pi(e) day

today is 3-14 which means that it's pi day.  or, as the baker in me likes to call it, pie day!  i say we just skip the math problems today and dig into a slice of pie instead.  i could go for a slice of just about any kind of pie right now . . . banoffee pie, classic apple pie, deep dish apple pie, strawberry pie, roasted strawberry mousse pie, pumpkin pie, lemon clementine pie, peaches and cream pie, ice cream pie, or even chicken pot pie.  you could even watch a movie about pie today too!

have a great weekend!

love, laurie

kitchen basics: measurement equivalents

next in our kitchen basics series, we're talking about measurement equivalents.  have you ever read a recipe that calls for 3 oz. and wondered how many tablespoons or teaspoons that equals?  well, i came up with this little chart that breaks it down for you.  hope you find it helpful!

. . .

are there any kitchen tips/tricks that you would like to learn?  leave a comment or send me an email to let me know what you would like to see next in the kitchen basics series.

happy cooking!

love, laurie

coconut waffles

this dreary winter weather is getting us down.  we're dreaming of warmer temperatures and longing for tropical weather.  since it doesn't seem to show signs of turning tropical any time soon, we decided to make a tropical breakfast to cheer us up.

when i think of tropical getaways, coconuts always come to mind.  we absolutely loved the coconut pancakes we made a few weeks ago, so we were excited to make some coconut waffles.  they were just as good as the pancakes, and the perfect thing to get us out of our winter funk.

this recipe made several waffles, so we had some left over.  we stored them in ziploc bags and then kept them in the freezer.  all you have to do it put them in the toaster to reheat them when you are ready to eat them again.  super easy!

we covered our coconut waffles in homemade strawberry syrup.  (i just cooked some frozen strawberries in a saucepan with a little bit of sugar and water until they reduced into a syrup.)  such a yummy combination!

coconut waffles
prep time: 10 minutes
cooking time: 4-5 minutes per waffle (depending on your waffle iron)
yields: 4 servings
adapted from foodie crush

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup roasted coconut chips

directions:
preheat your waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.  in a bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, and sugar.  set aside.  in a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, eggs, and oil.  add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.  fold in the shredded coconut.

pour enough batter into the waffle iron to just barely cover the waffle grid (usually about 1/2 cup of batter per waffle).  cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the waffles are golden brown.  once cooked, transfer the waffles to a baking sheet and keep them in a warm oven while you prepare the remaining waffles.  top with roasted coconut chips or additional shredded coconut.  serve warm with maple syrup and/or fruit.

enjoy!

love, laurie

my sewing "helper"

the ipad sleeves that i made back in january got me in the mood to break out the sewing machine more often.  so, i have been working on a few sewing projects lately. 

last night i was working on a sewing project, and leko decided that he was going to help me.  he is absolutely fascinated with the sewing machine, and he gets so excited whenever i bring it out to use it (mainly because he loves to watch the thread as it moves).  

i was concentrating on the fabric that i was sewing, and all of a sudden i realized that there was some resistance on the thread.  i looked up and found leko "helping" to guide the thread through the sewing machine.  it was so funny, i just couldn't resist taking a few pictures . . .     

he started off by playing with it pretty gently, then he got sassy and bit the spool of thread.  i told him that he couldn't eat the thread.  he got mad at me for stopping him and decided to get even by sitting directly on the fabric that i was sewing.  "go ahead and try to sew now, mom!"

since his little body was holding it down, i had to stop what i was doing.  i guess he showed me!

silly kitten!

love, laurie

a 65th birthday party!

on saturday we celebrated ryan's mom's 65th birthday!  ryan and i made a bunch of food, packed it up, and then headed down to ryan's parents' house to "cater" his mom's birthday party.

ryan invited a few of his mom's friends over for lunch.  (his mom knew that we would be coming down for lunch, but she had no idea that her friends would be joining us as well.)  it was a nice surprise, and it was so nice to get together to celebrate this special occasion.

 ^hummus and pita bread^

 ^deviled eggs made by my mom^

 ^mexican corn salad^

 ^vegetables and homemade ranch dip^

 ^mac and cheese bites^

 ^chicken fajita bites^

 ^swedish meatballs^

 ^mint chocolate fudge made by my mom^

^golden vanilla cake with strawberry and blueberry buttercream,
covered with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries^

love, laurie

chickpea chocolate chip cookies

i always enjoy trying new types of food and making new recipes.  i absolutely love traditional chocolate chip cookies.  they were a staple dessert growing up, and they always remind me of my family.  you just can't go wrong with a classic like that.

so, i was intrigued and curious (and even a little bit skeptical) when i came across this recipe for chickpea chocolate chip cookies.  this recipe doesn't have any flour, eggs, butter, or milk in it, making it vegan, dairy free, and gluten free.

since i have been exploring cooking/baking more vegetarian and vegan lately, i thought i would give them a whirl.

it always amazes me how ingredients can come together.  i would have never thought of making a cookie out of chickpeas, but it actually worked.

these cookies have a look and a texture that is surprisingly similar to that of a traditional chocolate chip cookie.  (although they are a bit more moist than traditional cookies.)

