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(Almost) Vegan Baked Panko Zucchini Fries & Lemon Garlic Cashew Cream Dip Recipe

February 3, 2018

Happy almost Super Bowl Sunday!

I've never been a huge fan of football... but I AM a fan of the food to be had on game day! (haha) Bring me ALL. THE. SNACKS. !!!

Zucchini is proving to be one of my staple ingredients this year. You can cook it in SO many different ways! Today I'm reinventing fries. Of course, I still love the OG potato classic (who doesn't?!) - but sometimes I opt for this healthier version. They're so easy to make - and delicious too. And of course - you can't have fries without a dipping sauce of sorts! These would probably be great with guacamole (a Super Bowl must) - but if you're looking to switch it up... maybe give this (dairy free) lemon garlic cashew cream sauce a shot?!? (I promise you won't regret it!)

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Vegan Zucchini Noodle Ramen Recipe

January 6, 2018

First, I'd like to start off by saying that I am not 100% vegan. The food section of this blog is not exclusively vegan, and I don't think it will ever be fully converted to be exclusively vegan, either. This is the first vegan recipe that has actually graced my blog, haha. But I'm sure there are more on the horizon! As I mentioned in my "2017 In Review" post, I have been on an ongoing journey towards a better relationship with food. I feel better when I eat better - I have more energy, and am more productive. It's better for the planet to eat more veggies - and in a way, is a form of activism. The reason I can't commit right now to being fully vegan? It sounds super selfish, but I think my love for ice cream and pizza run too deep. I also LOVE seafood.. shrimp and lobster particularly. I'm sure this makes some of you vegetarians / vegans cringe. I am not opposed to incorporating more nut milks or nut cheeses, but am allergic to many nuts.. which makes it more difficult / a pain in the ass to find those alternatives. I really admire those of you who not only manage a fully vegan eating regime, but also do it with food allergies! So anyways, right now... I am okay with being "vegan-ish" or "vegetarian-ish" and making active better plant-based choices when I can -- but also not beating myself up for eating ice cream or pizza or whatever it may be every now and then. Everything in moderation!

Now... onto what you came here for: Zucchini Noodle Ramen!

2017 In Review / Happy 2018!

January 1, 2018

At the end of each year, I like to link all the year's posts in one place (for archival purposes). I used to title this post "best of ____" but "____ in review" seems more fitting. 2017 was certainly a whirlwind.. and I'm not sure I know anyone who is sad to see it go. It was a hard one for our world on multiple fronts, and for me personally it was a hard one as well. I disappeared a bit from social media at times - and largely disappeared from writing in this space. I did a lot more writing for myself - a lot of offline journaling and self reflection. A lot of self doubt crept in. There was a lot of me asking myself "where is my life going?" / "what's next?" and just general uncertainty that I've been battling since graduating in 2014 three and a half years ago. I think it's taken me nearly 4 years to "recover" from the rigor of art school, LOL. (For those of you who also went to an art school... maybe you can relate). This whole "creating for a living" isn't easy, but I also wouldn't trade it in for the world. As we say goodbye to 2017, I am honestly so excited for all the possibility that 2018 has in store. For the first time in many years (maybe ever?), I genuinely feel like this year can be anything I want it to be.

Anyways (without further ado) - here are the handful of posts (some of which I wrote for myself and then never promoted on social media) that I wrote this year:

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5 Sweet Truths You Can Learn From Building A Gingerbread House

December 29, 2017

Building a gingerbread house from scratch has been on my Christmas bucket list for a few years now. I knew it was always a big time / energy commitment, and I think that's largely why I put it off for so long. I also always felt like it was something that only benefitted me, and so therefore - I didn't prioritize getting it done amongst allllll of the other things on my holiday to do list. But this year, after finishing baking my Christmas cookies FOUR DAYS EARLY (!!) - I decided: challenge accepted! It took me longer than I expected (pretty much a full week affair) - but I think it was worth every second. All those hours spent putting it together.. and with the year winding down - I guess that left my brain to wander down an introspective path quite a bit, haha! Here are 5 sweet (slightly cheesy) truths that I learned from building my first gingerbread house from scratch:

On The Menu: Christmas Cookies 2017

December 22, 2017

Baking Christmas cookies has been one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season for as long as I can remember! (Probably since some time in elementary school when my mom started letting me use the oven, haha). I feel like every year, I try to challenge myself in some way to do better than the previous year. Usually, I am working on baking / decorating them up until the last possible minute before leaving the house for Christmas dinner.. but this year I finished FOUR whole days early! It's a Christmas miracle, LOL.

Dessert Goals Dessert Fest

March 31, 2017

Last Saturday, I self-induced myself into a serious sugar coma at the Dessert Goals Dessert Fest! This is only the second year the sweet event has been organized - and I'm so glad I was able to snag tickets.

Best of 2015 / Happy 2016!

January 1, 2016

HAPPY 2016!

Like everyone else on the planet rn, I'm taking a moment to look back on 2015 - I can't believe that it's over! It's crazy how fast time flies.. and naturally, it's a time to take a moment and reflect on "what was" and speculate "what will be."

Today, I wanted to quickly drop in and share some of my favorite posts from the year. 2015 was my first full year of blogging, and that's something I'm personally pretty proud of! While I may not have completed all of my 2015 resolutions (let's be real.. who has?), I'm glad that I stayed committed to regularly writing / creating blog posts. As I've mentioned before, a lot of time and energy goes into running a blog - and it's really nice to look back and see the year's content all in one place. These posts by no means cover every single thing that's happened to me in 2015, but I think they create a nice highlight reel:

Candy Cane Christmas Cookies

December 25, 2015

Baking is one of my absolute favorite things to do around the holiday season. I always end up trying to make 70 different things, and it's my pride and joy to craft up the very best Christmas cookie platter that I can to bring over to my grandparents' house for dinner on Christmas day.

I was flipping through an old cookbook (Very Merry Cookie Party) I found the other day - and came across this recipe. I thought they were the perfect little festive cookies! The best part: no icing was involved to decorate - so it was very "fuss-free" and didn't require much skill to pull off at all. ;)

Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie

November 26, 2015

Last Thanksgiving, I made a salted caramel apple pie for the first time ever (and it was amazing btw), but this year I wanted to try making something totally different! I decided to go with (druuumrooolll): brown butter pumpkin (!!!). I've never made a pumpkin pie before, but why not add brown butter to the mix as well? I meaaaaan, ya can't go wrong with b-r-o-w-n-b-u-t-t-e-r, amiright?

My go-to pie recipe book is the Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book (it's the same one I used for the salted caramel apple pie). Basically, it's the pie bible ... Everything sounds / looks amazing, and that's why I love challenging myself to make a new pie every chance I get!

Naan Flatbread Pizza Recipe

October 23, 2015

Naan flatbread is one of my absolute favorite types of bread! It is so versatile and you can eat it in so many different ways. Today, I'm going to show you how I use it to make homemade pizza. :)

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