chocolate lychee coffee cake

Lychees have somehow managed to become both extremely over hyped and underrated at the same time.

Poor things, they seem to only surface in large bins on a Chinatown corner or in a $14 lychee "martini". They deserve so much more facetime.

Lychees, primarily native to Southeast Asia but are now grown in the States, are small fruits with a bumpy red skin. Peeling off the skin reveals a delicately sweet and perfumed fruit. When lychees are season (which is right freaking now), I could mow through a pound of them like peanuts leaving nothing but a pile of red peels and black pits behind. The flavor just can't be matched by those other stone fruits (you know who you are).

why you should eat more garlic

Excuse my Swahili, but garlic is f***ing awesome.

It's the one ingredient that appears in almost every culture around the world. Garlic is not only an incredibly versatile "seasoning", but provides endless health benefits.

So why aren't you eating more of it?  

kale, tomato and chickpea soup

Soup is my cop out.

I can cover all of the nutritional bases and still only wash one pot and perhaps a cutting board afterwards. It's low maintenance cooking at its best.

Like many of you out there in TV land, I am responsible for providing sustenance to my family on a daily basis. I have to come up with a plan, do the shopping, and, hopefully, at the end of the day produce a tasty and reasonably healthy meal.

But on occasion, work drains your soul, or errands drag on longer than expected, or there is something really good on television and the very thought of putting together a 3-course meal makes your eyes run green and consider throwing anyone who asks about dinner out the window.

You are not alone. The solution is soup.

• Soup can be made ahead.
• It can be made in bulk, meaning more meals you don't have to make.
• It reheats beautifully.
• You can pack your soup full of veggies (and meat if you are into that kind of thing).
• And most importantly, there is little dishwashing involved.

The hardest part is deciding what kind to make. You could try fire-roasted eggplant and tomato, or spicy paprika and cauliflower, or something with peas or coconut milk, or a mixture of whatever is on the verge of rotting in your fridge.

Lately, I've been particularly infatuated with a shockingly easy-to-make soup of kale, San Marzano tomatoes and chickpeas. Super simple, little chopping, ready in 30m.

The kale slowly cooks in vegetable stock with sweet Italian tomatoes, rosemary, garlic and onion. Chickpeas give the soup a bit of meat for when oxtail just won't do.

What is your favorite cop out meal?

Kale, Tomato and Chickpea Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 spring rosemary
4 c (1 qt) veggie stock
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 lb kale, stemmed and chopped
1 14oz can whole tomatoes (San Marzano preferred)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oil on medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent and soft, about 5m. Add garlic and cook for 1m. Add the stock, rosemary and kale. For the tomatoes, hand crush the tomatoes as you add them. Bring soup to a simmer and cook for 20m to soften the kale. Remove rosemary sprig.

Add chickpeas, salt and pepper. Cook for another 5m. If you are feeling saucy, sprinkle a little parm on top.