Last updated on April 8th, 2019 We’re 7 months into this whole parenting gig and we’ve learned a lot. Not least of which is that as long as you have tortillas, you can generally always make tacos out of the contents of your fridge. These mole-spiced chickpea and grilled zucchini tacos are just that. Though, I have been day dreaming about…
Vegetarian
Ricotta Tomato Tart with Gluten-free Cornmeal Crust & Arugula Walnut Pesto
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Does anyone else get severe produce anxiety? As much as I like the idea of a CSA, it hardcore stresses me out. Suddenly a crate full of arugula and what if I don’t have time to eat the arugula before the edges wilt and the whole bag gets slimy? What happens if…
Eggplant and Zucchini Caponata with Burrata
Last updated on August 2nd, 2019 I didn’t grow up in a house with an alarm system. On the contrary, we left windows open all night, doors unlocked, and our friends didn’t knock. But once you’ve had something stolen from you – like say, your wallet and social security card right out of your backpack your first week…
Mint Jicama Cantaloupe Salad with Toasted Pepitas
Last updated on June 10th, 2019 I’m chopping up this mint jicama cantaloupe salad while practicing my breathing. The world said goodbye to a magic maker last week – unexpectedly too early. Two, actually. Just two weeks ago, I woke up to a group message to the 2007 cast of The Ash Girl. It was our former director letting us know…
Berry, Herb, & Cheese Toast Bites – Two Ways
Last updated on July 14th, 2016 On Zo’s first playdate with the neighbor baby, he pulled her hair so hard she cried. I told her it means he likes her (or else is jealous of her 3-month-old floppy mop of locks). I think she understood because on their next playdate, she stuck his hand in her mouth. Assertive and knows what she…
Green Goddess Pesto & Goat Cheese Bites
Last updated on October 28th, 2018 After frustratingly spending all day as a human pacifier, we started helping Zoella learn to put herself to sleep last night. She fended off fussies with her whole fist in her mouth. And though she can’t sit up or crawl yet, she pivoted perpendicular to her crib. It took every ounce of restraint not to just…
Lemony Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Salad
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Meal planning has gone out the window of late. You can find me walking through the supermarket like a zombified hungry teenager scavenging for anything that looks and sounds appealing at that moment. If a hungry teenager liked produce more than chips and always wanted ice cream. Instead of chaotic shopping, I like to think…
Harissa Snap Peas with Cashew Hummus & Sunflower Seed Za’atar + New Mama Reflections
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 On our first evening away from our new babe, we snuck off to Gather to celebrate my birthday just the two of us and ordered way too much food – as though it’d been over a month since we’d eaten dinner at the same time (it had). We spoke a love…
Warm Olives with Citrus, Rosemary, and a Splash of Gin
These warm olives are like a giant warm hug from my friend Amanda at Heartbeet Kitchen. Amanda is one of the most creative flavor masters I know. This girl infuses flavor into her clean healthy recipes and isn’t afraid to push the envelope with new unique ingredients to create dishes like ghee braised radishes and thyme and fluffy gluten-free tigernut flour pancakes. And if Amanda hadn’t already won me over with her cooking, baking, photography, and cat-whisperer ways, she came to visit in the middle of one of the most stressful weeks of my life – the week before I filed my dissertation – and she’s STILL my friend.
The kind of friend who keeps my baby stylish with the sweetest kicks and steps in to guest post while I’m over here putting on a 24-hour circus act (holding a 12lb baby over my shoulder, while patting her back, singing the chorus to Ingrid Michaelson’s You & I, and dancing in circles around the kitchen island with the lights off and the KitchenAid stand mixer running) with only brief intermissions for things like restroom breaks and laundry. And she’s sharing this post with a broken hand. So basically: she’s the best kind of friend. When she was here, Amanda made dinner while I stood by and ate olives. I now only wish they were warm olives with citrus, rosemary, and a splash of gin.
Kale Salad with Toasted Nuts, Seeds, & Buckwheat
We’ve been eating a lot of quick meals since Zoella was born. And we’re doing a killer job of cleaning out our pantry, fridge, and freezer, all while trying to avoid going to the store with a baby who hates the car. This chopped kale salad with shredded apples, carrots, and allofthenuts/seeds/grains satisfies both those demands.
Gluten-Free Creamy Mac and Cheese with Cardoons
This creamy pan of cardoon mac and cheese comes to you from my good friend Alanna over at The Bojon Gourmet! We’re 3.5 weeks in to this whole parenting thang and I’m still trying to figure out how to feed myself in the fleeting moments from one baby Zoella-feeding to the next (and she’s currently eating 12x a day). One breastfeeding forum suggested pumping 10-12 times a day to increase my milk supply – doing that would def turn me into a human milk factory. I can’t imagine people who do that have time to eat.
