About Gina Marie

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So far Gina Marie has created 328 blog entries.

Pumpkin Polenta With Browned Butter & Sage | Guest Post From The Pig & Quill

I want to introduce you all to my lovely friend Emily! She writes the witty and oh-so-delicious blog The Pig & Quill. I dare you to go to her page and not drool all over your computer screen. Seriously. Do it.  Now excuse me while I go and try to figure out a way to take a bath in this polenta! 

Hi friends! Emily here. First off, so many thanks to that funny lady ya’ll like so much, Gina, for having me over to her place. Isn’t she great? All this talk about sometimes wearing pants and polar bears that can use the phone – and homegirl knows how to milk a nut, just saying.

Over at my usual digs, I do a little bit of clean cooking dirtied up with the occasional side of pig, young adult novel references and 90’s dance tracks, but today I’m here whipping up a gluten-free ditty that’ll feel right at home on your supper table come this holiday season.

My weekend started with a trip to Trader Joe’s, which, it turns out, is going GANGBUSTERS with pumpkin stuff. Cake mix to the left, ice cream to the right – all sporting big, imaginary “PIN IT” buttons (Arby’s Hat-style, of course), because if there’s one thing Pinterest has taught me to love, it’s Oreos melted cheese mason jars pumpkin. […]

Spinach & Pepita Pesto {Gluten-Free, Vegan & Paleo Option}

I came to my computer this morning with every intention of writing you a fantastic post on pesto. Fast forward thirty minutes… I am staring semi-blankly at my computer screen a step away from drooling. I look down and a big-ugly-flying bug has committed suicide in my smoothie. Is this an omen? Yikes. At least my Monday is going slightly better than Mr. Ugly Bug’s. I could be face down somewhere  in a liquid vat of coconut milk and greens. Rough.
I message my husband on G-chat. I complain that the hamster in my brain refuses to jog. The wheel is not turning. I need some pesto inspiration. I ask him for some thoughtful words on pesto. He responds with a factual “It’s green”. This is going well. I ask him if he has anymore slightly less literal thoughts on the subject, to which he confesses “No idea. I barely understand it.” His hamster is tired too. I get it. Pesto can be kind of mysterious. I’m gonna help you all demystify it. […]

Pumpkin Spice Cashew Milk {Gluten-Free, Vegan & Paleo}

The last time I made you nut milk, I made a lot of really bad jokes. I can’t help myself. I’m the girl that still chuckles at the word “nuts”. Nice to meet you. If you add the word” milk” after the word “nut”, I cannot keep a straight face. I’ve tossed around a few other title ideas such as “nut juice” or “creme de nuts” or “sexy pumpkin’ nut juice”. Oh, Lawdy. This is not getting any better. It’s getting much, much worse.  I will try to contain myself this post, but really… I make you no promises. It’s already gone to a strange place. My writing brain has kind of gone off the rails this week. Need I direct you to this Killer Pumpkin Granola post where I used shoddy storytelling to personify Pumpkin Pie Spice and her elicit (yet tender) love affair with Pumpkin Puree? Spoiler alert— they end up getting married in a ceremony performed by their mutual friend, Oats. Weird. So weird. […]

One-Pan Crispy Chicken Legs & Brussels Sprouts {Gluten-Free & Paleo}

Brussels sprouts, oh how I love thee. It’s taken us a long time to get here, but I’m so glad we did.
When I was a kid, I was fairly certain Brussels sprouts were evil. These were clearly tiny cabbages made of nightmares, sent here to earth by aliens  in order to slowly poison us humans (I’ve always has a slight flare for the dramatic). It’s not that my parents were forcing me to eat them. Quite the contrary. We never ate sprouts at home, ever. I think my parents were also skeptical that these lil’ veggies weren’t indeed just the devil neatly disguised in a tiny cabbage suit. If my mom (the Lima Bean Pusher) was skeptical of a vegetable, I was pretty sure it must be  heinous. The only time I had fully experienced the Brussels sprout was through a friend. I was staying the night at friends house, and her mother insisted I eat my vegetables before I left the table. I thought, sure. Fine. I love veggies. This should be no big deal. And, then it happened. A slotted spoon emerged from a pot of lightly stained green liquid. A mushy pile of lifeless sprouts made a sad little mountain on my plate. These sprouts were boiled to disaster. They were bitter and mushy. I had entered into my own nightmare, and the only way out was with hasty large bites and a lot of water. Awful.  […]