The Tomato Tart, Food and Stories From A Girl Who Cooks Awesome Stuff With Real Food

World’s Best Avocado Salad + 27 Favorite Moments from The Big Potluck

by sabrinamodel on June 17, 2013 · 36241 comment2013-06-17+17%3A23%3A45sabrinamodel

Rockabilly on the radio, a thermos full of iced coffee, shades on, I headed down the 101 towards some of my favorite people on earth. By the time I hit the I5, I was listening to This American Life, a road trip companion second only to my husband. Nine hours after the time I left Sonoma County, I arrived in Murrietta, CA. There, waiting for me, were Maggy and Sharon of Three Many Cooks and Erika of Ivory Hut. I arrived just in time for a big round of hugs and kisses and a beautiful dinner.

I had met Maggy a year prior- we were introduced by Irvin Lin of Eat The Love. From the moment Maggy and I met, it was true love (for reals). We began working together on a couple of projects almost immediately and I would spend two more weekends with her in the coming months- including my 39^th birthday.

This year, Maggy came to visit in March, just before I moved to Sonoma County and saying goodbye was not as hard knowing I’d be seeing her in less than a month.

I was in Murrieta for the very first Big Travelling Potluck. I showed up a few days early—ostensibly to help, but really to hang out with The Anderson Clan, Erika, and my dear friends Deb and Rod from Smith Bites.

Maggy, Pam, and Erika work year round to pull off events that you have to see to believe. … get the recipe

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Grain Free & Lactose Free Greek Yogurt Parfaits

by sabrinamodel on June 6, 2013 · 36115 comments2013-06-07+06%3A13%3A08sabrinamodel

in Breakfast, Gluten Free, Recipe, Vegetarian

Each spring, the conference season begins. I adore seeing friends from around the globe, taking in all of the new information presented, and visiting new places, but food on the road is often less-than-ideal.

Good food to-go is more important to me than ever since I was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, last year. This yogurt parfait full of nuts, seeds and fruit provides me with a healthy, fulfilling meal for road trips and plane rides alike. And let me tell you, I’ve been in planes, busses, and cars a lot this spring.

At the end of April, I had the joy of attending The Big Potluck, which is an amazing event put on by my dear friends Maggy, Pam, and Erika. This year, was the first year they hosted an event on the west coast. Just like the Pennsylvania Summer Potluck, I left inspired, full-up-with-love, and totally exhausted (in a good way)

Memorial Day Weekend, it was my first time at Camp Blogaway which I was able to attend thanks to the generosity of my friends at Kerrygold and Green Valley Organics. There, I saw old friends including some I’d never met in person- friends like Dr. Jean, Kate McDermott, and Nancie McDermott (no relation). Camp Blogaway is held at an actual camp and it was so much fun bunking with Laura and Mimi my new Camp BFFs. We had such fun even though I was that kid at camp… the one … get the recipe

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Grilled Cheese with Spicy Summer Berry Chutney

by sabrinamodel on May 17, 2013 · 35893 comments2013-05-17+08%3A24%3A34sabrinamodel

in Gluten Free, Recipe, Vegetarian

The sun shines through our bedroom windows; it is the only alarm clock I need. I pause to kiss Joshua lightly, and leave him to sleep a bit longer. Little Lucy follows behind me as I head up our spiral staircase to begin my day. Water boiling for tea, pot bellied stove taking the chill out of the early morning air, this is how each day begins.

Tea in hand, Lucy and I walk out onto the back deck, and that’s when I look up. Not a day goes by that I don’t marvel at the beauty and serenity of where we live. Rough patches aside, I feel as though we’ve hit the karmic lottery.

For the last five years, Joshua and I have had very different work schedules, and our meals together were few and far between. Now, on most days, we are eating two to three meals a day together. Of all of the amazing things about our move, this might be my very favorite.

On Monday, I opened up the fridge, knowing I needed to head to the store before dinner, but hoping I might be able to scrounge something up for a quick lunch. I poked around and found a nice piece of Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese, a basket of local strawberries, some gluten free sandwich bread, and a small bowl of lovely blueberries. Suddenly, the idea for a spicy sweet berry chutney came to mind and a grilled cheese sandwich was born.

The summer berry chutney … get the recipe

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Out of Chaos… Or Life as it Goes

by sabrinamodel on May 5, 2013 · 358015 commentsOut+of+Chaos...+Or+Life+as+it+Goes2013-05-05+21%3A18%3A27sabrinamodel

in Life

In life, there are times of relative calm, times of turbulence, and times of growth and change. As humans, it is within our nature, to seek that which is calm, steady, comfortable and safe. This behavior is ingrained in us, stemming from a time when safety and stability were crucial to our survival and evolution.

Since March, I have experienced great joy, anticipation, deep love, kindness, energy, weariness, worry, and terrible staggering loss. If you were to look at my life two months ago, and my life today, it is nearly unrecognizable. I have never felt more grateful for my friends, family, and utterly incredible husband.

