Happy weekend! I'm psyched for the weekend because two of my girlfriends from Jersey, Meaghan and Marla, are flying in to visit me tomorrow. These ladies were roommates of mine in college, both of whom I've talked about on my blog before. I'm so excited to show them around my new area and have some fun girl time! Now onto the title of this post... Locally grown peaches have been everywhere lately, and I'm loving it! Ever since making wine-baked peaches, I've been thinking about other ways to bake peaches for breakfast or lunch instead of dessert (read: no fro yo involved). Yesterday, I came up with one pretty damn delicious peach recipe for lunch: First I sliced a ripe peach, placed it in a small baking dish, and poured an almond milk/vanilla extract mixture over ... [Read More]
recipes
Banana Apple Cinnamon Mini Muffins
Lazy Sunday mornings are the perfect time to play around in the kitchen. After sleeping in late today, I decided to procrastinate cleaning my house by first doing some baking. Ever since I nabbed a mini muffin cup tin a few weeks ago, I've had mini muffin ideas floating in the back on my mind. The recipe started with a ripe banana and Granny Smith apple... Hi, how cute are these mini muffin cups?! I couldn't resist snapping a picture with a few of the sunflowers I picked up at the farmers' market yesterday for $3 [FABULOUS]. I love the idea of mini muffins because they're small enough as a baby snack or part of breakfast, but big enough in size to be a nice little dessert to satisfy a sweet tooth, and also easy to grab on-the-go. I love the combo of apple, banana, and cinnamon, and so ... [Read More]
Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Butter Granola
Lately I've been obsessed with cherries. It all started a couple of weeks ago when I stopped at a local farm stand and nabbed some dark sweet cherries. I've always liked cherries, but it seems my love for them has been on a whole new level since that purchase. Fresh cherries by themselves, frozen cherries in smoothies, cherry frozen yogurt (ate some last night!), cherries in my salads - I've been finding endless ways to incorporate cherries into my diet pretty much everyday. One day last week, I whipped up a new recipe and found yet another way to eat (dried) cherries: dark chocolate cherry almond butter granola! This granola will add some pizazz to yogurt or cottage cheese, and is a nice sweet treat all on its own. The only downside to this recipe, and to pretty much all kinds of ... [Read More]
Fruity Kale Salad with Pistachios
Up until recently, I was not a fan of kale. I was turned off by its bitterness and coarse texture. But once I began making green juices and getting used to them, I began to not dislike kale so much. It started to not be quite as scary to me, and I wound up ordering a couple of kale salads out at restaurants...and really enjoying them. Kale is a nutritional powerhouse. It provides you with tons of antioxidants and vitamins and is high in fiber. And while I wouldn't say that I'm in love with it, I certainly am finding ways to incorporate it into my diet more often. Enter this colorful salad: One of the things I'm trying to do when I experiment with kale is find ways to make it not quite so bitter, so that I can reap the benefits of the veggie AND actually kind of like eating it too. One ... [Read More]
Creamy Pasta Shells with Mushrooms, Green Beans & Pine Nuts
Last week as I was flipping through my cookbooks looking for some inspiration while meal planning, I came across a recipe in my Essential Vegetarian book that caught my eye. It was a recipe for fettuccine with creamy mushroom and bean sauce. I decided to use whole wheat pasta shells and altered some of the ingredients, and the meal came out pretty delicious if I do say so myself! Creamy Pasta Shells with Mushrooms, Green Beans & Pine Nuts 12 oz [whole wheat] small pasta shells1 TBSP olive oil1/4 onion (chopped)2 garlic cloves (minced)1 large portobello mushroom cap (thinly sliced)1/2 cup white wine1 cup heavy whipping cream1/2 cup vegetable stock6 oz green beans (trimmed and thinly sliced diagonally)3 TBSP chopped fresh basil1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (cut into ... [Read More]
Dark Chocolate Drizzled Strawberry Cheesecake Graham Cracker Mini Pies
Happy Easter! Hope that everyone had a great weekend and holiday. Boy, do I have a fun dessert recipe to share with you all... One of the best parts about California living for a foodie like myself is all of the local produce that's available. As you may recall, living in San Diego I frequently talked abut weekend Little Italy farmers' market trips. And now, living in a small town outside of San Jose, little farm stands are plentiful. I'm obviously loving it! The idea of a dessert featuring strawberries first entered my mind upon spotting cartons of the fruit at a market last week. Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits, and I can almost never resist getting them. My original thought was to do parfait cups with a cream cheese dip, drizzled chocolate, and graham cracker crumbs, but ... [Read More]