warm farro salad // sweet potato + chickpeas

I've had this recipe in my Que and on my mind since last winter, it isn't until now that I actually got around to making it. I'm kinda sad I didn't make it sooner, It really was worth the wait.

Farro is one of those grains that I don't use often enough. Every time I use farro in a recipe I think to myself this is so good why don't I cook with farro more often...then it gets pushed back into the dark corner of the pantry forgotten until another year has passed.

almond sea salt chocolate chunk cookies

There are few things in life that I love more than chocolate chip cookies. These are by far my favorite, the added oats give you a boost of fiber and the dark chocolate sea salt almond chocolate is a game changer – these are a must make on a Sunday afternoon!

When Justin bought me my Kitchen Aide Mixer our deal was I would make him chocolate chip cookies once a week...needless to say I don't make chocolate chip cookies once a week, maybe once a month if he is lucky - making them a little less often makes us appreciate them a little more plus I am still able to fit into my jeans- that is a very good thing .

coconut oat scones // maple cinnamon glaze

I don't make scones very often, but I had a super craving for scones and a cup of tea a couple weeks ago and couldn't get the idea out of my mind. There was only one solution- makes scones! 

Keeping in theme with non dairy month, these beautiful little scones are made with Pacific's Organic Oat Milk. They turned out even better than I had imagined- you will want each and every last crumb.

coconut chai oat smoothie

Out of all the non dairy beverages out there, oat milk is totally new to me. I was taken back of amazing it tasted, truthfully I was a little apprehensive at first- oat milk? I had it stuck in my mind it was going to be gritty and grassy- boy was I wrong! Oat milk is quickly becoming a favorite - just a tad sweet and totally silky smooth, making it the perfect non dairy milk to add to my morning smoothies.

three grain kale & kumquat salad

 

I love looking back through past posts to see what I was inspired by each season - it gives me a chance to take note patterns and ingredients that I am drawn too.  For example, during the late winter, early spring I focus a lot on breakfast, hearty grain & greens based salads, spring rolls and citrus along with loads of desserts. This year you will find the same pattern in the archives; breakfast, salad, spring rolls, citrus and sweets - I may have mentioned in a recent post I'm pretty predictable. I have always thought of this time of year as very transitional relating to locally sourced food - most of our Winter Markets are closing as they need to focus their energy on the upcoming growing season, so I find myself scouring the supermarkets for seasonal fare. Citrus season is upon us and I plan to take full advantage of this beautiful season- starting with these little orange, full of happiness kumquats.

winter spelt berry salad

I kid you not, I ate this salad every single day the week I made it. This is so not a Justin Salad - way too green for his liking plus he is a strong believer that fruit (including dried cranberries) does not belong in salads, stuffing or anything savory for that matter. Considering this salad features 2 dried fruits I was prepared from the get go that I would be sole consumer of this amazingly simple yet super tasty salad- which lucky for me, tastes even better throughout the week.

multi seeded baguettes

Do you know what I love more than bread? Seeded bread! I absolutely adore all shapes, sizes and textures of bread but head over heals in love with multi seeded breads & bagels. So in love.

Bread making may seem tedious to some, but I love the motion of kneading, watching the first rise and the smell of baking bread. Baking bread  is a labor of love which involves all senses. Truthfully, it really isn't that hard to make a beautiful loaf of bread at home, just a little bit of practice and time.

pumpkin farro field roast stew

Wow, it seems like forever since my last post. Traditionally, October is an overly active month for us- between work, family events and the beautiful NH fall weather calling my name, I sadly have not found much time for blogging. Fall is one of my most favorite times of the year - whats not to love about fall? The trees show off their gorgeous jewel toned leaves, the air has a bite to it and comfort food is at its finest. At least once a week, typically on a Sunday afternoon, you will find a pot of soup, chili or stew slowly cooking away on the stove. Fall wouldn't be fall without a new pumpkin soup to share. I absolutely love using pumpkin in savory dishes - I actually prefer savory pumpkin dishes over sweet.

coconut molasses cake // fresh figs

 On a few different occasions on the blog I mention that I am in a book club. For our last session I was the host which also meant that I got to select the book we would read & discuss. After much deliberation and researching, I settled on the Kitchen House as our group read. Towards the back of the book there was a recipe for Molasses Cake. A good portion of the book takes place in the Kitchen House along with several scenes depicting large celebratory feasts both inside the "Big House" and out in the field. Throughout the book you will find Belle baking molasses cakes, after writing the book the Author and her daughter perfected what they would like think as Belle's version of molasses cake that she would bake in the book. I would like to share with you my take on this simple & humble cake- not overly sweet but makes for a nice fall treat with a cup of coffee or tea.

affogato + chocolate espresso biscotti

Affogato translates to "drowned" in Italian - affogato al cafe, meaning drowned in coffee, is a traditional Italian treat served in cafes consisting of a shot or two of hot espresso poured over vanilla or coffee ice cream. Affogatos can be dressed up in many ways; chocolate shavings, whipped cream or chocolate covered espresso beans. To me, the perfect pairing to an affogato treat would be biscotti, the famous twice baked Italian cookie. What a better way to celebrate the month of coffee than with an affogato and chocolate espresso almond biscotti. 

