Double Dark Chocolate Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread

Sometimes you need chocolate, and you need that chocolate exactly NOW.
Yesterday, that chocolate monster was me. It was probably a red flag when I got onto Twitter in the afternoon and tweeted awkwardly about how badly I wanted a milkshake. Actually, I’m pretty sure I phrased it “The things I would do for a milkshake right about now…” or something to that effect. You shouldn’t tweet things like that. It invites people to send you weirdly inappropriate messages questioning just how far you really would go for that milkshake. It then makes you realize all of the things you WOULDN’T do for a milkshake. There are lots of things I absolutely WOULD NOT DO for a milkshake. Ever. That list is long! I mean, I really like milkshakes, but a girl has standards!
After deciding it would be the best of moves to get off of the internet promptly, I started to dream about a hunk of dark baking chocolate I had in my pantry. I walked over to the pantry and held it in my hands. I unwrapped the corners and thought seriously about just digging in. No one would know. I was alone. No. No, Gina. Have some self control. We will bake something. Get the corner of that pound of baking chocolate out of your mouth. Be a lady. My conscience can be a real downer.
After some consideration, I decided that we should take some zucchini bread and make it chocolate-y. Oh, and then throw some coarsely chopped dark chocolate in the batter to create pockets of melt-y pure-chocolate goodness. YES!!! […]

Broccoli & Apple Quick Slaw

My life has felt pretty full lately.
On one hand, it is wonderful. I’ve been working hard doing the things I love to do. I pretty much get to take pictures for a living. I get to put words to paper. I get to meet lots of new people and forge new connections. I get to use my hands to create things. I also get the chance to come here and chat with you and share my unbridled enthusiasm about smoothies and shoving things in a crock pot. Chatting with you is one of my favorite things. I feel pretty darn lucky.
On the other hand…
The dishes occasionally get piled a little higher than I would like. The number of emails in my inbox seem to be staring at me funny. The mountain of laundry is intimidating and something I would rather nap in than fully tackle. I have a brand new David Sedaris book that seems to be stuck in rabbit ears around page 12. The amount of scrap paper and weird Amazon packaging that seems to have accumulated in my office could be considered light hoarding. Seriously, as I type this, I am sitting in close proximity to: Magazines, duct tape, three cardboard boxes, poster board, a water color painting of  Justin Bieber as a polar bear, scotch tape, unsorted mail, and about three different camera bags that look like they have all exploded. This is real life.
I am sure you get this. Maybe you’re sitting around less debris. I should really get rid of these boxes. It’s another level. […]

Exciting News! I Am Contributing To The Kitchn!

So, I’ve got some news!

It’s good news.

It’s not quite “OMG, they’ve figured out how to make Polar Bears want to be best friends with humans!” news (even though I think about that almost every day of my life). This news is more on par with “Holy Heck! That is the coolest. Let’s high-five and clink glasses and dance enthusiastically like nobody is watching!” Let’s do all of those things!

Perhaps you follow me on Facebook, and have already heard me shouting my news from the rooftops. Maybe you already follow me on Twitter, and have already read my 140 character happy dance! Wait, we aren’t Facebook friends? Let’s fix that. We aren’t twitter buddies? Weird.  I want to hang out with you.

So, all of you savvy food lovers probably already know about the awesomely informative website, The Kitchn!  If not, you must go there posthaste. It is the food loving sister site of the design haven Apartment Therapy. Have you not been there either? Seriously. Go check it out. You will be inspired!  Plus, you have an even better excuse to head over to The Kitchn, now that your girl has been brought on as part of the team! That’s right, Friends! I am super excited to be one of their new tour contributors! This is a really fun part of the site! I get to go into people’s homes and explore their kitchen space! I then get to sit and chat with them about what inspires them as far as their cooking style and their living space. It’s a really fun excuse to peek into someone’s spice cabinets. Wait did I just say that? Weird. Like you weren’t thinking it. […]

Strawberry & Rhubarb Crumble {Gluten-Free}

When you have a friend (who happens to be a chef) and he’s in town cooking an awesome feast, you hop in your car and make your way to where he is. Immediately. This is a rule. It doesn’t hurt if the location of this get together is right on a river. Things tend to taste better with a view. Total rule.
When you have a friend (who happens to be a chef) and he trusts you to bring a dessert to said feast, it’s OK to use more than a stick of butter in your dessert recipe. This is also a rule. Go with it.
Is it time for a photo montage? Why not.
Here we have Peter carrying our sixty pound Golden Retriever up two flights of stairs. She was scared to climb them because she could see through the wooden slats. Next up is a picture of myself right next to a picture of sangria. Is this a coincidence? Probably not. Sangria was imbibed. It’s rather relaxing to have a glass (real talk: four glasses) of sangria by the river. Believe it. […]