mocha peanut butter banana smoothie

i had some left over black coffee in the refrigerator for a few days.  instead of just using it for iced coffee, i decided to make it into a smoothie.  in an effort to use up a few things in our kitchen, including a very ripe banana sitting on the kitchen counter, i threw a few ingredients together in the blender.

the result was a refreshing smoothie.  the cold coffee paired perfectly with the banana, peanut butter, and cocoa.  a splash of half-and-half cream and agave nectar gave it a great flavor.  it really hit the spot!

mocha peanut butter banana smoothie
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 1 large smoothie

ingredients:
1 cup cold coffee
2 teaspoons half-and-half cream
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 banana
3 ice cubes

directions:
blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

enjoy!

love, laurie

need a good laugh today?

the internet is buzzing this morning thanks to a mom who didn't approve of the barely-there crop top that her teen daughter bought from amazon.  the mom took a photo of the family cat wearing the crop top and posted a customer review for the product that is nothing short of glorious . . .

the mom's review has gone viral and i'm sure the teen daughter is mortified.  that poor cat looks absolutely disgusted.  i'm impressed the mom was even able to get that shirt on the cat.  leko certainly would have never allowed something like that.

have a great thursday!

love, laurie

summer to-do list

at the start of each summer i always make a seasonal to-do list.  it's helpful for days when we are looking for something fun to do.  our list keeps growing each year as we find new things that we want to try, or as we add things that we loved and want to repeat (it's now two pages single spaced).  here are a few of the things on our summer list that we hope to do . . .

1. spend time outside biking, hiking, and walking while the weather is nice

2. visit the local farmers market as much as possible

3. make lots of homemade ice cream/sorbet

4. pick fresh fruit at local farms (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and peaches)

5. have a romantic picnic at a local park just for the two of us

6. see a movie at the local drive-in movie theatre (for one price you get to watch two movies back-to-back!)

7. paint the outside of our back porch (a project that has been on our to-do list since we bought our house five years ago)

8. grow fresh basil in our garden box (so that we can enjoy pesto, bruschetta, and caprese salads all summer long)

9. go to the local summer fairs and carnivals

10. visit a few ice cream shoppes that we haven't been to before

what is on your summer list this year?

love, laurie

short hair for summer!

my hair was in need of some tlc, so i got a haircut the other day.  i opted to get it a little bit shorter since it's the summer.  my stylist only cut off about two inches, but it really made a drastic difference.  i love it and it's such a nice change for the warm weather.  it feels so light and healthy again!

love, laurie

. . . 

ps: previous hair cuts over the years

weekend biking

we took a vacation day from work on friday to enjoy the beautiful weather outside.  we got up early and drove down to where ryan's parents live in order to check out a new bike trail.  the trail was so pretty since it ran along a river.  we saw geese, ducks, squirrels, chipmunks, and deer.  we biked for a few hours in the morning, met up with ryan's mom for lunch, and then biked some more in the afternoon.  in total we biked over 20 miles!  our legs were sore, but we had a really great time.

hope everyone had a great weekend!

love, laurie

happy national doughnut day!

today is national doughnut day!  what a great day to celebrate!

did you know that national doughnut day started back in 1938?  a young doctor was sent to a military base, and on his way there he stopped at a bakery and picked up 8 dozen doughnuts.  the doctor gave a free doughnut to each wounded soldier that he helped at the base.  a lieutenant general that was helped by the doctor decided to make a fund raiser out of it.  the lieutenant general gave every wounded solider and the needy a free doughnut.  the fund raiser was joined with the salvation army and became national doughnut day!

if you're interested in making homemade doughnuts today, here are some great doughnut recipes:
baked mocha cake doughnuts with coffee cream cheese glaze
baked strawberry cake doughnuts with strawberry glaze
baked pumpkin doughnuts with brown butter and apple cider glaze topped with pecans
baked apple cider doughnuts

also, krispy kreme is giving away free doughnuts all day today too!

have a great weekend!

love, laurie

chocolate chunk cookies with pistachios

we had to whip something up for a co-worker's birthday last night, so when i came home from dance rehearsal we threw together a batch of chocolate chunk cookies with pistachios.

if you feel like you have deja vu, don't worry.  you're right, i did share a recipe for dark chocolate chip cookies with pistachios nearly three years ago.  good for you if you remembered that!  the recipes are similar, but a little different.

the first recipe was from joy the baker's blog.  this one is from her newest cookbook homemade decadence.  (on tuesday i shared a list of my favorite cookbooks that i use most often, and here it is two days later and i've already pulled one off the shelf.)

i've said it before, and i'll say it again: there's just something about chocolate chip cookies.  they are therapeutic and comforting.

cookies can solve problems.  like when your feet hurt from too many dance rehearsals in one week and your costumes for the spring recital arrived in the mail and they are too many sizes too big to actually fit you.  yeah, eat a cookie.  (side note: the spring dance show is just a week away and when i think of everything that needs to be done between now and then i get a little queasy . . . but hey, we have cookies.)

these cookies were baked until they were golden brown and gorgeous.  they are practically glowing.  they are packed with semi-sweet chocolate chunks (my favorite ones to use are the ones from trader joe's) and gorgeous green pistachios.  such an awesome combination.

