I need your help.

I’ve entered my cooking app startup, Mobile Skillet, in the Mass Challenge startup funding competition. There’s a public component, and I wonder if you would vote for me here http://masschallenge.org/profile/mobile-skillet-llc. To do so, they require that you register as an “observer” https://masschallenge.org/user/register, but you just enter your email address and click the “observer” button. The whole thing takes about a minute.

I really appreciate your support.

Deborah, Trufflehead founder

A couple of years ago, after teaching my 20-something son to cook, I became obsessed with the idea of writing a cookbook for young adults. I wanted to get them hooked on home cooking because it’s healthier for their waistlines, their wallets, and the planet. To size up my prospects, I ran the idea by a pal of mine who knew culinary publishing from the inside.

My friend said that mobile computing was changing the world and that I should do the project as an iPhone app. (Android didn’t exist yet.) At the time, I didn’t own a smart phone, and I had never seen an app. But—as soon as he said it–I knew he was right. I assembled a powerhouse team and started working on Trufflehead, a cooking app for iPhone and iPad.

When Trufflehead launched last summer, it entered a market dominated by big-name chefs with big money. I was flying solo—without a corporate machine behind me and without a safety net. As the development costs for Trufflehead grew, I began to appreciate why so few people like me had ventured into app creation: They simply couldn’t afford it. If that barrier could be overcome, many more members of the culinary arts community could launch their own cooking apps and reach a growing audience of young cooks who lived on mobile devices.

My team and I began to envision a Trufflehead-based program that could be used to produce cooking apps more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before. We called it Mobile Skillet, and it’s now a reality. Our website, www.MobileSkillet.com , launched last week.

Mobile Skillet offers a personalizeable “blank slate” format that can be licensed to talented chefs, cookbook authors, and food bloggers for a fraction of the cost of doing an app from scratch. Instead of $50,000 to $100,000, Mobile Skillet apps run $5,000 to $15,000. That roughly equals the cost of a self-published book—without the additional hassles and expense of shipping, warehousing, and distribution.

The Mobile Skillet platform channels Trufflehead’s user-friendly structure and value-added functionality. We know it’s a good model because its features (including a smart shopping list and photo upload capability) landed it on Apple’s New and Noteworthy, Top 25 Lifestyle, and What’s Hot iPhone app lists in January 2012.

Unlike the existing competition, Mobile Skillet isn’t a “walled garden” system that stamps out bland, look-alike, do-nothing apps. Our apps are individualized via an array of lay-outs and palettes. They offer shopping lists, hyperlinked glossaries, and the capacity for community-building and email. Every single one has an independent, searchable identity on iTunes, with a unique icon and a distinctive page celebrating the author’s contribution.

Trufflehead took 2 years to complete, and—as those who monitored my progress know—they were frought with perils. Unscrupulous, incompetent developers were everywhere. It was a miracle that I ended up in good hands and that Trufflehead was successful. Now I’m using my experience to help others achieve the same outcome without the hard knocks.

If you are curious about the process, I hope you’ll visit www.MobileSkillet.com . If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at deborah@mobileskillet.com .

If you’re already wrinkling up your nose, know this: The soggy, stinky mess you were served in your school cafeteria isn’t the whole story. It’s just the story of overcooked cabbage. When this humble veggie is properly cooked (we prefer it crisp-tender), it’s sweet and not smelly at all.

Cabbage is a nutritional giant (broccoli family ties) and a caloric pygmy (17 calories per cup). And—if you’re watching carbs—you’ll be happy to hear that it’s 50% fiber. If you’re feeling lazy, you can eat it raw (try our Cole Slaw with Peppers), but if you’re willing give it a few minutes in a skillet, you can step up to Pan-Seared Honey Dijon Cabbage.

When you’re shopping for green cabbage, choose firm, tight heads, heavy for size, with pale greenish-white leaves. Avoid heads with limp, withered, or yellowed leaves with worm holes or brown spots.

You can store it for up to 1 week wrapped in plastic wrap or in a plastic bag in refrigerator crisper. After cutting it, you can store the remainder in the same way.

Chard is the queen of greens—with looks to match its nutritional pedigree (rich in vitamins A, K, and C as well as minerals and fiber). It’s one of our faves because it’s easy, delicious, and compatible with almost every conceivable kind of protein. The leaves are silky, the stems are crisp, and the combination is pretty interesting.

Our go-to chard recipes are Chard with Raisins (Simple) and (Not-so-Simple). They both employ our signature 2-step method. The steps (blanching and sautéing) are easy and you don’t have to do them on the same day. Dividing the work makes these recipes entertaining-friendly.

Here’s how it works: Blanch the chard right after you buy it—when it’s at the peak of freshness. Then refrigerate it in a covered container for a couple of days. When you’re ready to finish it, all you have to do is throw it into a hot skillet with a little oil and some flavorings. Toss, heat it through, and serve.

