Joanne Weir, a San Francisco chef, tequila expert, and the subject of one of our early kitchen tours, makes a margarita at her Bay Area restaurant Copita that is known as one of the best in the region. She says — and I agree whole-heartedly — that the biggest mistake people make with their margaritas is that they use too many ingredients like Triple Sec, Grand Marnier, or Cointreau. It’s all about the balance of sweet and tart in a glass with just a few ingredients: 100% agave tequila (Weir prefers blanco), freshly squeezed lime juice and agave nectar. 

Monk fruit is the latest darling of the alternative sweetener world, but what is this exotic fruit, and how does it compare to sugar and other substitutes? 

Even though I work largely from home, I'm still plagued by the 3 pm energy plummet like many of my friends and old coworkers. There's just something about that hour, especially in the winter when the days are colder and darker. Instead of reaching for a soda or another cup of coffee, a small snack with a bit of protein is a great picker-upper, and lately I've been mixing up a batch of quick no-bake snacks to keep on hand when the energy lows strike. More

I don't use white sugar much at home these days. Now I reach for a more unrefined cane sugar like turbinado, or experiment with maple syrup or honey as sweeteners. But the problem with this, for bakers in particular, is that you have to be careful about adding extra liquid to a recipe because it changes the entire composition and structure. So what's a good solution if you want to add a deep, dark sweetener like maple syrup? Pick up a bag of maple sugar! More

Q: My husband was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, so all of this year's Christmas cookies need to be sugar-free. I've never baked with sugar substitutes like Splenda or stevia before, and I am dubious of their claims that they can be used one-for-one as a sugar substitute. More

If you peek inside my cupboards, you'll see countless little jars of herb and honey concoctions that are both delicious and healing. Making herb-infused honey has become one of my favorite ways to use leftover sprigs of thyme from cooking dinner, a handful of wild mint found while foraging, or the buds of an edible flower bouquet. It couldn't be easier to do. And if you start now, there's plenty of time to make them for holiday gifts, too. More

I grew up with a health nut mom who served raisins to trick-or-treaters and insisted carob tasted as good as chocolate, so when she raved about an alternative sweetener called sucanat, I was a bit wary. Then I tasted her molasses spice cookies – one version made with refined white sugar and the other with sucanat. Sucanat won me over, and I've kept some in my own pantry ever since. More

Of my hundreds of cherished cookbooks, my old school community cookbooks rank at the top of the class. (Bonus points if written by a Southern Junior League!) I love reading these retro tomes for entertainment, but they are often the first place I turn for new recipe inspiration, as well. More

The flavor of maple syrup is more than simple sweetness, which may be why it works so well in savory recipes, especially the kinds of recipes we start dreaming about at this time of year: crisp-skinned roast chickens glazed with maple and lemon, shredded Brussels sprouts topped with maple-toasted nuts, and roasted root vegetables tossed with maple and sage. More