i have tried several vegan and gluten free recipes that ended up tasting like cardboard, so i was pleasantly surprised that the flavor of these cookies was so good.

i certainly won't be replacing my traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe with this recipe any time soon, but it is a great alternative if you are watching what you eat or if you have to whip up a dessert for friends on restricted diets!

chickpea chocolate chip cookies
prep time: 5 minutes
baking time: 18 minutes
yields: 14-15 cookies
adapted from eating whole

ingredients:
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

directions:
preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  in a food processor, combine the chickpeas, almond butter, coconut, oats, maple syrup, baking powder, and salt.  puree until smooth.  fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.  scoop the cookie dough by the tablespoon onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat.  flatten the dough balls to look like traditional cookies.  bake for 18 minutes.

enjoy!

love, laurie

all wrapped up!

it has been mighty cold this winter.  our local meteorologists keep saying that the temperatures have been way below normal this season.  (although you don't need a degree in meteorology to figure that out.)  i just can't wait for spring to come!

we're not the only ones who have been bothered by the extra cold temperatures this winter.  poor leko has been cold lately too.  when we leave for work each day, we leave a fleece blanket on our bed for him.  he loves to sleep on top of it.  (usually we come and find a deep dent right in the middle of the blanket where he has been sleeping.)  but, when it's extra cold, he makes himself a little fort inside the blanket.  it is the cutest thing.  the other day i walked into the room and all i could see was the tip of his tail sticking out from the blanket.  i guess he decided to wrap himself up in the blanket but forgot to bring his tail in with him.  it was so hysterical.  i moved the blanket away to make sure that he could breath in there, and he just looked at me as if to say, "peekaboo, mom!"  of course i couldn't resist snapping a few pictures on my phone . . .

silly kitten!

love, laurie

arugula, mint, and pistachio pesto

i absolutely love all types of pesto, from simple and traditional basil pesto to fancy sun dried tomato pesto with toasted almonds and italian parsley.  you just can't beat it.  it's so delicious and so versatile.  you can put it on pasta, chicken, sea food, grilled meat, sandwiches, pizza . . . just about anything.

arugula, mint, and pistachios are some of my favorite things, so i was really excited when i found a pesto recipe that combined all three of these ingredients.

the flavor of this pesto is just out of this world.  the arugula and mint make it bright and bold, and the pistachios give it a nice nutty balance.  it has a great underlying garlic flavor too.  this pesto is now one of my new favorite recipes.  a winner for sure!

when i made this recipe, i used half right away and froze the other half to save for later.  it's so nice to have some frozen pesto on hand to use at another time.  we put it on some pasta and it was so delicious.  i can't wait to put it on other things too.  i'm thinking it would be great between two slices of nice bread with some fresh mozzarella and tomatoes.  yum!

arugula, mint, and pistachio pesto
total time: 5 minutes
yields: approximately 3 cups
adapted from not without salt

ingredients:
3 cups arugula, tightly packed
3-4 tablespoons fresh mint
1 1/2 cups pistachios, roasted and salted
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

directions:
in a food processor, combine the arugula, mint, pistachios, garlic, cheese, and lemon zest.  pulse until everything is well pureed.  scrap down the sides of the bowl as needed.  with the food processor running, gradually pour the lemon juice and the olive oil into the mixture in a steady stream.  blend together until smooth.

enjoy!

love, laurie

happy mardi gras!

happy mardi gras / happy fat tuesday / happy fasnacht day!

no matter what you call it, it's a great excuse to eat a doughnut today!  

here is the recipe i used to make the doughnuts pictured above, and here are some of my other favorite doughnut recipes too:

~ baked mocha cake doughnuts with coffee cream cheese glaze

~ baked strawberry cake doughnuts with strawberry glaze

~ baked apple cider doughnuts

have a great day!

love, laurie

parmesan truffle popcorn

popcorn is synonymous with movies, so it seemed only right to make some popcorn to eat while we watched to oscars last night.

instead of making traditional movie-theatre style popcorn, we decided to jazz things up a bit.  after all, the oscars are a classy event so our popcorn needed to be a bit classy too.

we gave our popcorn a rich flavor with black truffle oil and himalayan truffle salt (both of which we bought at trader joe's).  then we added freshly grated parmesan cheese to the popcorn to take it to a whole new level.

the combination of the black truffle oil, himalayan truffle salt, and freshly grated parmesan cheese was decedent.  it was a great snack, worthy of an oscar for sure!

parmesan truffle popcorn
prep time: 5 minutes
baking time: 10 minutes
yields: 2 servings

ingredients:
1/4 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon black truffle oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
himalayan truffle salt to taste

directions:
preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.  using an air popper, pop the popcorn into a very large bowl.  be sure to remove any unpopped kernels from the bowl.  pour the melted butter and the truffle oil evenly over the popcorn, and toss well.  toss in the cheese, and season with truffle salt to taste.  line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and evenly spread the popcorn on the baking sheet.  bake for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.  once baked, allow the popcorn to cool completely.

enjoy!

love, laurie