In the beginning of March, my sweet Ruby dog began struggling to climb the stairs. After a week or so of tests and treatment, we received the soul-shaking news that she had cancer of the bladder. Just a day or so later, we heard that we’d gotten a little house on the Russian River in western Sonoma County.

So, we set about preparing to move, all the while, giving Ruby lots of love, meds, and IM fluids. Our Lola was by Ruby’s side every day until the morning that Ruby suddenly couldn’t move without whimpering. That evening, the house call vet arrived, and we held Ruby until her last breath. It’s sometimes hard to know the right time for euthanasia, and before the vet came, Ruby perked up for an hour or so. Joshua and I both began to question, but in the end … get the recipe

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Gluten Free Rosemary Lemon Loaf with Lemon Whipped Cream

by sabrinamodel on March 3, 2013 · 35617 comments2013-03-03+20%3A15%3A59sabrinamodel

in Gluten Free, Recipe, Sweets

My friend Irvin, of Eat The Love, sent me a text saying “I made this and it’s so you”. I tapped on the attached photo and saw luscious rosemary lemon bread. He was right, it was so me.

My feelings about citrus are well-documented and I love putting rosemary in sweet baked goods. It’s nice to have a friend who knows me so well.

So Irvin and I got to talking, and he came up with this really cool idea… What it we each made our own version of a recipe? Like if I put my spin on his Lemon Rosemary Bread and then we each did a version of a recipe that I love. Then, what if we posted those recipes on the same day? You can’t help but love this guy. He’s adorable and super smart.

So I set to work thinking about what I’d like to do with my rosemary lemon bread. We based the recipe off of this fantastic looking lemon loaf from Simply Recipes. I knew mine would be gluten-free, extra lemony, and full of fresh chopped rosemary from my backyard. I’d go for an unprocessed sweetner and oh, I’d add some buttermilk for sure.

So what happened when this little loaf came out of the oven? A delicious little cake happened, that’s what. It’s got a tender crumb, but it’s also hearty- more of a sweet quick bread than a cake. The coconut palm sugar give a dark molassesey taste and … get the recipe

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Open Sesame! Two Chances To Win + A Coupon Code for Sesame Gifts

by sabrinamodel on February 28, 2013 · 355320 comments2013-02-28+17%3A17%3A21sabrinamodel

in Gluten Free, Life, Vegan

Spending time on pinterest and on food blogs, you may get the impression that we bloggers never buy anything. We’ll DIY anything from fruit leather to hand foraged soda pop to homemade sous vide machines.

It’s true, the homemade bug has bitten me. I make a lot of my condiments, my granola, my horchata, and once I even attempted to rock out some donut-infused vodka. But, I also love trying new foods from the market. You won’t catch me buying Easter-hued Oreos, or the latest flavor of Doritos. Instead, you’ll find me in the “health food” aisle often slipping into the raw foods section.

I’ll admit to going through ten packages of roasted seaweed in as many days, and I’ll stalk a coconut chip like nobody’s business. So, when Sesame Gifts suggested partnering up to create a healthy snack box, I jumped.

Sesame is a super cool gifting app for your iphone, and they also have a web store too. What you get in your Sesame box is hand-selected by people like Stephanie Hua of Lick My Spoon and me! The stuff inside is amazing (of course) but half the fun is opening your Sesame box (get it? Open Sesame?) From the second it arrived, my Sesame Healthy Snacks Box was pure joy- the adorable box, the special note, and fun little tags all had me smiling from ear to ear.

Inside, were some of my favorite gluten-free and vegan snacks- … get the recipe

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Coconut Sesame Granola (vegan and gluten free)

by sabrinamodel on February 27, 2013 · 354110 comments2013-02-27+08%3A56%3A11sabrinamodel

in Breakfast, Gluten Free, Recipe, Vegan

I am not above waxing poetic about my love of breakfast. At least ¼ of my instagrams feature breakfast as the subject. I wasn’t always this way. Until I was in my 20’s, I wasn’t crazy about eating the morning. When I did eat breakfast, it was almost always savory; I remember eating spinach for Saturday morning breakfasts when I was five or six. Soup was another favorite.

And then, I met Joshua. When we were first dating, I cooked a lot of breakfasts for my man. (Take that as you will). It went that way for five whole weeks, and then, I took a job in LA and said goodbye to my handsome San Francisco “fling”. When I got to Southern California, I realized two things.

Angelenos LOVE breakfast. It seemed there was an “Omelette Haven” or an “Egg Hamlet” or a “Nice Yolks” on every corner.
I was head over heels for the guy who liked his eggs over medium, his cereal bowl overflowing, and his oatmeal served nice and hot.

Living in a hotel near work while I searched for an apartment, I ate at a lot of those egg-centric diners (ha ha). I switched from my usual scrambled to fried, just to feel nearer to my guy. Each time I dipped my toast in yolk, I thought of how Joshua eats his eggs: He carefully eats the whites, getting as close to the yolk as possible. Then, he scoops the yolk up with his fork … get the recipe

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