Fortunately for me, I’ve got rad friends like Alanna in my corner who show up with a boatload of vegan Mexican food and healthy brownies for the whole family right when we brought the babe home from the hospital, with promises to deliver homemade cardoon mac and cheese soon after. With my cheese cravings on high alert, I’ve been dreaming of this cardoon mac and cheese since she served it to me at a dinner party. Let me assure you, one bite and this stuff will make regular appearances in your dreams too. 1. Cheese – um…HELLO! 2. Cardoons, which, when mixed with cheese, mimic artichokes – aka the tastiest vegetable on the planet (don’t even argue – this is unequivocally true). 3. All of this made into creamy gluten-free mac and cheese? I can’t stop. I won’t stop. Alanna is my go-to recipe consultant for most any dish, but she’s a goddess with mac and cheese. Other notable things she’s an expert at? Gluten-free cookies, tarts, and cakes (and photographing allofthefood). If you haven’t already, you should probably go pre-order her Alternative Flours cookbook RIGHT NOW. Well, after drooling over this mac and cheese with me. Without further ado…Here’s Alanna:
Hazelnut Chestnut Crepes with Brie & Burnt Honey + Zoella Mae’s Homecoming
Our #cheesebabygirl made her way into the world 10 days ago, just a day past her due date. To her credit, she started to make her appearance at 4:30am on her due date, but then took her sweet sweet time (33 hours to be exact). So on February 7th at 1:24pm, Zoella Mae filled our hearts and made us a family of three. Living up to her #cheesebaby nickname, she weighed 8lbs 11oz and measured 21.25 inches long. It seems the key to baking a chunky baby is to spend your entire pregnancy eating cheese. It’s only fitting then that I saved these brie-filled hazelnut chestnut crepes to announce her arrival.
Adzuki Bean Tofu
This adzuki bean tofu hails from the Japanese-inspired Alternative Flours Feastly dinner Phi and I hosted in February 2015. While I still not-so-fondly recall the insane amount of work this 6-course plated meal for 14 people took to put on the table, it also forced out some pretty badass recipes (chestnut flour pasta, black sesame and wild rice crackers, and kinako black sesame millet crumble). This adzuki bean tofu is no exception. Why I’ve been hanging onto this particular recipe for well over a year kind of makes me a jerk.
Za’atar Roasted Carrots & Cauliflower over Salted Yogurt
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 I dedicate these za’atar roasted carrots & cauliflower to our cats. Have you ever crossed paths with a hungry cat? An empty bowl can signal that they might never ever EVER get food again, so they must HOWL at their human to communicate the dire situation. My mom’s cat Otis used to…
Kabocha Empanadas with Gruyère & Thyme {Gluten-free}
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 It’s really tough to edit photos and write about food as tantalizing as these empanadas while in the middle of fasting for a glucose test in the morning. Talk about torture. The clinic instructions prompted me to have snacks ready for when the test was over, so naturally I’ve prepped the dough and…
Spaghetti Squash Fritters with Dill Yogurt Sauce
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 For years we’ve talked about houses as though we could actually buy them. “We’d totally knock down this wall” or “we’d change the counter tops first thing.” Just dreaming, of course, but we could spend hours visually remodeling a house (and we have for our current rental). Finally these daydreams…
Heirloom Tomato and Bell Pepper Gazpacho
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Oh hai there. Remember me? Yeah, probably not. I made this end-of-summer heirloom tomato and bell pepper gazpacho almost two weeks ago to match up with our lil’ baby’s size, but then my best friend was getting married and I spent a full week using all of my creative juices mulling…
Seeded Cheddar Brazilian Cheese Bread
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Do you love cheese as much as I do? Did you wake up at 3am to make nachos the other night too? No? Just me then? Hm. Anytime you want to stop by at 3am to wake me up for a nacho-fest, I’m totally in. I know I’m supposed to be…
Mexican Street Corn Grilled Polenta Bites
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Last Saturday was one long celebration of Lucas’s birthday (though his actual birthday is today!). We meant to get up early to spend the full day at food festivals, but in true Sarah-Lucas form, we slept in (shocker). We’re the kind of people who set three alarms – 7:00,…
Roasted Beet Salad with Crispy Shallots & Tarragon-Basil Infused Olive Oil
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 I need to learn to reign in my inner cat lady around non-cat people (Mental note – why am I hanging out with non-cat people?). When people pull out their phones to show off their kids, I match photo-for-photo of my cats. This is how I weed people out. Then I…
Sesame Ginger Miso Cucumber Salad
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Remember that time we ate salad and I promised you more salads this year? Yeah, me neither. We’ve had five desserts since the last time we chomped down a salad together, but since every good summer BBQ should be made up of equal parts vegetables and ice cream, I’m sharing this super…
Little Gem Spring Salad with Toasted Seeds & Herbed Goat Cheese
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 When my brother was a kid, he convinced my aunt that he was allergic to “green stuff”…aka salad. But he most definitely said “green stuff” which should have been a big red flag that he was full of crap. I’m not sure what’s more unbelievable: the fact that my aunt bought…
Fava Bean Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche & Thyme Olive Oil
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 I recently read recipe development instructions that stated: “should not include ingredients that are too obscure or aren’t available for the average cook, such as cumin.” Cumin! In a pinch, I’m pretty sure I’ve picked up cumin at 7-11 or the drugstore at midnight (sometimes you need tacos, guys). Living in California with a…
Black Sesame and Wild Rice Crackers {Gluten-free}
Last updated on May 11th, 2019 I made a cup of rice in the rice cooker a few nights back and forgot about it. Overnight! As in, I didn’t eat any of it and it wasn’t until the next morning that I remembered I’d put rice in the cooker. I started the rice, then planned to…
