On Sunday, we sold my parent’s dining set. Though I knew we wouldn’t have it on our home, we held onto it for a number of years after my mother passed. The big French table, straw covered seats, and carved oak buffet were an almost perfect match, not like “something out of the Sears catalog” as my mother used to say.
Elisabeth and John bought the dining set; we met on Craigslist. At some point I realized I may have been treating the sale as more of an adoption, I really wanted it to go to a good home- not to some dealer who planned to split it up. I chose Elisabeth and John because in her emails,Elisabeth sounded like she really loved furniture. She mentioned that she just couldn’t part with a bedroom set that John’s great grandfather had made, but most importantly, she wanted to put the set in their big kitchen/family room where it would see many family dinners.
On the day of the sale, I pulled out the leaves of the table and the evidence of nearly 100 years of dinners and celebrations- the ever so slight ring from the time my mom forgot to put down a trivet. I added a bit of oil to a cloth and I wiped the table, the chairs, and the buffet for the last time.
Mom’s Roasted Potatoes (With Fennel Pollen)
These are roasted potatoes just like my mom used to make and like her mother made before her. … get the recipe
I wouldn’t be a good ER doctor if I didn’t ask, “Are you safe at home?” I chuckled & winced a little. Of course, physical abuse is far from funny, but this is not the first time I’ve been asked.
Long before I knew my husband, a doctor asked me if I was safe from my parents. I guess the story that my baby brother had broken my foot with a hammer seemed a little improbable. My chart may have had some red flags, especially considering that the year before I’d sprained my ankle and broken my pinkie in the span of one week. My story? I was tackled while playing flag football (the pinkie) and I fell off a curb while walking home from school (the ankle).
As I had all those years ago, I assured the doctor that I was, indeed, safe. I told the handsome young doc that Joshua actually rushed home from work when I called in hysterics to tell him I’d broken my foot. I reassured him that the marks on my chest were actually burn scars from hot butter, not bruises. He smiled, gave a little wink, and said, “I figured, he seems really great.”.
Handsome young doc, had no idea how great. There, in the ER, it was well-past midnight, and not the kind of place I’d like to ring in my 40th birthday, but Joshua never complained. He smiled and joked and took good care of me.
I promised that … get the recipe
We all have our likes and dislikes- and things towards which we feel ambivalence. I have a predilection towards vanilla bean, bright green herbs like cilantro, cauliflower, winter squash, florals (like jasmine, rose, lemon verbena, lavender or rose geranium), berries, chilies, and citrus. Ah yes, fresh, bright, punchy, slightly tart, like a burst of sunshine through the cold grey wet weather.
My friend Irvin of Eat the Love knows about my citrus crush (I’ll stop short of calling it an addiction). When Irvin brought me as his +1 to this year’s Chocolate Salon, he was able to steer towards bars and confections that he knew I’d love “That one is so you” he said about the lovely confection with lime and cardamom, and he was so right. When he needed advice about bergamot, he pinged me. I flushed with warmth and affection, not only does my friend know my tastes, he trusts my strange, quirky, area of expertise… citrus.
I don’t mind, on a personal level, being known as a girl with strong tastes, but I’m careful to try to pepper this blog with a good variety of marvelous seasonal things. If you knew the consistency with which I eat cottage cheese, kale, arugula, grapefruit, farro, and oat berries, you might think me a bore- you also may not need my recipes anymore.
In an effort to shake things up a little, I made a pretty outstanding pot of chili, my very first with … get the recipe
Home. It feels really good to be here. It’s funny how, even after just a few days away, I appreciate the safety, sanctuary, and calm that Home provides. Oddly enough, 48 hours ago, I really didn’t want to be here.
Friday night, in the midst of the first real winter storm we’ve had in California this year, we hopped in the car for a vintage Sabrina & Joshua-style road trip. Everything about our trip, from leaving a little too late, to the dramatic weather was perfect. We reminisced about the days when we lived in Southern California and made that drive back and forth to the Bay Area more times than I can count- only then it was often in a classic Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham.
In 1999 we were a couple of broke kids who had just moved in together in a sweet little apartment in Venice Beach. Joshua’s dad lived on Naples Island in Long Beach. He had a little sailboat where we would sometimes go and spend the night and go for a sail the following day. I’d always bring a homemade quiche and bottle of port. Before heading off to sleep on the boat, Joshua, his dad, their longtime friends, and I would sit around the house on Ravenna Street and have a jazz jam session, passing the bottle until late into the night. I still think of these salad days as some of the happiest of my life.
The last twelve and a half years seem … get the recipe
Almost exactly one year ago, my back was so bad that I took three months off work. I considered back surgery, and really struggled with what it meant to be unable to do the work I’d done my entire adult life. While I was off work, I also had a cooking accident, which almost cost me a fingertip. It was a rough patch to say the least.
