Hazelnut Romesco Sauce Toast with Ricotta & Cauliflower

09.19.18

Hazelnut romesco sauce is one of the easiest ways to punch flavor into a dish and it’s as versatile as it is quick. Spread on toast with roasted cauliflower, the mildly sweet creaminess of fresh ricotta balances the smokiness of the romesco sauce for a flavorful easy lunch!

This hazelnut romesco sauce toast topped with ricotta and cauliflower is giving me so much life right now as I figure out this new world as a mom of two and where sleep fits in. Sometimes we’re hard on ourselves as parents. As moms. Our kid won’t share or throws a tantrum in public and it’s a reflection on us, which is magnified because we’re EXHAUSTED and how could we possibly do anything more? But then, sometimes, that same kid eats cauliflower. Nay, asks for cauliflower and at least you’ve done something right.

[1 Comment]

Chamomile Blackberry Ice Cream

09.10.18

This chamomile blackberry ice cream recipe has a floral chamomile-infused cream base with a sweet blackberry compote swirled throughout. It’s a creamy herbal berry ice cream with notes of honey and vanilla.

Even though folks all over are heading back to school, summer’s not quite over yet. As far as seasonality goes, ice cream temperatures are actually just beginning to peak here in the Bay Area! There’s still plenty of time for homemade ice cream, which will probably help soften the ease back into a school-time routine anyhow, right?

With our tiny babes, we don’t have “back-to-school” in our house just yet, but Lucas heads back to work after his two-month paternity leave on the Monday after the official last day of summer. It took us until last week to make our way through our new-baby prep freezer dinners to clear out space for the ice cream maker bowl, which seems like a sign. I plan to make sure we’ve got plenty of homemade ice cream on hand to get us through the transition. We’ll have crazy days and share berry ice cream together at night.

We’re just in time to take advantage of blackberry season and freeze up a batch of this chamomile blackberry ice cream. This floral berry ice cream is made in partnership with Driscoll’s and The Feed Feed using my favorite late summer bramble berry!

[5 Comments]

Poppy Seed Almond Flour Muffins with Peaches

08.27.18

This almond flour muffin recipe uses oat flour for a healthy gluten-free muffin base that can be easily adapted! This variation combines crunchy almonds, poppy seeds, and sweet summer peaches. These poppy seed almond flour muffins with peaches make a quick breakfast with loads of texture and flavor.

With both a toddler and an infant in the mix, I need to keep a supply of grab-able options handy if I want to feed myself breakfast before noon. A batch of these poppy seed almond flour muffins with peaches do the trick. The day we got home from the hospital with Ira last month, a neighbor brought over a batch of homemade gluten-free muffins. Those muffins gave us fuel early in the morning and while rocking the baby in the middle of the night for a solid week. While I’ve always shown up to meet a friend’s new baby with a tray of mac and cheese or lasagna, I might adjust that now. Freshly baked muffins make an excellent gift for new parents. A lightly sweetened muffin treat can do wonders for sleep deprivation.

[6 Comments]

Gluten-Free Pizza Crust, Brazilian Cheese Bread Style

08.20.18

This gluten-free pizza crust recipe is brown and crispy on the outside with the classic chewy pizza texture inside. Made from a few-ingredient cheesy tapioca flour dough inspired by Brazilian cheese bread, this gluten-free pizza dough is fast and easy for pizza night at home!

Our two year old is on the extreme end of stubborn and persistent. Even still, we’ve managed to guide a toddler with a very limited diet into becoming one who eats vegetables for dinner every night and only has a few foods she actively hates (looking at you, avocado). We were on top of our parenting game…until I almost ruined pizza for her last week. I served a chickpea socca flatbread covered with cheese and veggies for dinner one night and called it pizza. It’s all about optics with toddlers; she’ll eat blistered green beans if I call them “bean fries” and offer ketchup. She took one bite of that chickpea (not-pizza) pizza and spit it right out with tears about how she doesn’t like pizza anymore.

Oops.

[8 Comments]

Burmese Style Vegan Coconut Curry with Cauliflower & Baby Ira Quinn’s Homecoming

08.06.18

A Burmese style vegan coconut curry recipe with mushrooms, cauliflower, and spinach. Serve this coconut curry over sweet coconut rice for a bright and refreshing comfort dish great for any season!

