Be My Valentine | The Let’s Get Romantic Recipe Round-Up!

Holy Cupid! It’s totally almost Valentines Day. I know this because my calendar is telling me it’s February. I’m totally on top of things. Don’t worry (okay, maybe worry a little).  I feel like I am losing track of time and space, but that’s nothing new.

Have you ever noticed how polarizing this time of year is? There’s that awkward divide between the people clamoring to get into a schmancy restaurant with an expensive prefixed menu and the slightly bitter people who feel like going out and throwing old crusty sandwiches at anyone who dares play a little tonsil hockey in front of them. Boom. Did you just grab that girls butt? You get this old pastrami right in the face. I totally get it. I’ve been on both sides of this holiday. Not that I ever chucked sandwiches… but, I’m not going to say it’s never crossed my mind. Now, as a boring-but-kind-of-in-a-charming-way-married-person, I kind of fall somewhere in the middle. It gives me an excuse to write my husband a love letter (not that I should need one) while also capitalizing on the sale of both steak and lobster. We literally call it Steak and Lobster Day. I find this to be way more exciting than a bunch of roses or even one of those singing teddy bears. Feed me some turf with a side of surf and that speaks to my heart. Is that a fillet? Let’s makeout. […]

Slow-Cooker Beef Brisket With Bourbon BBQ Sauce {Gluten-Free & Paleo}

So, remember last week when we did our virtual rain dance while chowing down on these scones? Well, IT WORKED! As I’m writing this, the skies are stormy and the raindrops are pounding rhythmically off of my roof. There are puddles. I should know. Emma jumped in one earlier. This is one of the hazards of Golden Retriever ownership. That whole “I’m a water dog” thing? Yeah, that runs deeps. Instincts are real. Where Emma’s instincts are to throw herself into puddles and try to hurl her body into my bubble bath (yes, while I’m inside of it–it’s alarming to see a vivacious sixty-five pound creature running at you full tilt while you are naked in a confined body of water–trust me), my human instincts are telling me to cook something warm. Take a hunk of beef. Put it in a slow cooker. Take a nap. Watch a movie. Wear a chunky sweater. Meditate on the sound of the rain. Be cozy. Put on some jazz music. Pour yourself some tea. Did some bourbon slip itself into that cup of tea? Whoa. Sneaky. […]

Greek Salad-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes {Primal, Vegetarian, Vegan & Paleo Option}

We are young. Lunchbox to lunchbox we stand. Sick of my sandwich with ham. Lunch is a battlefield. We are strong. This sad cup of soup just feels wrong. Been in my lunch-rut too long. Both of us knowing… Lunch is a battlefield. 

So. That happened. Somewhere Pat Benatar is rolling her eyes. Either that, or she’s applauding my rendition of her song and thanking me for saying the words that she’s always wanted to say. “You know, Gina… it’s easy to write a song about love, but no one tackles the hard hitting emotional issue that is LUNCH. Thank you.” These are the words I imagine Pat saying to me. She’s rolling her eyes, isn’t she? Yeah. Probably that. […]

Grain-Free Chocolate & Orange Scones

It’s been unseasonably warm here in California.

I know, you’re probably rolling your eyes and about to bite my head off about snow and ice and wool socks and one very real Polar Vortex. I get it. It’s obnoxious that it’s warm-ish here. I know I’m supposed to be all brag-a-saurus about how I’ve been getting away with the occasional tank-top or how there isn’t a cloud in the sky today. It’s sunny. Like really sunny. Like “the sun is streaming in through my window as I type this and assaulting my computer screen and giving off a terrible glare” kind of sunny. But, I’m just not that jazzed about it. The usually lush hills surrounding my home look thirsty and haggard. It’s surpassed the awesomely golden shade they turn in summer. It’s just dead. Everything is an even shade of brown. What’s the opposite of a Polar Vortex? Because this feels like that. Dry. Drought-y. Calm. Thirsty. […]