Justin R. McNeill

Easy comfort food is the name of the game this week: rice n' beans on Tuesday, and this simple, warming, and filling tomato orzo soup with kale today. Over the summer I made an orzo and chickpea dish with roasted tomato sauce , which I loved. The only downside of that meal is the time involved: the roasted tomato sauce is relatively hands off, but it's homemade from fresh tomatoes, so there's a bit of a wait. 2-3 hours of a wait, to be exact. Great for a slow weekend, not so great for a busy weeknight or a hectic season. This dish is similar: a mix of orzo, beans, and tomato. But it's more of a soup than a pasta dish, and-thanks to the use of chopped tomatoes from Pomi -it comes together a lot more quickly. The orzo will be ready after about 15 minutes of simmering, and all that remains after is to cook down the kale. It's a true comfort food meal that be ready in about half an hour. The tomatoes are organic, low in sodium, and they come in BPA-free, recyclable car...

As the holidays approach many of us will be cooking more than we typically do. Some will serve elaborate meals to their families and guests. Much food will be consumed, but not all - and that means leftovers. We've written about leftover storage before, as well as tips for eliminating food waste but today I want to share a product I've been using for about a year with great success: the "Brilliance" containers by Rubbermaid . When my wife first brought these home, I became nostalgic for the great glass containers from Pyrex that my mother used . The Brilliance containers are about the same size in shape, but made of plastic with a tightly-sealing lid. They stack nicely and offer a few great advantages while in the refrigerator. First, they are completely transparent, so you needn't play that fun guessing game, "What's In This One?" A quick glance answers that question. Because they are made of BPA-free plastic, it makes them lighter than glass conta...