It seems like everyone I know is detoxing this week. People are working out, staying in, and eating healthy. To support my sister and friends, who are on a 10-day vegan cleanse, I'm making a figure-friendly meal full of vegetables. Since they've also given up drinking, I'll have to serve a nonalcoholic beverage. Instead of offering something boring like water, I'm whipping up a round of this uplifting refresher. It's a combination of muddled mint and pineapple and pomegranate juice. It's fruity, but not too heavy and will pair perfectly with chickpea, mint, and parsley spread. To look at the easy recipe, keep reading.

During shorter days, I look forward to locating pomegranates and persimmons, like I do cherries and plums during Summer. But, more than any other, the cold-weather clincher that draws me in every Winter is the blood orange. Find out why they're so great — and how to enjoy them — when you read more.

Most broccoli cheese soup recipes are loaded with cream and cheese. Not so with this vegetarian-friendly recipe. The clean, bright flavor of broccoli is most prominent. The only cheese is sprinkled on the finished soup as garnish; however, the soup has a rich, nutty depth thanks to nutritional yeast flakes. This health food store ingredient is popular among vegans and can be used to add a cheesiness to other cream sauces. To learn the uncomplicated method, read more

In the last year, Rachael Ray's nabbed a gigantic daytime Emmy and built the popularity of her food magazine (your top pick for best glossy in 2009). But what if the media mogul quit her day job as a wildly successful celebrity chef, TV personality, and cookbook author?

That's what happened on last night's CBS special I Get That a Lot. Ray went undercover at the dry cleaners as part of a prank on customers, who couldn't decide whether she was a dead ringer or the real deal. See some of Rachael's golden moments below. Do you think she plays the part well?

Photo courtesy of CBS

Like peanut butter and jelly, the pairing of ham and cheese has been around forever. However, it just doesn't get old. When I'm in the mood for a comforting and quick meal, I make this ham and cheese panini. Served with mixed greens or a bowl of soup, it's the perfect dinner for one. Caramelized shallots and fresh thyme give it a touch of elegant sophistication, while grainy mustard ensures that the sandwich isn't too dry. It's nostalgic and homey, but gourmet enough to offer guests at a luncheon or impromptu weeknight dinner. Want the recipe? Read more.

I've always thought white pepper has a funky smell, but figured it was just me. So when lauren wrote in to ask about white pepper's unpleasant odor, it was a revelation. I had no idea anyone else felt the same way!

Unlike its black counterpart, white pepper can possess a medicinal or barnyard-like smell. Although white pepper and black pepper originate from the same berries, black peppercorns are harvested before the berries have fully ripened. White peppercorns, on the other hand, have been fully ripened, soaked, fermented for up to two weeks, and then hulled.

According to food science expert Harold McGee, these off-flavors will develop during the fermentation process if the peppercorns have not been properly maintained in constantly flowing water. Before seasoning a dish with white pepper, taste it to make sure it doesn't exhibit any unpleasantness.

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