There is nothing worse than bland food. And not just bland food but waking up in the morning, wanting to eat better and feel better, but knowing that, well there isn't much to look forward to food wise in the day.

While none of our lives should revolve around food, there is some truth to the satisfaction we feel in a good meal. After all, our bodies need to be nourished. It's part of the emotional-spiritual-physical pie of life.

I remember back in the seventies and eighties how challenging diets were because the knowledge people had about how to use spices was minimal. And ice berg lettuce isn't exactly nutrient rich although it is filled with water. That satisfaction doesn't last long though.

My father ate a very bland diet but my mom always had the bottle of crushed red pepper near her. I often hear how children don't like spicy foods but somehow that crushed red pepper always made it onto my slice of pizza and I got used to the flavor.

In my own quest to eat well, I have finally figured out that it helps to food to look forward to. And that means food with taste. I feel fortunate to live in New Mexico. I see now how coming here in 1994, when I was 22 for graduate school, has been a huge influence on my cooking. I didn't realize how much until I moved away and came back.

I have learned how to use chiles to make food desirable even with less fat. Look forward to more blogs and recipes that use spices, not hot ones, but just enough to give it flavor to make it a meal you'll feel satisfied and ready to continue to create the life you've always wanted by feeling good and looking good.

Check out the black bean soup I use here– from Martha Stewart. I don't use my regular blender to mix the hot beans anymore after the lid was too hot and popped out of my hand that one time. It's not so much fun to clean a black-bean splattered kitchen! I have Ninja blender that works great for hot foods. It also doesn't matter what kind of chiles you use– whatever you can find in the store. I do love sliced avocado on top of my soup though. With some chips it makes a great lunch or meal on a cold day.

These cookies are not going to win any awards for presentation and I definitely wouldn’t invite Gordon Ramsey over to eat any. But they represent something else to me: Mom.

Every year this was the one item on the list we could count on Mom to do at Christmastime, even in the last years when she didn’t go out to buy us cards. At least she still made the cookies. When her original Mirro cookie press broke, we found her a new one at an antique store.

But I will be the first to admit they are not my favorite recipe to make simply because of the cookie press. The dough has to be at an exact temperature for the cookies to come out perfectly. I used the trigger-operated press once but I never found it to be easier to use and now that Mom has died, I have her second generation press.

However, if I wanted any of her cookies this year, I had to make them. While the they are made of cookie basics (flour, sugar, butter), these also have almond extract which gives them that distinct flavor. And in my laziness, I combined the two colors of dough but found that they actually create tie-dye looking cookies.

Mostly, this was about eating the cookies and tasting the memories that came with them.

Mirro Cookie Press Recipe

2 ½ cups flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

green and red food coloring

decorating candies

Sift together flour and baking powder. Cream butter; add sugar gradually and cream thoroughly. Beat in egg, almond extract, and food coloring. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Fill cookie press. Form cookies on ungreased baking sheet. Decorate with candies. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 6-7 dozen cookies.