A few weeks ago, while getting ready to have my friends Lani and Tom for dinner, something snapped in my back. I acted fast this time, going on steroids, getting an epidural shot right away and doing pilates at home as well as my physical therapy exercises that I’ve become all-too familiar with.
Then came another cooking accident- this time a burn from hot butter and spices, stretching from my neck to my solar plexus. It looks like a map of Hawaii, and it hurts like mad.
Worse than the pain, is the fear. I’ve been here before, and I am not the kind of person who likes to be in stasis. Recently, I’ve let this fear completely paralyze me. There have been no posts here, no meals photographed, no recipes written. I’ve been stuck, and unable to push myself from the ledge.
I keep thinking of my friend Michael Procopio. We dined together a few months ago when he was suffering from a bout of writers block coupled with a case of serious perfectionism. I went back to reread the … get the recipe
One year ago, I began what was supposed to be a 28 day vegan cleanse. A day or two in, my husband jumped in with both feet. For this cleanse, Joshua and I cut out all meat, dairy, gluten, refined sugar, alcohol, and caffeine. In total, we stayed off of meat and dairy for two and a half months.
The impact of those 70 days has been much deeper and longer lasting that we could have ever imagined. As we added the meat and dairy back into our diets, it was in smaller portions and much less frequently. My love for fresh fruits and veggies is well-documented, but I came to love grains, nuts, and seeds like never before as well- and don’t even get me started on nutritional yeast!
Whether you are vegan or not, the choice to incorporate more plant-based meals is a healthy one and (as evidenced by this list) incredibly tasty. Preparing vegan meals also made me a better cook.
Here is a list of 44 fabulous vegan recipes- a few from this site, a few I’ve written for other sites, but mostly just some drool-worthy food you probably need in your life.
Breakfast
Banana Nut Waffles
Vegan Rice Pudding
Springtime Tofu Scramble (gorgeous—just add nutritional yeast to make it over the top amazing)
Fluffy Vegan Pancakes
Sweet Potato Hashbrowns
Veggies & Salads
Roasted Broccoli with Sriracha, Honey, and Soy Sauce
Lentil and Pomegranate Salad
Kale Salad with Toasted Coconut and Sesame Oil (YUM!)
Roasted Pumpkin … get the recipe
I may have mentioned before here and here that I love Valentine’s Day. It also happens to be my halfiversary- sort of. When I was a kid, I figured that if August 4th was my birthday, February 2nd must be my half birthday. Pretty fancy division skills, right?
Joshua and I met on August 28th, and were married on the same date 6 years later. We’ve always celebrated our halfiversary using my awesome kid-math- so… February 14th it is.
This year, a last minute change of plans, means we’re staying in, and I know exactly what we’re having for dessert. Champagne (pink champagne at that!) and roses turn this caramel sauce into pure romance. While I have been eating this off of a spoon, tonight, we’ll have ice cream parfaits layered with blood orange pound cake, champagne-soaked strawberries, and vanilla bean whipped cream topped with some rose petals nicked from my neighbor’s organic garden—with his permission of course!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
- INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup of rosé champagne
- 1 cup organic sugar
- heavy pinch of sea salt
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon rose water
- ½ teaspoon whole ground vanilla (like Love Street Living Foods) or a whole vanilla bean
- 4 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
- INSTRUCTIONS
- In a heavy bottom sauce pan, reduce champagne over medium high heat until it’s volume is reduced by half.
- Add sugar and salt and bring to a boil while swirling the pan gently. Turn down heat to
… get the recipe
As Valentine’s Day nears, it seems that everything is tinged with sweetness. I love the movement towards DIY Valentines, and old-fashioned handmade candies make me squeal.
Who cares if Hallmark popularized the day, take it back! Celebrate this time by treating yourself , your friends, your family, and your sweetie (if you have one) with love and kindness and special treats.
Of course, I can’t go around eating cake balls, and truffles, and lollipops for the entirety of the Valentine’s Day season, but does that mean I should miss out on pretty pink things and polka dot paper straws? It most certainly does not.
This raw and vegan cashew milk is thick and creamy and so luxurious. It almost doesn’t seem fair that cashews are lower in fat that almost all other nuts, and the fat they do contain is mostly unsaturated fatty acid. To be specific, it’s the same fatty acid found in olive oil! Love that. To that, we’re adding freeze dried strawberries which are full of antioxidants, dietary fiber, and crazy deliciousness (scientific term).
All of the health stuff, cannot begin to describe how good this little shake tastes and feels. I got a text yesterday from Joshua “Strawberry cashew milk, seriously, the best thing ever. I want to have it every day”. I guess that says it all. A little Valentine to my sweetheart, pretty, and pink, and sweet, each morning. I can do that.
A quick shout-out to my friend Tracy at Shutterbean whose amazing … get the recipe
