I like to pretend that I’m hard-working and up for any challenge, especially when it comes to this blog of mine. But it’s been three years now, and you deserve the truth: I’m really just a big ol’ lazy bum. (more…)
Tag: vegetarian
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Mocha Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Filling
Hey friends!
I’m so happy to be back in my kitchen baking you all some sweet treats. After a long work week, spending a day off with some chocolate and a whisk is the perfect antidote to stress. With this recipe, I think you’ll feel the same.
These bad boys are especially fun to make. Not only are the cupcakes themselves super easy to whip together, but the filling is deliciously dark and the buttercream tastes like like rich, creamy coffee ice cream. You may find yourself eating it with a spoon before it even gets the chance to sit atop a cupcake. And that’s quite alright. (more…)
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Brown Butter & Parmesan Mushroom Pasta
Greetings from London!
I am currently sitting in a tiny bustling coffee house filled with locals sharing communal tables. As I sit here, listening to ’60s music and enjoying a London fog, I can’t help but feel like I’m in someone else’s dream.
I’ve only been here for a few days, and I’m already totally smitten. When I get back next week, you’re all going to get an earful – or eyeful, rather – about everything I’ve been doing and eating. Until then, I’ve got a bangin’ pasta recipe for you guys, which also just happens to be perfect for the final weeks of the winter doldrums. (more…)
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Butternut Squash Cavatelli & Balsamic Caramelized Onion Pesto
Boston got hit with a big ol’ blizzard yesterday, leaving us all a little bit buried. And as I stare out of my bedroom window onto the adjacent roof tops all covered in a hefty helping of heavy snow, I can’t help but think about what it means to feel stuck.
I’m pretty sure there is no such thing as “stuck”. We make it up so we feel better about not being able to decide what to do with ourselves. When we’re surrounded by a feeling of heavy wetness that prevents us from even leaving the house, it’s easy to feel as if we have no choice but to stay put. We forget how we used to stomp around when we were kids, bundled up to our eyeballs in snow gear, having snowball fights and building igloos with any other kids that happened to be nearby.
We forget how to unstick ourselves.
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4 Thanksgiving Rescue Recipes
We all know that by now, we should all have a clear idea of what we’ll be eating tomorrow and who we’ll be eating it with. But “should” doesn’t always mean “does”, especially not in our house. So we’d like to help you out with some last-minute T-day recipes you can pull off quickly and without a hitch. Because while we can’t bake you up some friends, we can certainly help you with your menu plans.
If you need even more recipes, check out this list of 15 of our fave Thanksgiving recipes, or our list of the best Fall dessert recipes.
Let’s start with morning treats – we all need something to tie us over before the main meal but we also don’t want to feel too full. For something slightly sweet and autumnal flavored, try this Pumpkin Spice Bread. This bread is moist and delicately flavored with spices and pumpkin. If you’ve got a pumpkin pie waiting for you at the end of the big meal, then this will make the perfect bookend. It’s coffee’s perfect companion and will keep your blood sugar going while mashing potatoes and waiting for the turkey to roast.
If you’re looking to fancy things up and add a soup to your meal, then look no further than this Butternut Squash Soup. This soup is so easy to make and requires so few ingredients that you should add it to your menu regardless. Your guests will appreciate the extra effort but you’ll know that it took you no effort at all. This butternut squash soup is a little sweet, from the squash and the apples, and it’s peppered with fresh herbs to bring all the flavors together.
This soup may not be the standout item of the night, but it’ll surely bring comfort and provoke nostalgia for the ending of autumn.
Thanksgiving desserts have always been ruled by pie. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and sweet potato pie are the 1% of pies – they hog all the sweet glory for themselves, leaving the rest of the dessert world to be shoved to the side or completely forgotten once Thanksgiving rolls around. Well, I won’t have it.
This Brown Butter Cinnamon Sweet Potato Challah Bread is certainly not your mama’s challah. While I love making Thanksgiving bread rolls out of challah bread dough, this loaf definitely lands firmly on the dessert spectrum with its layers of cinnamon-sugar swirls and delicate nuttiness from the brown butter. And whether you serve this as a sweet counterpart to savory gravy or as another alternative dessert option, any leftovers will make for epic morning-after-Thanksgiving french toast. You’re welcome.
This Kahlua Chocolate Pecan Tart will fit in nicely with any of those other haughty pies, but its naughtiness will make it an alternative you’ll want to take center stage. It’s spiked with enough Kahlua to make a small child inebriated, so keep this one on the adults-only table. While all tarts need a crust, it takes its place as an afterthought behind the tart filling. Not here. This chocolate tart crust is buttery, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey, and will blow any other pie or tart crust out of the Thanksgiving water.
To all of our friends, family, readers, and everyone else in between, have a happy holiday. Be safe, be kind, and don’t forget the importance of sharing a meal together.
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Zucchini Leek Fritters
I am officially in hoodie and thick sweatpants mode and I love it. It’s like being wrapped by a thick reliable pillow 24/7. Good lounge wear is like the understanding boyfriend I never had. My gray hoodie and pajama bottoms are simultaneously my Netflix and cooking uniform. When in doubt, wear neutral colors.
With my cooking uniform on, it finally feels cool enough that standing next to a pan of hot oil before frying up something crispy actually sounds appealing. Besides, my thick gray uniform keeps the sizzling oil away from my skin. Netflix/food uniform/PJs/cooking armor – check it. (more…)
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Handmade Carrot Pasta with Carrot Top Pesto
When I was a little thing and hadn’t yet learned to make my own dinner, my mother had the impossible task of whipping something up that my picky palate would actually accept as edible.
Most of the time I just sucked it up and ate what was in front of me so that I would be allowed to have ice cream for dessert. Of the few dishes that I would eat without complaint, pasta and hot dogs were my all time favorites. It’s a good thing I didn’t cook for myself or else that would be all I ate.
So when my mom wanted to easily sneak some vegetables into me, she’d usually make soup (if a kid can’t see what they’re eating, they can’t complain, right?). And it worked – I vividly remember gobbling down bowlfuls of butternut squash or carrot soup with black pepper and globs of sour cream. (more…)
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Stuffed Ricotta Squash Blossoms
I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a new recipe in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, I love all my babies but this one is really something special.
I started being more conscious of my health and what I ate three summers ago – this is when I started running and finally decided to check out the farmers’ market. I don’t want to be dramatic here but it was life changing and it has been an ongoing journey since. (more…)
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Vegetable Ragù
Necessity is the mother of invention.
For the past couple of months, I’ve been a staunch vegetarian. I’ve never really eaten much meat, so I naively thought that switching from eating a little meat to eating zero meat would be a cinch.
Well…I was wrong. (And I don’t admit that often. Just ask my boyfriend.)
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Peanut Soba Noodles
You can never keep me away from noodles for too long. Our love is inevitable; no matter how people might try to tear us apart in the insufferable hot weather, I will still love my noodles. Because noodles can be served chilled. If I can’t enjoy a steaming bowl of ramen, then cold noodles are the next best thing.