Paleo Minestrone Soup With Italian Pork Meatballs + Some Words On Moving Through Difficult Times

I think I’ve been avoiding words.

For months I have been making eyes with a very shut computer, unable to crack the lid of my laptop and type. I’ve buried myself deep into distractions, watching the hours count down, watching the sun go down, waiting for inspiration, waiting to feel like I’ve something to say. Days slipped by as I felt unsettled and restless. Why can’t I write? I would move my body into the kitchen and go through the cupboards, trying to find some inspiration there. Just make something–a nudging whisper from my internal voice, barely audible.  […]

Honest Whole 30 Recap, Week Two + Raw Zucchini Ribbon Salad With Tomatoes, Basil & Olives

Alright, folks! It’s already been a week since the Honest Whole 30 Recap, Week One!

If you didn’t catch that post, you can read it here. I get into what the Whole 30 is, explore the creepy term “sex with your pants on” in relationship to cauliflower pizza, explain why I am not crazy-militant with myself,  and how I accidentally ended up drinking all the bourbon. Oh, and no… just in case you’re wondering bourbon is not on the approved Whole 30 list of foods. Whoops. But hey, we’re keeping it real.

So, today I get to share with you the nitty-gritty of the second week along with a super simple recipe for this zucchini ribbon salad. See that picture? I put all of that in my face. All of it. I photographed it with two plates to make it look like I was a dainty lady– and that I wasn’t the only person hoovering a salad built for four into my singular gaping pie-hole.

Sometimes you just need to eat all the veggies, because you can’t eat all the chocolate. Also, when in doubt… spiralize all the veggies. It just makes things fun. I don’t have the scientific proof, but I’m pretty sure there is some sort of study somewhere by some guy who likes to do studies which states that eating zucchini in its spiralized form is 110 % more fun then eating “regular” zucchini. Also, I might have just made that up. […]

Spaghetti Squash Pesto Pasta With Chard & Sun Dried Tomatoes {Gluten-Free, Paleo & Vegan Option}

Have you ever tried to recreate a food memory? We all have them, right? Things that were simmering or baking during significant moments in our lives. Certain dishes that remind us of someone or something special. They can also go the other way on you… for example, I will most likely never again put a Sun Chip in my mouth — Thank you windy road to the beach for all the memories #nope.
When I was making this dish, I wanted to recreate what I ordered on my first date with my husband. The smell of pesto always brings me back to that evening. I wore a denim skirt that in hindsight was gloriously too short. He wore a button down that looked just like the checkered table cloths at the Italian restaurant. He was nervous. He wiped his mouth incessantly with his napkin. We joked. We laughed. Our waitress was totally drunk and boisterously exclaimed “You’re such a beautiful couple! When’s the wedding?!” Perfect for a first date. After the date, I asked him if he wanted to come over and meet my cat, Gunther. Smooth, right?  I made out with his face. The rest is history. Some might consider Gunther our Yenta (Fiddler On The Roof reference, anyone? )  Classic love story, right? Totally.  […]

Lentil Soup With Lemon Yogurt Cream

As long as I can remember I have been a fan of lentil soup.

When I was younger I would heat up a can of Progresso, cook pasta shells in it, and then proceed to dump at least a quarter-bottle of grated Parmesan into the mix. This is not an exaggeration. You know how the bottle has two settings? One of them is the sensible trio of holes that will simply dust your food with a socially acceptable amount of cheese, the other is one gaping hole that is intended for quick and sudden evacuation for large amounts of cheese. I used the gaping hole side. This dish is what my Italian father dubbed “Pasta Fazool.” It was simple and tasty and I am sure that our Great Italian Grandmother is rolling over in her grave somewhere at the thought of us using canned soup and buckets of pre-grated Parm.

For a long time this satisfied me. Opening up cans, dumping the contents, saturating the finished product with buckets of gritty cheese. This got me through most of college… along with a suspicious amount of turkey sandwiches and vodka. Then, one year I got bit by the soup bug. I am sure this was during the first year that I started teaching. I was constantly sick. I started making soup from scratch and it was a revelation. I experimented with everything from chicken noodle, beef stew, chicken and rice, spicy sausage soup with spinach and of course lentil. […]