Like most Americans, growing up, I always equated the holiday season to it being freezing outside. Oh the weather outside is frightful... Jack Frost nipping at your nose... Baby it's cold outside... ...We could go on & on with all of the frigid weather references in holiday song lyrics. But then when I moved from the northeast to Southern California, Christmastime felt different to me because it was still pretty lovely outside. The summertime vacationers were gone and it was no longer bikini weather, but the sun still shines most wintertime days in San Diego, and I often would throw on a sweatshirt and head to the beach to walk my dog or read a book with my feet in the sand. And while I absolutely love (and am missing) San Diego weather, Christmastime never ... [Read More]
holiday desserts
Double Chocolate Peppermint Brownies {vegan}
It's Friday in mid-December, so it's only right that we celebrate with a holiday-ish dessert recipe, am I right? I am pretty excited about this recipe my friends! I have been mildly obsessed with the combination of chocolate + mint all year long, but it's gone into overdrive over the past month. Mint is a holiday season favorite, and let's be honest: chocolate is a favorite every damn day. I'm also psyched about this recipe because I've been craving brownies for awhile now, and when I finally came up with a brownie recipe, it was a yummy success... a vegan success at that! There are no eggs or dairy in this recipe whatsoever. Although I eat dairy sometimes, I wanted to challenge myself with coming up with a vegan brownie recipe. And this is my first EVER brownie recipe posted on ... [Read More]
Chocolate Bark with Pistachios & Dried Cranberries
Hi friends! This Friday night in my household is totally relaxed. I am still under the weather with an upper respiratory thing, and my hubby had a tooth pulled earlier today, so we both felt like being couch potatoes. Our evening has consisted of me making us a dinner of homemade tomato soup, getting some fro yo, and now we're currently watching a college football game. Even Harley's joining in on the laziness and has been snoozing. Between a workout first thing this AM, work, a long walk with Harley, and physical therapy while feeling crappy, I think I've earned some chill time tonight! ;-) Before officially moving forward from the holidays, I want to share one final dessert I made during Christmastime - chocolate bark with pistachios and dried cranberries: I found the recipe on ... [Read More]