As soon as we got back home from our travels, I hit the kitchen. The first recipe recreation I'd like to share is the Spinach and Chickpea Cazuela we had at Barcelona Wine Bar. With fall just around the corner, this is the PERFECT side to serve as a snack, appetizer, or side dish. It is warm, filling, and the cumin adds a smokey flavor. The roasted garlic and shallot contributes a sweet flavor that definitely plays well with the savory taste of cumin. There are only about nine ingredients involved (not including, water, salt, and pepper!). Most of them are pantry staples, so you probably have them all in your house right now! Except for the cumin seeds, maybe!
Heirloom Tomato, Beet, Avocado Cold Summer Salad
It took me a couple of years to acclimate to Nashville summers. No t-shirts (if you sweat as much as I do...), God help us, NO gray, breathable fabrics only, no pants EVER, you get the idea. One night before dinner time, I asked P to research exactly this: 'cold summer vegetable recipes' and 'cold dinners for hot summer days'. We didn't really find much that could be ready super quick. (Sometimes I wait until I absolutely MUST eat within minutes, and that kind of limits things.)
Red White & Blue - #2: Watermelon WORKOUT
It can be hard to find time to be active during the holidays, no matter how great your intentions are. The trick is to plan ahead and to involve as many of your friends and family as possible. Here are some ideas on how to stay active during the Fourth of July!
Red White & Blue #1: Ode to Grilled Pizza
ODE TO GRILLED PIZZA
Roses are red, violets are blue, all day long I think about you.
The way the mozzarella melts so evenly, it fills every crevice just so evenly.
Your ever so crispy crust, makes my heart want to bust.
First thing in the morning, and late into the night, I just can't wait until my next bite!!!
Strawberry Rhubarb Tart with Cracklin' Oat Bran Crust (<--- I KNOW!!!)
Our car broke down again, for the second time in the past couple weeks, so Chris takes our working car and I work from home. Unless I have to run an errand, then I literally run them. So there I was, running an errand. It was a drizzling and I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Selected Shorts. Wham. Bam. Alakazam. Cracklin' Oat Bran. I wanted some. And wouldn't that make such a yummy tasting tart crust perfectly matched with fresh hand picked strawberries and rhubarb??
No Bake Mocha S'mores Pie
I made two pies to celebrate PI day!
One was a Peanut Butter Banana pie. The recipe comes from Collards & Carbonara - Southern Cooking, Italian Roots, written by the chefs of Hog & Hominy; Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer. IT WAS SO GOOD!! (And so bad, health wise.)
The second one I made, was a Coffee S'mores Pie. DELICIOUS CITY. It should probably be named Mocha S'mores Pie because the blend of coffee and chocolate is more mocha-ey than coffee-ey (pretty sure neither of those are actual words). DELICIOUS CITY. The recipe is very approachable, no baking required. Plus, I got to use my kitchen torch. Win win.
Snowed In and Roasted Sweet Potato, Farro, Kale Salad with Warm Cinnamon-Honey Dressing
If you are making a trip to the grocery store, you should pick up some ingredients to make this rockin' Roasted Sweet Potato Farro Kale Salad with Warm Cinnamon Honey Dressing. This recipe is great for the following situations:
- Showing off at a dinner party
- Bringing the best salad to a potluck
- Providing the only healthy item at a potluck (Are potlucks generally unhealthy or is that just a Southern thing?)
- Tricking people into eating something healthy thats actually VERY delicious
- Meatless Monday!!!
- A warm meal for a snowy day
HAPPY HALLOWEEN - Harry Potter Workout!
When people say they haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books, I genuinely feel bad for them! They haven’t experienced how wonderful the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is!! The creativity of those books, its just astounding.
I wish Hogwards was real. I wish I could participate in the Welcome feasts and the Christmas feasts!! (Do the feasts in the books make anyone else hungry???) I wish I could apparate and use portkeys!!
I’ve seen various Harry Potter workouts around Pinterest before, and always thought they looked interesting. My husband and I did one in May that was SO much fun, check it out here! To celebrate Halloween, I thought we could do another one! We wanted to watch one of the later movies, and I couldn’t find a workout for any of the movies past Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I decided to make my own to work in accordance with Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix!!
Grilled Panzanella
Soon enough, I will have to say goodbye to most of my plants until next spring. Waaaaaaahhhh. The mailman, UPS, Fedex, our dogs, and probably most of our neighbors are all secretly cheering for the disappearance of the tiny jungle I’ve amassed in front of our house and on the steps leading to our front door. We live in a row of townhouses, so I pretty much use every square inch we have and even still, we run over at least one plant a week. I just ran over the oregano I brought back to life and I’m pretty ticked off at myself.