ps: after we baked these cookies we turned on the tv and celebrity wife swap was on abc.  we had no intention of watching it but neither of us could seem to bring ourselves to change the channel.  it was the episode with jackie siegel (a.k.a. the "queen of versailles") and we both sat there watching, mesmerized by the sheer stupidity of the show and the actors.  shows like that really make you feel good about yourself and your own marriage, let me tell you.

chocolate chunk cookies with pistachios
prep time: 10 minutes
baking time: 12-15 minutes
yields: 24 cookies
adapted from homemade decadence

ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, chopped

directions:
preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes).  add the egg and beat well (about 1 minute).  mix in the vanilla.  in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  add the dry ingredients all at once to the wet and mix just until combined.  fold in the chocolate chunks and chopped pistachios.  scoop the cookie dough by the tablespoon onto the cookie sheet.  bake for 12 minutes for soft cookies and 15 minutes for crisper cookies.  remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

enjoy!

love, laurie

snapshots of life lately, according to my iphone pictures

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love, laurie

my favorite cookbooks

there certainly are a lot of cookbooks on our bookshelf at home.  however, there are some that i find myself reaching for more than others.  so, i thought i'd share the ones that i use on a regular basis.  whether you are looking to expand your cookbook library or looking to buy a cookbook as a gift for a friend, here are some of my favorite cookbooks . . .

1. joy the baker cookbook - i have been a huge fan of joy wilson and her blog joy the baker for years.  so, i was beyond thrilled when she announced that she was releasing her first cookbook.  as soon as i got this cookbook i read it cover-to-cover straight through like a novel.  each recipe you read sounds like one of joy's blog posts.  i love her writing and her sense of humor.  i also appreciate that each recipe has a picture too (100 recipes and 100 photos)!  i have made so many things out of this cookbook and we have loved them all.  (it's my goal to make every single thing in this cookbook and i'm well on my way there.)  there are also a bunch of helpful tips and tricks in there too.  there is something in this cookbook for everyone.

2. homemade decadence - joy wilson's second cookbook is just as good as her first.  the photos of the recipes in this cookbook could make you drool all over the pages, seriously.  i got this cookbook as a gift this past christmas and i absolutely love it.  just like the first one, i read this book cover-to-cover too.  if i had to describe this book in one word, it would be "indulgent" since all of the recipes are so over the top!

3. smitten kitchen - i love reading deb wilson's blog smitten kitchen and i couldn't wait to get my hands on her first cookbook.  i'm so impressed that she makes everything in her teeny-tiny nyc apartment kitchen.  she has it all in there: breakfast, salads, savory main dishes, sweets, and even a section on what to make to feed guests at a party.

4. pancakes - it's no secret that ryan and i absolutely love breakfast foods, especially pancakes, so an entire cookbook devoted to pancake recipes is totally for us.  adrianna adarme from a cozy kitchen has put together 72 sweet and savory recipes for the perfect stack of pancakes.

5. the taste of home cookbook - this cookbook is an "old classic" in my opinion and it is probably the cookbook i reach for the most.  my parents bought this cookbook for me as a gift and it is really the gift that keeps on giving.  there are several editions of this cookbook now (i have the original) and it is packed with absolutely everything you could imagine.  i love that it is ring-bound so that the pages come out easily since it is such a humongous book.

6. taste of home's complete guide to baking - this baking cookbook was also a gift from my parents.  every time i open the cover i read the sweet message my parents wrote inside for me.  i have had it since 2006 and i have baked so many things out of this cookbook.  it is another "classic" for me.

7. the complete magnolia bakery cookbook - after visiting the famous magnolia bakery in nyc we were excited to get our hands on this cookbook.  this is such a pretty cookbook with such a elegance about it.  we love being able to recreate the sweets from one of our favorite nyc bakeries at home.

8. the ice cream bible - also a gift from my parents, this cookbook is a must-have if you own an ice cream maker.  it is full of decadent ice cream, gelato, sherbet, and sorbet recipes.  perfect for combating the summer heat, and seasonal favorites to make year round.

9. ben & jerry's homemade ice cream and dessert book - we bought this book at a friend's yard sale for just 50 cents and boy is it a great cookbook.  who could say no to making ben & jerry's ice cream at home?!

ps: curious how we keep all of these cookbooks propped up on my kitchen counter?  we use this bamboo stand.  it is great for holding cookbooks and for holding our ipad while we read a recipe on the internet.  it has an adjustable backrest so that you can find the perfect angle for reading and it has adjustable page holders too.  it is really handy!

i'm curious, what are some of your favorites?

love, laurie

say something nice

as part of a guggenheim museum exhibition, the improve everywhere group constructed a wooden lectern with a megaphone and a sign that read "say something nice" which they placed in public spaces around nyc to see what would happen if new yorkers were given the opportunity to amplify their voices to say something nice.

june 1st is national say something nice day - a day devoted to counteract bullying and the lack of civility and common courtesy that's growing among people in today's world.  you don't need a lectern or a megaphone to make a difference in someone's day.  say something nice today and let it continue.

have a great day and happy june!

love, laurie

. . .

ps: june is national adopt a cat month too!