I have a soft spot in my heart for rhubarb. I grew up thinking that rhubarb was extremely special and not something everyone grew (so special, in fact, that I was convinced you couldn't get new rhubarb plants.) My great-grandfather planted rhubarb many moons ago and through the years those rhubarb plants have been transferred...
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Grilled Beet, Quinoa, and Feta Salad (+ Summer Veg Grilling Inspirations)
Prepare your grills, I've got a mighty list of awesome vegetarian grilling inspiration headed your way. The temperatures are heating up which means less time in the kitchen and more time on the patio (for which I am super excited.) Don't be fooled either, grilling season is not only for the meat-eaters! Up first, this salad....
Barley, Smoked Paprika Red Potatoes, and Hard Boiled Egg
I get asked a lot what my go-to meals are and I usually stumble a bit because I don't have the most elegant answer: "bowls," I say, "Well, I don't eat bowls but I often find myself tossing a bevy of random ingredients into one and calling it a meal." Sometimes these bowls are filled...
Rye Crepes with Sorghum-Bourbon Strawberries + Ice Cream
M and I have been complete work-a-holics as of late. My excess working is primarily due to a cookbook manuscript that is nearing the deadline while M's is normal nerding and game planning. However, I made a decree that for a small amount of time on Saturday, we were going strawberry picking: a slight pause...
Spinach Salad with Avocado and Sesame Roasted Almonds
My husband and I have a game that happens when we travel around the state (or rather, I get inquisitive and he tends to shrug his shoulders and laugh at my eagerness.) I have a rather big fascination with the farms in California. We drive through the country side and I'm constantly trying to figure...
Polenta with Peas, Fennel, and Almonds
Yesterday I had, what could only be called, a meltdown. I needed to head out to the store to stock up for a week of recipe making/photographing and instead, I sat frozen at the dining room table thinking through all the things I needed to get done. Finally, with tears in my eyes, I found...
Bourbon Banana French Toast with Walnuts
Mother's day is coming and this year I've added even more mother's who inspire me. I talk a lot about my mother and grandmothers who have always been a constant source of inspiration throughout my life and now I have a loving mother-in-law along with two wonderful sister-in-laws. I also have friends who constantly show me what it's...
Grilled Asparagus Orzo Pasta
One of the things I miss about the midwest is the slow transition into spring. I know I've been showing (flaunting) all the wonderful weather in California but coming home to Illinois for a few days made me realize how much I appreciate the renewal season a bit more when it comes on the heals...
Honey Custard with Roasted Strawberries
With all the chaos and businesses that is happening right now, I'm packing and heading back to Illinois today. My uncle turned 70 yesterday and my grandmother planned a large family dinner, one of the first I'd be missing since I moved. While I love California, one of the hardest things still has been being...
Caramelized Onion, Mustard, and Cheese Toast (with pickles)
When M first took the job in California, I was excited but also slightly heart-broken. For the longest time I had my eyes set on moving to Colorado. I love the Rockies and there are so many parts that already feel like a home. But plans change and I ended up in Sacramento. Truth is,...
Harissa and Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Over the weekend I headed to the store to grab a few small items for the garden and I came home with a car brimming with new plants: zucchini and summer squash plants along with a few herbs, flowers (learned my lesson last year- no bees!), and an avocado tree. Yes, an avocado tree (dwarf-perfect...
Grilled Endives with Lentils
For the past few days, it has been raining here in Northern California (thankfully). I've been holed up in the house reading and planning out new recipes. (I know–so exciting!) However, a break in the rain happened over the weekend I took the dog for a nice walk only to realize that somewhere in the...
Collard Quinoa Salad
This is going to be another quick post. I was supposed to go see the ortho doctor but thanks to a misplaced disc of x-rays, I am still in a cast through my elbow and typing is a pain (I just started using text dictation, which is a hoot but not helping fully.) This salad...
