The best-tasting veggie burger I’ve ever met is falafel. A product of the Middle East, falafel are deep-fried fritters made from ground chickpeas or fava beans that are tucked into pita pockets and drizzled with tahini. They are delicious, hearty, inexpensive and relatively healthy.

With the housing recovery gaining steam, Americans have more incentives to paint up, touch up and otherwise redecorate their homes. But there’s no need to spend willy-nilly.

Dr. Stuart Hetrick never planned to open New Image Med Spa in Ahwatukee Foothills.

A-Peeling Faces Skincare and Massage Therapy is celebrating seven years in business this month. The company has won/placed Best of Ahwatukee four of those years and Darla M. Salem, owner, has been nominated for the Palo Verde Women in Business award two of those years.

During a recent home remodel, Diane Wright decided the stairway leading to her garage needed some perking up.

Whenever Esi Impraim’s mother made jollof — a rich, tomato-laced dish of meats, rice and sometimes seafood — the time it took to bubble away on the stove was always excruciating.

There is just something about roasted chicken that comforts, nourishes and satisfies like nothing else, especially when the wind is howling and it is cold outside.

If "Side Effects" is indeed Steven Soderbergh's final film, as he's said it will be after toying with the notion of retirement for a couple of years now, then intriguingly it feels like he's coming full circle in some ways to the film that put him on the map: the trailblazing, 1989 indie "sex, lies and videotape."

Looking for a few simple ways to freshen up the go-to dish of the Super Bowl? We cobbled together a mighty tasty basic guacamole, then came up with four ways to turn basic into unbelievably good.

Super Bowl Sunday surely is one of the meatiest eating days of the year. But it’s still somewhat surprising the lengths some people will go to push their game day feed over the top. Last year, for example, some enthusiastic carnivores went as far as to build football arena replicas out of deli meats, cheese and bread.

Chinese New Year is the sort of new year celebration I love.

These noodles are a fun and approachable dish equally good for a busy weeknight or to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Ahwatukee Spine and Disc

Put On a Rosie Face

I’m always searching for ways to make a healthier version of risotto, one of my favorite winter Italian dishes.

We will remember 2012 as a year of change and extremely hard work by our board, staff and countless volunteers. As we wrap up the year, we thought we would take this opportunity to summarize what your Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce has been up to since January of this year.

There is no subtle way to say this. This cake screams Christmas.

Here’s the thing about decorating for Christmas. It should be fun. It should be an occasion. It should involve delicious food.

Traditional potato latkes are a widely loved staple of the yearly Hanukkah feast. And what’s not to love about hamburger-sized hash browns topped with sour cream?

Few foods are as satisfying as a golden potato pancake that is soft and tender inside, but crispy outside. But this simple dish so often is bungled. It can be undercooked, overcooked and/or soaked in grease.

When I told my mother — a fiend for candied ginger — that I was testing a batch of these muffins, she said she wished she could fly right over and dig in. She’s not the only one.

The turkey may be the centerpiece, but a classic Thanksgiving dinner simply isn’t complete without a bevy of traditional sides. To accompany our cider-brined bird, we went with a gently sweet cranberry sauce cooked with peaches for a delicate texture and fruitiness to balance the tart berries. For the mashed potatoes, we kept it basic — sour cream, butter and chives — but delicious.

When I told my mother — a fiend for candied ginger — that I was testing a batch of these muffins, she said she wished she could fly right over and dig in. She’s not the only one.