate) and it will easily shatter. No one wants an all-calcium skeleton. Although calcium supplements are the most common strategy for maintaining strong bones,…

Baked eggs, their yolks all yellow and jammy, make a beautiful and simple breakfast. In the springtime when both local eggs and young, tender stinging nettle leaves are available, I like to make this dish. It’s easy, nutrient-dense, and speaks to the season. Bright green nettle-pumpkin seed pesto, spiked with garlic and jalapeño, offers a…

Grandma’s vegetable garden, in a village called Crangeni in the Muntenia region of Romania, runs downhill toward a wetland formed by the thinning stream of the Calmatui River. It’s flanked by two diamond hole wire fences, while the marsh is a natural boundary. Some minute rills that flow into the river form a small pond…

This is the dish Grandma called “spring’s blessing.” It is common all over Romania, with different variations. Romanians often debate over methods of preparing it, but they all agree upon serving it with polenta. Sometimes fried eggs find their way onto the plate, too, draped over the bed of green nettles. The dish tastes a…

Springs are often rainy in Romania, and this warm soup makes quite a delightful companion when the skies are gray. Although not as common as nettle purée, the soup is still a Lent favorite in many households. Again, recipe variations aren’t uncommon across Romania. Non-vegans or people who aren’t fasting serve it with a dollop…