Three Citrus French Toast
I had grand plans for this post to tell you about this french toast, snowboarding, and a couple of awesome spots I hit while visiting a friend in Orange County but most of that will have to wait. I broke my dominate wrist last Thursday and while I'm trying to not let it slow me...
Black Bean Tostadas with Avocado Salad
When it comes to food, I'm a texture kind of person. Part of the reason I'm not a huge fan of tofu and mushrooms is because I can't get around the texture (I've tried, numerous times, especially with mushrooms.) My favorite texture, however, is anything that has a bit of crispness to it. As a...
Sesame Roasted Turnips & Barley
In the past, my winter recipes have been all about sweet potatoes (don't worry, I still love sweet potatoes.) However, I've been completely enamored with root vegetables this season. Celeriac, parsnips, turnips, and rutabagas have been on the top of my list (I'm currently loving rutabagas, lots of rutabagas!) It would seem that a lot...
Harissa Lentils and Cauliflower
I have a quick post for you today. I'm trying to cram five days of work into three days this week so that I can celebrate my birthday properly: one day of snowboarding and one day of hanging out with my husband. We've finally got a dose of winter and in the past week the...
BBQ Blue Cheese Lentil "Meat"balls
This post could be considered late. I actually had these meatballs in mind for holiday parties (but that didn't happen) and then I thought for sure I'd get this recipe up before the Super Bowl (turns out, it's February already.) So instead, I'm sharing these with you today but that's okay because I eat these...
Garlic Spinach, Millet, and Eggs
Over the next few months, I'm going to push more towards simple recipes that are made with 1-2 seasonal items and using my pantry as a guide for inspiration. I've spent a lot of time building sections for using bulk bins and seasonal produce (both still continuing to get updates) and I'm hoping to share...
Quinoa White Bean Stew
In my patio garden, I've killed a few things so far. I forgot to move the basil inside and the first frost of the season wiped it out in one night. The next to go was the sage (killed and started again, only to be killed again), and cilantro (my dog ate the entire pot-...
Cumin Braised Carrots and Chickpeas
Sometimes my laziness leads to some awesome meals. If I had my way, every day I would eat roasted vegetables with a handful of grains and a healthy dollop of hummus. All that needs done is tossing a few chopped vegetables in a roasting dish and waiting for roughly 30 minutes. This meal would fall...
Avocado Salad with Chickpeas
In the spirit of warmer winter weather, I made a hearty and quick avocado salad. One of the most popular recipes on this site is a simple chickpea/avocado salad (also, good example of how far my photography has come!) I thought I would update it a bit with a couple of additions and tweaks to...
Weekend Vegetarian Brunch Recipes
Creamy Millet Porridge with Roasted Strawberries Gouda Millet Bake After reading this and this article, I've been starting to reevaluate my "busy." So, here is a little weekend inspiration to step back from "busy" and jump into the kitchen with a hot cup of coffee. These are a few of my favorite vegetarian brunch worthy...
Maple Cinnamon Roasted Acorn Squash
This recipe is a lovely treat for fall. It's simple and low maintenance- squash and a bit of heavy cream baked together. This could be a side but I see this much more as a dessert. The maple/cream combo caramelizes the edges while the remaining heavy cream collects in the bottom well of the squash....
Chipotle Sweet Potato and Brown Rice Egg Skillet
When I first started eating vegetarian, one of the things I noticed right away was the lack of flavor restaurants would use in their vegetarian options. It was almost as if vegetarian was synonymous with: "oh you don't eat meat? That must mean you want a big pile of vegetables with nothing else or pasta,...
Millet Porridge with Lemon Curd and Sunflower Seeds
[/ba-column] Post will be short and sweet from here until the new year. I know many people are wading through piles of cookies and planning holiday dinners but life has been pretty normal around here. M and I headed down to San Francisco last weekend to finish up (aka- start and complete) our shopping and...
Three-Grain Maple Granola
I'm popping in for a short recipe for granola (and then running around to finish 100+ things before the holiday is here!) It is identical to my favorite maple-pecan granola with one change: different grains. I love keeping a handful of flakes from different grains on hand. Quite often, the flakes are still consider a...
