Kale Salad With Apricots & Pecorino

I’m back. I missed you (like WOAH). And yes, Monday is about to get real delicious.

Kale. We like it around here. I’ve been known to put it in a thing or two  twenty. We have juiced it. We have topped our Shepherds Pie with it. We most definitely sauteed it up in a quiche. Oh, and let’s not forget the time we put it in some dip! We’ve also been down the kale salad path a time or two before. Should we talk about this Kale Caesar? How about this salad with Creamy Almond Dressing?

Clearly, I can’t help myself. I see those leafy greens and my mind starts turning. I crave this stuff.

I suppose I could make much worse decisions…

Do you sense a weekend montage coming up? Of course you do. It’s like we’ve met before.

I spent my Saturday drinking margaritas with new friends followed by a bottle of red wine with dessert (Ooomph–who do I think I am?). It was one of those decisions you could see unfolding poorly, yet are just too wrapped up in merriment and the happy buzzing of new friendship, that you find your mouth moving and forming the words “SURE, I would LOVE another glass of red!” Good times. The next morning was rough. I found myself at Whole Foods cruising the aisles looking for something, anything, with the words “probiotics” and “ginger” in them. I also found myself cruising the aisles of Trader Joes only to find a box of gluten-free Oreos. Let’s just say, decisions were made. I paid a price. The end. Lessons were learned and unlearned over a sleeve of cookies. No one is perfect. […]

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. […]

Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats | Virtual Dinner Party!

Hey there, Polar Bears!

Today you can find me guest posting over at The Lucky Penny!

I’m throwing one heck of a virtual dinner party. By that, I mean I’m going to cook you enchiladas and make sure you have a drink in your hand at all times. Yup. I’ve got your back.

There will be talks of […]