Join me over at Sunflower Natural Foods for the recipe!

za'atar crusted eggplant // tomato basil naan flat bread's

If you are not a fan of eggplant these just might change your mind; mind blowing good. Homemade garlic naan, vine ripened tomatoes, za'atar crusted eggplant, pesto & fresh basil, super simple and amazingly good - they were a huge hit at our book club meeting last week, of all the people, my gram loved them the most and let me tell you, she can be finicky lady when it comes to food.

blueberry crumb tart

I love all the beautiful fruits available to us in the Northeast this time of year- it is the start of blueberry season and I couldn't be happier. You can find these blue beauties everywhere from farmers markets, road side stands to mountain sides. Each year Justin and I make a special trip up one of the local mountains for early morning blueberry picking complete with a morning sunrise.

blueberry cinnamon sourdough waffles

There is nothing I love more than the morning ritual of breakfast. My breakfast routine doesn't vary greatly from week to week- breakfast at my desk during the work week,  on Saturday a quiet breakfast in the garden after a morning at the gym and a big lazy breakfast with my better half on Sunday.

With my love of breakfast, it is surprising that homemade waffles haven't been in my weekly rotation more often. The things is, I had a horrible experience/meltdown the few attempts I made at making waffles and never went  back to try again- that is until recently. My problem, come to find out was not letting the waffle iron heat up correctly, combined with rushing the cooking process lead to a disastrous waffle making experience. Once I  learned to be a bit more patient, waffles have been a great success, and that is such a good thing- it makes me very, very happy indeed.

carrot cake

I absolutely adore Carrot Cake, so does Justin. This post is a little late considering Easter was a couple weeks back. I have never been that organized of a blogger to pull together a week's worth of themed treats just before a holiday. Another reason you see many holiday posts after the actual holiday is I like to enjoy all my "themed" treats on the holiday, not weeks before. So a day late and a dollar short I present to you my contribution to the Easter Dessert Table - really though, do you need Easter as an excuse to make this cake? I didn't think so - Carrot Cake, in my book is an anytime cake to bake.

dark chocolate chip PB cookies

Justin doesn't ask for much when it comes to baking and cooking- so when he makes a special request I am more than happy to make it happen. Last week while I was testing out a raw chocolate cream pie recipe Justin had mentioned he hoped I was making cookies. Not one to say no to a cookie , a few day's later I was home bound, thanks to a Spring Snow Storm and got straight to work making cookies. 

These cookies are a combination of Justin's 2 favorite cookies -

 the peanut butter cookie & chocolate chip cookie.

As you all know peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven, like Justin and I they are simply meant for one another - the perfect pairing.

sweet or savory baguettes

 

Despite the pictures in this post not being super pretty or all that great, I still had to share. You know, how could I not share a recipe for chocolate almond stuffed baguette or the most amazing olive & artichoke stuffed baguette. Come on people - bread and chocolate? 

I think so, it would be a crime not to share this with you.

peanut butter kisses

When asked "what Christmas cookie do you like the best" Justin will respond with one of two answers - the little round sugar coated ones (noel nut rounds) or the peanut butter cookies with the Hersey kisses. I had to break the  news to him that Hersey kisses are not vegan - he responded with     " you could totally make your own!" - yeah okay, keep dreaming - Cara from Fork & Beans whipped up a batch of Kisses in February and made it look pretty simple, but I was feeling lazy plus she is pretty amazing so I opted to go with chocolate pieces. Which for the record works just as well and well, it's probably surprise but tasted exactly the same as a Hersey kiss!

jam thumbprint cookies

All it takes is a little bit of snow to get me into the holiday spirit. The first day of December broughtt with it a soft snow that fell throughout the day - it was so magical. On went the Christmas music and out came the cookie making supplies - I couldn't resist making a few batches of holiday cookies to surprise Justin with when he came home from work.

classic vanilla cake

i had the pleasure of babysitting my two nephews a few weekends ago.

it was so much fun! they are brothers and 7 years a part, it is funny to see how they interact - Aiden the youngest, he's 3 emulates everything his big brother Xavier does.

we went on a nice long hike, every rock Xavier climb, every down tree he jumped his little brother was right behind him making his way over and onto the trees and rocks....with a little help from his auntie of course.

so as a treat i decided to bake them a cake - a simple classic vanilla cake frosted blue with lots of fun sprinkles...not only did we enjoy cake but we also made popcorn on the stove and Xavier made his first, completely from scratch pizza - dough and all! i couldn't be more proud.

baked donuts // fall classics 3 ways

oh i love donuts - in moderation of course.

thankfully i have shown some self restraint when it has come to my donut making ways.

since receiving my donut pan last christmas this is only my second time making donuts.

i have noticed a trend though - when i bust out my donut pan i tend to make 3 different kinds of donuts in one fell swoop - this time around i decided i wanted to take your classic holiday pie and cake flavors and turn them into donuts - great idea right? right!

well, i thought so anyway and i am sharing with you my insanely delicious take

 on the classics -3 ways.