Here you will find an archived weblog of my food, travel, and creative pursuits which I kept from 2010-2016. Please note both that the travel information contained here may outdated and that these logs were created on a prior version of this website and may not yet be optimized for the current version. If you’re looking for specific content, use the search field below! <3
It all started back in my very first apartment during my sophomore year of college. Both the holidays and finals were rapidly approaching and I had a full kitchen at my disposal after a year of living in the dorms with a microwave and mini-fridge. I needed a way to both procrastinate writing papers and to get into the holiday spirit in sunny San Diego. And so, I covered all the flat surfaces in my two bedroom apartment (shared with three other girls) with cookies.
Read MoreAlthough I ordered my gluten free turkey a couple of weeks ago, I pretty much forgot about planning our Thanksgiving menu until this week. After looking at the calendar and realizing how quickly one of the best dinners of the year was approaching, I managed to jot down a full shopping list in about five minutes.
Read MoreOver the past three plus years, I've shared quite a number of recipes and over time, they just get buried in the archives. So I'm taking the time to revive a few of my favorites which make a regular appearance in our kitchen, update the photos, and share them as part of seasonal collections.
When I think about recipes I'm excited to make in the Fall, there are two characteristics that come to mind; comfort and warming spices. I'll start with one from the first guest post I ever wrote - over on XGFX for Vegan MoFo (Month of Food). This little recipe was inspired by one of my favorite gluten free friendly restaurants in San Francisco, Betelnut. Crispy Cauliflower is simple to make and even better, it's very allergen friendly, making it a great appetizer to serve at a get together.
Read MoreOver the course of this summer, I've been making a few extra special trips to Seattle area farmers markets with my camera in tow to create a little series of recipes based on my market finds.
If you aren't familiar with the Seattle area, we're spoiled with over 15 markets operating throughout the city. Granted some are only seasonal, but it still seems So far I've whipped together three recipes with finds from the Phinney, University District, and Ballard Farmers Markets. I'm currently writing up a recipe with some early fall finds at the Broadway Farmers Market and the Columbia City market is high on my list to try next.
Wondering where those recipes are at?
Well if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you may already know, but over the summer I started as a contributor to a new to the scene food blog, My Cooking Spot. Each month, I'm sharing one Seattle area farmers market and a recipe made with my finds there. While I've still get plenty of posts to come, I thought I'd take a moment to share those recipes I've made thus far.
I was introduced to muesli during my very first trip to New Zealand back in 2005 at a small hotel on the shores of Lake Taupo. It was just before the beginning of winter, so the hotel (and the town) was seemingly deserted aside from myself and my travel partner. The breakfast buffet was so eye opening and delicious, it completely changed my morning habits. With a spread of fresh fruits, European style yogurts, jams, and this funny looking oat based cereal called muesli - that little hotel had made me my favorite breakfast that I'd never had.
There's something about museli that just feels filling and hearty to me. While I could enjoy it with yogurt, my favorite way is to soak it in my homemade Almond Milk for about 5 minutes and add a teaspoon of Rhubarb & Meyer Lemon Jam. A jar full of muesli is also one of my favorite recipes to take on the road with me. At this point it's pretty easy to find at least a carton of non-dairy milk wherever I travel, but finding gluten free muesli that doesn't have raisins or cranberries seems to be near impossible. The other advantage of making it at home is that I got to stock it full of my favorite dried fruit and nuts - most often I go with this combination of apricots and hazelnuts.
Thank you to Bob’s Red Mill for supporting this post through providing me the flour to make this tasty recipe along with these Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes, this Hiking Bread, and one more upcoming recipe as part of a series of gluten free camping friendly recipes.
In the realm of camping desserts, I’m serious about two things; simplicity and tradition.
While Dutch oven or skillet cobblers are certainly tasty treats to have while camping – I personally do not enjoy the clean up involved from making one of those dishes after a long day of exploring or hiking. Brownies and cakes baked inside orange peels are all the rage on Pinterest as a simple backpacking friendly treat, but that’s not what I grew up eating at camp.
When I think of camping desserts, there is really only one treat on my mind: good old-fashioned smores. Whether the marshmallows are roasted on a stick gathered nearby or on some fancy contraption made specifically for this purpose, I’ve always loved the campfire discussion (or debate) on what makes a perfectly roasted marshmallow. Are you a perfectly golden brown person or a flaming burnt marshmallow person? I used to be the later, but as I find my patience growing – I’m turning to into the former.
These graham crackers have both a honey and light cinnamon flavor to them and hold up very well in the smore making experience. Far better than the pre-packaged ones I’d been buying at the store to make smores in my microwave (a terribly guilty pleasure of mine). The extra plus is that they’ll stay fresh and crisp, when kept in an air tight container for up to two weeks.
It's an exciting day! I've collaborated with Bob's Red Mill to share a recipe for my new favorite camping breakfast. These Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes were inspired by one of the easiest and most common camping breakfasts; instant oatmeal. Take it from me, treating yourself to pancakes on a morning after sleeping on the ground feels increadibly good - and certainly more fufilling than a bowl of instant oatmeal.
Thanks to Bob's Red Mill for supporting this post through providing me the flour to make this tasty recipe along with three other tasty recipes as part of a series of gluten free camping friendly recipes.
On a typical camping trip, my husband and I don’t sit around and hang out at camp all day. We may have a leisurely breakfast – but you won’t catch us sticking around our campsite. Before long we’ll head off on our chosen adventure of the day, so we’ll take our lunch with us on the trail or the road.
For lunch we’re most often eating sandwiches made of homemade gluten free bread (which doesn’t require toasting for maximum taste) and a quick spread. Rather than packing this bread full of starch – I opted to tip the scale towards whole grain flours and seeds to provide a heartier nutritional punch to fuel our long hikes. Our choice of spreads varies between a nut/seed butter and jelly combination or a quick salmon and chive spread for which I’ve included the quick and simple recipe below.
I recently rediscovered a recipe torn out of Sunset Magazine; Single Girl Melty Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake and I've found it to be a great cure to a night home alone. It's small, comes together quick, and I always have all the ingredients in my kitchen. The only problem is that I'm not a big chocolate person, in the end I always prefer a fruit based dessert instead.
This month's Gluten Free Ratio gave me the perfect opportunity to try and create a similar small and quick treat, as a cobbler instead of a chocolate cake. Again, this recipe is all made of things I always tend to have around the kitchen. You could use different berries if you prefer - I'm stuck with blueberries and cherries (yes, not actually a berry) since I can't have most others. That doesn't bother me in the least since they also happen to be my favorites. While I could easily see myself enjoying this entire cobbler myself, it's also been the perfect size to share with my husband.
For the cobbler topping, my ratio ended up being 7 parts flour, 7 parts milk, 2 parts butter, and 1 part sugar.
