How To Make Coconut Butter

So, butter.

We have a history.

This weekend I was hanging out with my family, and these words were inevitably spoken to me:

“Hey, Gina! Remember how you used to sneak into the fridge and leave finger prints in the butter container?”

Yes. Yes I do. It went something like this…

I would wait until no one was in my grandparent’s kitchen. I would sneak over to the fridge and pray that the large tub of Country Crock was within my stubby-four-year-old-arm’s reach. If it was, I would sneakily remove it from its place in the fridge and bring it over to the kitchen table. Silently, I would remove the top off of the tub of butter. Eureka! I would dip my fat little fingers inside of the container and eat the butter off my hands. Carefully, I would put the top back on the container and make sure to place it back where I found it in the refrigerator. My four-year old self did not understand that I had left substantial evidence of my shenanigans behind. There were little finger divots and prints left in the butter tub. I was the only four-year-old that frequented that house. I was caught red-handed. Several times. I will also NEVER live this down. […]

Kale, Spinach & Artichoke Dip With Greek Yogurt

I have some confessions for you…
I know pretty much nothing about football, unless you count watching every season of Friday Night Lights (Clear eyes, Full Hears, Can’t Lose). I know there are touchdowns and fumbles and first downs but I cannot tell you which is which. I grew up in a football household. My parents would wear jerseys and make large volumes of guacamole for Super Bowl Sunday. I would play with my Barbie Dream House, make things with glitter, and occasionally comment on how tight all the football players wore their pants. I somehow managed to miss learning all the rules. When my father asked me if I would be watching the Super Bowl this year, I responded honestly and told him probably not. He was disgusted. How could he have gone so wrong? The 49ers were playing and I wasn’t even going to turn on the TV? Awful. So, on game day I decided to get into the spirit of things in order to not be a total disappointment to the man who raised me. I bought a lot of spinach dip and a bag of crinkle cut potato chips and ate my weight in both. Apparently getting into the spirit means me eating myself into a dip coma. […]

Homemade Nutella | Gluten & Dairy Free

Dear Nutella,

I want to put you on everything ever. You make me think that midnight snacks are a good idea. I’ve eaten too much toast in the past couple of days, mostly because it’s a vehicle to get you in my mouth. You also really shine paired with apples. Is it too forward to tell you that I actually ate a straight spoonful of you one afternoon? Forget it, I don’t care who knows it. I love you. Let’s make-out.

Faithfully yours,

Gina

Do you think I am coming on too strong? Maybe.

Well, Friends…HAPPY WORLD NUTELLA DAY! Yes, that’s a thing. I only learned about it this morning. If you want we can just ignore that this is purely dumb luck and high-five instead. […]

Feta, Chive & Greek Yogurt Biscuits | Gluten Free

Confession:

These are the first biscuits that I have ever baked. Ever.

I wasn’t raised on biscuits. In fact, we never had them in our house. We were the family with the stash of Hawaiian sweet rolls. We occasionally baked those crescent rolls that came out of a can. Does that count? Probably not. Would it make a difference if I told you that sometimes we would roll mandarin oranges up into the crescent roll dough to make them fancy? No? Ok, fine. I will stop trying to impress you with my childhood culinary prowess.  I wasn’t exactly the Doogie Howser of baking, but I had dreams.

This week I found myself craving something savory and bread-y. When I found this recipe for Joy The Baker’s Feta, Chive and Sour Cream Scones, it was game over. I knew I wanted to try to make them gluten free. What was the worst that could happen? Not much. Honestly, if you put enough butter and cheese into something it’s usually an automatic culinary win. However, there was a chance (as there always is with gluten free baking) that my buttery biscuits would end up being buttery-rock-hard-nuggets-of-terror. (Honestly, have you ever picked up a loaf of rice bread at the store? It’s heavy.Weaponry, if you will). For this reason, I added in some almond meal to keep them moist and light and then crossed my fingers. […]