Spinach, Chocolate & Peanut Butter Smoothie

I woke up this morning determined to move my body.

Yesterday, I made biscuits. I ate three of them. No big deal. No regrets. They were buttery and warm and delicious, but today I need to move.

I put on my stretchy pants, my sneakers, and a nice long sleeve shirt and headed out the door.

I then headed right back in the door. IT’S SOOOO COLD.

I checked my phone. It said that it was 27 degrees. Yikes. I live in California. I am not prepared for this. I looked at our front steps. They were completely iced over. Glimmering at me as if to say: “I dare you to try not to break your neck on me, Klutz.” Geez, my front steps have a really bad attitude in the morning. They are totally not morning steps.

Obviously we needed to modify. I opened our coat closet and got out the biggest, puffiest coat I could find. […]

Cinnamon Spice Granola | Gluten Free

I am totally late to the granola party.

My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail. I now officially RSVP with bells on.

Why have I waited this long?

Making granola is so easy, it’s nuts. No really, there are a lot of nuts in this recipe. Literally. Wow. Granola jokes. I’ll be here all week. Tip your waitress.

All jokes aside, it really is super easy. A bunch of crunchy things meet in a bowl. You marry them together with a mixture of oil, spices and sweetness. You bake it at 350. You eat it by the handful.

I call this recipe Cinnamon Spice Granola… but honestly, I wont lie to you, there is a lot of stuff in here. I could have named it “Everything In My Pantry Except Sardines Granola” and it would probably be just as accurate. Sure, I spiced it with lots of yummy cinnamon, nutmeg and sweetened it with maple syrup. I also raided my pantry with the kind of greedy wild abandon that feels both shameful and wholly satisfying. A scoop of this, a dash of that, a whole lot of these, oooooh sunflower seeds? Coconut? Yes. Flax meal. Affirmative. There was not a lot of restraint. […]

The Whiskey Sour | How To Combat Awkward

Hey, Friends! Let me introduce you to the peanut butter to my jelly, the spaghetti to my meatball, the polar bear to my top hat! This is Peter. He is my husband. He usually sits idly by eating my recipes and humoring me by laughing at my jokes. Today he wants to talk to you about booze. Take it away, Pete…

I didn’t grow up drinking hard alcohol. To be clear, I also didn’t grow up (from childhood) drinking. I’d probably be surlier and have more scars. When I started drinking, it was generally beer that went down my gullet, probably due to the Dutch blood pumping through my veins.

It wasn’t until I met my wife’s parents for the first time that I really acquired a taste for something more refined. Sure I’d downed some watered-down vodka tonics and dabbled with gin in college. I even insulted an old, Danish family-friend by suggesting his 30-year old Scotch tasted like rum (I was all of seventeen at the time). In essence, my alcoholic reference shelf was stocked with beer until my mid-twenties.

Gina first introduced me to her parents far before any standard of social norm or traditional scheduling. We’re talking about three to four weeks after our first date. And this wasn’t a matter of “hey, my parents are in town would you like to come to dinner?” Rather, this was “hey, I’m 400 miles from home and I’m sitting awkwardly across from your imposing, Italian father in their beautiful home.” […]

Pear, Pecorino & Chard Tartlets | Gluten Free

One of my favorite birthday gifts this year was Aran Goyaga’s cookbook Small Plates and Sweet Treats. Aran is the beautiful mastermind of the food blog  Cannelle et Vanille. It’s so gorgeous I can’t even handle it. Every single one of her photographs makes me want to jump into them, taste the food, and experience the lovely warm and bright atmosphere that she creates. She makes gluten-free food look decadent and chic. Can you tell I love her? Yes. I do. Gush, gush, gush.  She is major.

One of the recipes in the book that caught my eye immediately was her Swiss Chard, Pear & Gruyere Tart. However, true to form, I did not have a lot of what the recipe called for. My fancy gluten-free flour supply was rather low, but I did have almond meal.  I scoured the pantry and my fridge looking for other things that could make it work! You can’t stop a girl on a mission to make a tart. It’s just not possible. […]