This vegan coconut curry recipe is inspired by my favorite dish at Teni East Kitchen – a Burmese restaurant we frequent in Oakland. The same dish I drove 25 minutes for on two different occasions try to induce labor a couple weeks ago. Spoiler alert: Our chunky baby boy finally came barreling into our lives two weeks ago – just 2 days past his due date. Making us a (very tired) family of four, Ira Quinn joined us on July 26th at 3:06am, weighing 9lbs 1oz and measuring 21 inches long. Here’s the story of the day I went into labor and the role this vegan coconut curry played.

[10 Comments]

Flourless Chocolate Chunk Almond Butter Cookie Bars

07.23.18

With just a few ingredients, these quick and easy flourless chocolate chunk almond butter cookie bars are soft and chewy with crunchy dry roasted almonds studded throughout!

I expected this post to have a very different tone. I expected to have a brand new snuggly, cookie-dough smelling baby in my arms while I told you all about my favorite midnight treat. (Hint: it’s these flourless chocolate chunk almond butter cookie bars.) But despite my best efforts to woo baby boy out of my belly and into the world this week, he’s made it very clear that he’s in charge. To be fair, he’s got one more day before his due date, but I’m very ready.

[5 Comments]

Triple Berry Pie with Gluten-free Cardamom Crust

07.17.18

A triple berry pie wrapped up in an ultra-flaky flavorful gluten-free crust laced with vanilla and cardamom. Perfect for summer’s fresh ripe fruit and just as good in the winter with a bag of your favorite frozen berries! Best served with vanilla ice cream on top!

Our 2 year old has never eaten pie before (Before now, that is). Yet somehow, when Zoella came home from daycare last week and saw this lattice crusted triple berry pie sitting on the counter in the far corner of the kitchen, her eyes lit up as she asked “is that dessert, mama?” I’m still baffled by the phenomenon in which early eaters instinctively know what dessert looks like and that everything green is to be approached with caution. Most obvious explanation: humans are hardwired to eat pie.

This triple berry pie with a gluten-free cardamom crust is the fifth recipe in my year-long partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. First we ate chamomile oat waffles, followed by matcha macarons with mango buttercream, then buckwheat crepes with roasted cherries & chocolate, and brown sugar peach crumble. Now let’s do what we were born to do and eat pie together!

[6 Comments]

Blueberry London Fog Popsicles

07.05.18

These blueberry london fog popsicles combine vanilla bean earl grey tea latte with sweet honey blueberry compote into a dreamy creamy popsicle vibrant in color and flavor.

The closer I get to my due date, the clumsier I become in the kitchen. A day doesn’t go by when I don’t splatter a vibrantly colored sauce or compote across the room or drop toast in the counter gap next to the fridge. These blueberry london fog popsicles nearly dyed my curtains. I write this as I notice the sun shining through a splash of egg yolk I apparently forgot to clean off the windows two days ago. Blame it on my balance. This round belly interfering with all things cooking related (and photography/tripod related too, for that matter).

[6 Comments]

Gluten-Free Brown Sugar Peach Crumble

06.24.18

This gluten-free brown sugar peach crumble make a quick crowd-pleasing summer dessert. Warm caramelized brown sugar peaches topped with a vanilla-scented almond flour and oat crumble reminiscent of shortbread. Don’t forget the scoop of vanilla ice cream to melty on top!

As we head into the slow-down days of summer, I can’t figure out if my longing for vacation is because it’s that time of year or because I’m just plain tired from being 36 weeks pregnant. Probably both. I’d like to take the next 4 weeks to just entertain friends in the backyard sun with iced tea, grilling, and this gluten-free brown sugar peach crumble – while the tots splash in the kiddie pool.

This peach crumble is the fourth recipe in my year-long partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. First we ate chamomile oat waffles, followed by matcha macarons with mango buttercream, then buckwheat crepes with roasted cherries & chocolate, and now we’re diving into summer with this brown sugar peach crumble. It’s time to invite your friends over for a backyard bash.

[9 Comments]