When shopping for chard, go for red or rainbow varieties if possible. (They’re the most beautiful.) Select bunches with fresh-looking, firm, bright, deep green leaves and broad stems. Avoid chard with wilted or yellowed leaves or stems with brown spots, nicks, bruises or insect holes.

To store: Refrigerate in a sealed plastic bag large enough to hold the entire leaf for 2 to 3 days.

You’ll find broccoli rabe hiding behind many names: broccoli raap, broccoli rabe, rapini, broccoletti, broccoli di rabe, cime di rapa, and friarielli. But it can’t hide its assertive, peppery flavor. In what we consider a never-ending paradox, it pairs well with plain proteins such as beef and lamb as well as mild ones such as fish. It also goes extremely well with un-plain dishes, such as anything marinara (calamari, shrimp, or meatballs). Go figure…

Like other members of the mustard family (e.g. broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and turnips), it’s packed with nutrients. And, true to the family profile, it’s tastier when cooked less rather than more. We blanch it first to take out some of the bitterness (and also to make it cook-able in less oil.) Then we throw it into a hot skillet with olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper. (Check out our Broccoli Rabe with Peppers.) Yummy!

When you buy broccoli rabe, choose fresh-smelling, bright green bunches with thin stalks, closed florets, and no more than a few open yellow flowers. Avoid any that appears limp, wet, yellow, or dry.

When you get home, remove the band or twist from the bunch, wrap the rabe in a damp paper towel, and place it in a perforated plastic bag. Store in the refrigerator up to 2 days.

Our featured recipe this week calls for dried porcini, so we thought we’d say a few words about them. First, we know they’re not cheap ($2 to $5 per ounce), but they’re worth every penny. We think of them as poor man’s truffles because they’re in the same genre and they add a similar dark, aromatic earthiness to food. Luckily, they’re not in the same price range. (Truffles cost $35 to $125 per ounce.)

Once they’re rehydrated, they can be used in all sorts of things, including soups, stews, and sauces. They’re powerful, so you don’t need much (by weight) to make a big impression. For example, we only use ¼ ounce per person in our steak recipe.

You can usually find dried porcini in packages near other dried mushrooms or near the canned tomatoes and pasta. Occasionally you’ll see them in the produce department. Go for packages containing more big pieces and fewer small ones because big pieces are easier to clean. (And it’s important to clean them well so you don’t get a mouth full of grit.) You can store them at room temperature or in the fridge.

To rehydrate porcini:

Place in a heat-proof bowl or measuring cup and cover with boiling water. Soak 20 minutes. Drain and rinse well under cold running water, rubbing them as you rinse. Lightly pat dry on paper towels to remove excess moisture.

The soaking liquid can be used in soups and stews also if you strain it first. To do so, wet a paper towel, squeeze out the excess water, and then line your strainer with it. Set it over a heat-proof bowl or measuring cup and pour the soaking liquid through the strainer.

We have just the thing for you: a fool-proof, easy, mostly make-ahead menu that will WOW your guests. Here it is, with notes on each dish. All of the recipes are from the Trufflehead app (duh!).

Double Celery Soup
This opalescent pale green soup is thick and luxurious, without any help from butter, flour, or cream. It’s sophisticated and fancy even though the ingredients are humble. The celery-celeriac blend has a subtle, mysterious, earthy flavor. Preparation couldn’t be easier: just chop, sauté, simmer, and puree. You can make it Sunday and then reheat Tuesday in the microwave or on top of the stove. Serve with crusty whole grain rolls.

Porcini-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Steaks
Tenderloin is the leanest cut of beef, so it’s the healthiest, but it isn’t cheap. You can get enough to feed 2 people for about $12, plus an extra $2 for dried porcini to coat them. The mushrooms add a musky pheromone to the luscious meat. Grind the porcini and mince the shallots in advance to limit last-minute effort. This recipe is our featured dish this week.

Chard with Raisins
Red chard is the queen of greens—with looks and flavor to match its nutritional pedigree. Mild, silky leaves provide a nice foil for the edgy porcini; crisp-tender stems play off the buttery beef. Raisins balance the tart, wine-y sauce. If you precook the chard, you can finish it in less time and less oil than you’d need otherwise. Blanch and dry it in advance, and then give it a quick toss in a skillet while you sear the steaks.

Chocolate Mocha Swirl Cheesecake
Warning: Adult Content—a creamy, crust-less, no-bake cheesecake with chocolate and coffee flavors in a sexy light-and-dark swirl. Your valentine will never guess it’s low in fat and calories. It takes at least 2 hours to chill, so you might want to prepare it the night before.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Celery root, a.k.a. celeriac, is a weird-looking vegetable (a root vegetable, obviously). It’s a bit weird-tasting too, but it sort of grows on you. We think people are less familiar with it than beets and parsnips because it’s really ugly and it takes some scrubbing to get it clean. If you’re brave enough to buy one, you won’t regret it.

