My mom makes delicious pies. Her daughter is scared to make pies. I can’t tell you why. A fear of not living up to the greatness? Maybe. Luckily, however, galettes exist – faster, easier, an entirely more forgiving. This cherry galette is just the latest of my many obsessions. Cherry Galette So what’s a galette? Basically it’s a pie crust with a fruit filling. You fold the sides up and over the fruit, bake it, and enjoy the heck out of it. The major difference, to me at least, is that there isn’t as much filling as a pie, so the crust is more of a factor in the dessert than a pie. Is that a p ..read more

When I saw mini chocolate chip cookies featured in n issue of Food & Wine magazine a while ago, I knew I had to make them as soon as possible. I mean – the recipe is a familiar one – just a slightly different take on the recipe. I’m not usually a fan of mini desserts (oh, except mini s’mores too), but I am a major fan of anything that has to do with homemade chocolate chip cookies, so I’m bending my rules! Mini cookies require a bit more flour, so they aren’t too sticky to work with. And it took me a few batches before I realized how little batter each cookie needed, but when I got it, I ..read more

Spring is definitely here. The trees are blooming and dropping petals – and the sunshine is a bit warmer. Spring is a yummy time to focus on eating more of what’s in season and local, so to get you ready, here are seasonal spring foods for everyone! Make sure to check out my post on seasonal winter eating if you want to read more about why seasonal eating is so good for you and the earth as well as why the problem of food waste is so big. Also, be sure to check out when to throw away food & leftovers. If you don’t have my spring & summer recipe cookbook, this is the perfect season to ..read more

The inspiration for this vegan pea soup (a yummy recipe without ham) came from a long travel day years ago, but the recipe is so beautiful, delicious, and healthy, it was completely worth it (and worth updating the photos for). A cancelled flight from Los Angeles to northern California resulted in a memorable lunch of pea soup and potato chips that hit the spot so much, I wanted to remake it (the soup at least) the following week. Vegan Pea Soup There are plenty of recipes for pea soup without ham, but they are full of butter and cream. I’m sure they’re tasty, but they just aren’t what I wa ..read more

I don’t tend to like sweet or sugary cocktails. I’ve found the cocktails made with gin or whiskey, however, tend not to be so sweet. This whiskey and orange juice cocktail, made next level with rosemary simple syrup, is just right too (and perfect with other sweet citrus too)!. When we lived in Los Angeles, friends not far away moved into a home with a prolific orange tree (leading to my creating thes orange muffins as well as these orange biscotti). In our Sacramento Bungalow home, our neighbors prolific orange hangs over onto our property and the owners are more than happy to share! Since ..read more

My husband and I are pretty straightforward coffee and espresso drinkers. We don’t do much beyond simple syrup and just old-fashioned milk or half and half, but I’ve seen so many Nespresso recipes – for original and vertuo pods, that I’m planning to start doing more experimenting! Nespresso Recipes Like any delectable coffee concoction at a cafe, these homemade Nespresso recipes add various flavors and ingredients to your brewed espresso. The simpler recipes merely use aerated milk in varying quantities. The more elaborate ones use flavored syrups – see some yummy homemade ones below – as w ..read more

I never knew the magic of ginger beer (not ginger ale – similar but better) until I started making sangrias for my wedding in 2015. I realized how delicious ginger beer was in mixed drinks. Since then I’ve been adding it too all kinds of juices and cocktails, but this ginger beer mocktail made with mint simple syrup and cucumbers is the best yet! Ginger Beer Mocktail On the topic of late discoveries, it wasn’t until my pregnancy that I learned to appreciate and LOVE interesting lemonades and mocktails, so why not combine both. A few things to know about ginger beer, so you can begin to unde ..read more

This 7 layer sweet potato vegan bean dip is my latest rendition of all my favorite flavors. I live for Mexican food. I can blame it on being a California girl, I suppose. Luckily, my guy is at the same fiesta! After two weeks of delicious Italian food in Rome and Florence last year, we came home and had Mexican food at least five times that first week. I could’ve handled more too. I’m a fajita lover (hence my homemade fajita seasoning) and my guy is into burritos and good enchiladas. Since our love of Mexican cuisine seems to know no end, I’m always looking for new ways to eat these comforti ..read more

This Ka’Chava review is sponsored by Ka’Chava. All opinions are my own. This year I finally started working out again. It’s still in stage 1, I think. I’m not back in a gym yet or going to classes (hoping to change that very soon), but I’m doing 4 “power walks” every week and it feels GREAT! I’ve never been a big breakfast person, but I do always need something before my walk. For a while I was doing some nut butter and crackers. It was fine but not always enough. And as I get back into more intensive workouts (and hopefully strength-building), I want to keep upping my protein intake (often ..read more

Ready for a glass of sweet and festive Riunite Lambrusco Pomegranate Sangria? Of course you are. And I certainly am too! Time is flying by this season. It’s to be expected during the holiday season, I suppose, but it’s always a little unexpected too, isn’t it? My sangria recipe skills have definitely come a long way since the first one I made my Winter Sangria. That first sangria is certainly a favorite recipe, but I’ve been slowly learning the art of less is more, but only if you have just the right flavor combinations. Luckily, this Lambrusco pomegranate sangria is just right and easy enou ..read more