Cornbread Pancakes with Maple-Lemon Curd
There are two things that came together to make these pancakes: my love of all things cornbread and the fact that I now live in a state that has a citrus season. The latter statement has been a dream of mine, one frankly I never thought would come true. While my dreams of having a...
Melt In Your Mouth Cookies
[ba-column size="one-half" last="0"][/ba-column] [ba-column size="one-half" last="1"][/ba-column] I'm popping in today to share a cookie recipe that I recently wrote as a guest post for the Food & Wine blog. It's easy to get inundated with cookies and sweets this time of a year, but I couldn't help but sharing this recipe. My family has quite...
Whipped Sweet Potato Goat Cheese Crostini
I've recently turned to being more of a savory person and so I thought these sweet potato crostini would be the perfect appetizer for your holiday party (or if your me, lunch). The crostini is fairly quick to throw together and packs such a lovely flavor. If you aren't a goat cheese fan (I admit,...
DIY Gift: Homemade Spice Blends
I really love DIY gifts, especially when done well. I think there is something a bit more soulful when the gift is crafted rather than pulled off a shelf at the last minute. I've done DIY gifts for years but this will be the first year that I'm sharing! After I did a spice blend/recipes...
Homemade Veggie Burger with Brown Rice, Oat, and Nuts
I understand that the eternal quest for the veggie burger is to find one that doesn't fall apart but I think you might be missing out. Sure, this burger might fall apart while you are eating but the flavors are not to be missed. This burger is an imitation of my favorite veggie burger from...
Vegetarian Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
I am a mac and cheese fiend-it's my comfort dish. I have hit and miss memories on food and childhood but I do remember watching my mother make mac and cheese. She didn't use a recipe (and still doesn't) but makes the simplest, but amazing, mac and cheese. So amazing that every time I've tried...
Buffalo Lentil "Meatball" Sandwich
I love lentil bites. They are super easy to make, freeze well for later, and can be eaten alone, with pasta, or as a sandwich (like this one!) I occasionally whip up a variation of lentil meatballs but for this sandwich, I followed Sara's recipe. The result is a moist meatball that soaks up the...
Vegetarian Chili Cheese Fries
I think when discussing the move from fast food/junk food to whole foods, one major discussion is left out: how unbelievably hard it can be to leave the junk behind. I still crave fried food (my serious downfall are onion rings and fried cauliflower) and I may or may not have eaten a doughnut or...
Fall Cornbread Panzanella Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette
The title that was too long but actually describes the salad: Roasted Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Cornbread Panzanella Salad with Blue Cheese and a Maple Mustard Vinaigrette. A bit wordy, huh? I've been staring at Laura's many awesome panzanella salads (I think she's the queen of these salads) and then I saw Ashley post...
Chickpea Salad Sandwich with Blue Cheese and Grapes
Last Saturday can only be labeled as "the day of the breakdown." I had just come from two long, awesome days at a conference and woke up Saturday on the wrong side of the bed. I cried, bawled, and threatened to stay in bed all day. It was horrible and it was mainly because of...
Tomatillo Dressing (+ site updates)
This dressing is simple and a fun take on a vinaigrette. I've seen tomatillos all over the farmers market and I've been itching to start playing with them outside of salsa. This dressing pairs well with grilled vegetables and all kinds of greens! I whipped up a charred corn and kale salad to go along...
Cardamom Hazelnut Granola
I'll start by saying these aren't the original photos for this post. I am a notorious photo hoarder and am known for not deleting photos of my flash card until I'm very sure I have all the photos safely on my hard drive. And yet, on Wednesday, I wiped that card clean only to realized...
New Series | Base Recipe: Frittata
In the upcoming weeks, you may notice some changes (big and small) around the site. I'm making it easier to find recipes, updating the resource sections to include a bit more information, and cleaning up the site so that it's easy to use across devices. During this process, I'm also introducing a few new series/features...