Celery root is pretty versatile. It can be eaten raw in salads (e.g. Trufflehead Chicken Waldorf Salad) and slaws (e.g. Red Cabbage and Celery Root Slaw) or cooked in soups, stews, and braised dishes. It can be boiled or roasted, just as you would beets or parsnips. In fact, our recipe for roasted celery root will appear in the next Truffehead update.

It’s at its best from the fall through early spring, so January is prime time. Some people think it tastes like regular celery, but we don’t agree. Its flavor is unique, but it goes well with celery—which you’ll discover if you make Trufflehead’s Double Celery Soup.

When shopping for celery root, keep these things in mind: You want them to feel solid, not spongy at the stalk end, and heavy for size. They should be without bruises or signs of decay. Avoid any that are tinged with green. For easy peeling and less waste, choose more uniform, rounder shapes. If you wrap them in plastic, they’ll keep for a few weeks in the fridge.

With the Super Bowl just a week away, we’ve got dips on the brain and offbeat hummus recipes head the list. We sampled one at Hamersley ’s Bistro in Boston not long ago. It married chickpeas with butternut squash and saffron so happily that we wanted to duplicate it as soon as we got home. We didn’t have cooked squash, but we found some mashed sweet potato in the fridge and loved the result. We’ve made it that way ever since, but you can always go with butternut instead. Serve with your favorite cut veggies or whole grain pita chips. Tips: This recipe is only easy if you have cooked chickpeas and sweet potato on hand. If you’re starting from scratch, it will be a project. In that case, use 2 cups canned chickpeas , rinsed and drained. You can buy peeled butternut in packages and boil as you would for Mashed Butternut Squash. This recipe yields 24 (2-tablespoon) servings.

Please note: In order to preserve value for people who have bought the Trufflehead app, our recipes are posted for 1 week only and they are not archived. If you want to make this dish, please print it out so you will have it for future reference.

Servings: 24

Time: < 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Sweet Potato and Saffron Hummus

• 1 to 2 large pinches saffron threads
• 1 to 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped (1½ cups)
• 5 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons)
• 1 cup cooked sweet potato
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 tablespoon fresh or bottled lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ to 1 cup bean cooking liquid or vegetable broth, optional

1.Place 1 large pinch saffron in a small heat-proof bowl or measuring cup. Add 1 tablespoon boiling water and soak 5 minutes or until ready to use.

2. Place a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the oil. When hot, add the onions. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until slightly browned. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until tender and nicely browned. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute longer. Cool 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor.

3. Add sweet potato, saffron mixture, chickpeas, lemon juice, vinegar, cumin, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Process until smooth, scraping the down sides as needed. Add enough bean cooking liquid or vegetable broth to make a smooth paste. Taste. If more saffron is needed, repeat Step #1 with the remaining saffron and boiling water; then add to the puree. Adjust cayenne and salt. Process another 10 seconds. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Per serving: 32 calories, 1 g total fat, trace saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 6 g total carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 1 g protein, 40 mg sodium.

Don’t think that this salad is a slacker in the richness department just because it’s made without egg yolks. Buttery avocado takes their place and adds just the right amount of delicious, healthy fat. It ties together the silky egg whites and crunchy celery, while the chives make things interesting. Serve on a bed of lettuce with the best tomatoes you can find, or stuff into a sandwich. Tip: You can boil the eggs up to 2 days in advance, but don’t cut the avocado until just before serving because it will start to turn brown. For a nice appetizer, chop the celery very finely and spread the egg-avocado-chive mixture on cocktail slices of whole grain pumpernickel.

Please note: In order to preserve value for people who have bought the Trufflehead app, our recipes are posted for 1 week only and they are not archived. If you want to make this dish, please print it out so you will have it for future reference.

Servings: 2

Time: < 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Egg White and Avocado Salad with Chives

• 6 large eggs
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 to 2 tablespoons light or low-fat mayonnaise
• 3 celery ribs, preferably organic, chopped (¾ cup)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (about ½ small bunch)
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

1.Prepare an ice water bath. Fill a medium saucepan ⅔ full with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, insert a straight pin about ¼ inch into the fat end of each egg. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower the eggs into the boiling water. Bring back to a full boil and reduce heat to medium or whatever temperature is needed to maintain a gentle boil. Set a timer for 12 minutes. When the time is up, immediately transfer eggs to ice bath. Cool 2 to 3 minutes, crack shell, and peel. Pat dry on paper towels and refrigerate in covered container until ready to use. (May be prepared to this point up to 2 days in advance.)

2. Meanwhile, seed, peel, and roughly chop the avocado. Transfer to a medium bowl.

3. Halve the eggs lengthwise. Remove the yolks and either reserve for another use or discard. Roughly chop the whites and add to the avocado. Add 1 tablespoon mayonnaise and stir gently. If mixture seems dry, add a little more mayonnaise. Stir in the celery, chives, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 236 calories, 17 g total fat, 3 g saturated fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 11 g total carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 13 g protein, 384 mg sodium.