Greek Yogurt with Fresh Figs, Walnuts & Citrus Honey

Hope you had a great 4th of July! It’s really summer isn’t it? Despite a rainy start to the weekend it was pretty fantastic weather wise.  I feel like I went grocery shopping 100 times in 3 days. Each time I came back with more & more fresh fruit. I just love summer fruit & lack control when it comes to passing it up. One of my favorite treats to get this time of year is fresh figs. If you are saying to yourself - I never had a fresh fig - I highly suggest grabbing some next time you see them at the store. They’re so delicious & you can eat the whole thing! I don’t eat the little nubby stem but the rest of it I eat.  On Saturday morning I mixed up some fresh figs with yogurt & added a little crunch with some walnuts & added sweetness with some lime flavored honey. I will definitely make it again.

Read on for this quick recipe.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Salad with Mint, Walnuts & Arugula

Last week we were in Charleston, SC (ahhhh I love that place & I will share some pictures soon). Truth be told the majority of the food we ate was either fried or seafood - leaving little room left for anything green (unless you count fried green tomatoes).  Now that we’re back into the swing of a full week I’m doing my best to eat fresh - plus it’s spring (finally) so I always find myself wanting to eat more green things & just lighter in general.

I was flipping through the pages of Bon Appetite magazine & came across a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb salad. Being a forever fan of the pie version (my mom still makes the best strawberry rhubarb pie!). Coincidentally, my sister-in-law, Dulcie, asked me how else she could prepare rhubarb.  Clearly the universe was telling me that I needed to try out the salad.  It did not disappoint. It was every bit tangy & sweet that the pie is but in a healthy salady-bite. I did change it up a bit from the original recipe swapping out hazelnuts for walnuts & adding some arugla because it’s what I had on hand - & I just love arugula. (Check out this unexpected way to use arugula in your Cinco de Mayo cocktail that I stumbled upon at work & had to try out.)

PS: This recipe calls for mint. I could only find a small potted plant of the mint - wish me luck keeping her alive & green because my thumb is not.

PPS: Bon Appetit suggests not making this salad the night before in fear that the rhubarb will breakdown too much & become too soft. Make it as close to serving time as possible.

UPDATE: I ate all of the arugula out of the salad for dinner & had a lot of the strawberry-rhubarb mixture left so I refrigerated it overnight. I packed some arugula on top & some avocado & am currently enjoying it for lunch - maybe I didn't cut my rhubarb super thin but I have to say it's just as delicious on day 2.

Fudgey Made-from-Scratch Brownies

While watching all the Olympic athletes work up a sweat I had a craving for exercise brownies. We usually have a stock of brownie mix in the house & Chris usually will whip up a batch at the sheer mention of the word.  We didn’t have any brownie mix but after a quick web recipe search & ingredient assessment I found a way around the no-boxed-brownie mix-in-the-house-problem - I made them from scratch! They’re actually a lot easier than you think. They take a bit longer then just pouring out the box mix because you have to measure basic ingredients like butter, sugar, flour, salt & cocoa powder but other than that they didn’t take that long & were deliciously decadent. Next time you're in the brownie mix section I hope you'll grab some cocoa powder & give this old scratch thing a try instead. If you opt for the boxed mix which is your fave? Let me know in the comments below.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Muffins

Lately, I haven’t been able to read my favorite blogs as regularly as I like, so it’s a real treat to catch up on the posts that I’ve missed.  I adore withfoodandlove.com.  Sherrie Scaglione Castellano, a life coach & fabulous blogger, always has really great recipes made with whole foods & they just taste really good & are good for you. Sherrie even makes you feel good about infusing your own vodka & mixing up spicy bloody marys (like I did here).

The one recipe that I found most recently that spoke to the ingredients that I had on hand & my sweet tooth was this one for chocolate chip banana oat muffins.  These muffins are so delicious that Chris compared them to his favorite chocolate banana bread from Starbucks. They are that good but these are much more healthful. For one, they’re vegan - which just sounds better right? It means they they’re made without animal products (like milk, eggs, butter).  I had never baked anything vegan before so I was a little hesitant - but don't be they don't taste "vegan".  Plus, they have chia seeds which are a popular super food amongst my healthy friends (Jennifer, Natalie & Rose - I’m looking at you!).  These bitty little seeds can help combat diabetes, are packed with fiber & omega3s plus lots of other great health benefits.

Ok, so these muffins have chocolate chips - but hey chocolate has antioxidants right?  I will definitely be making these again.

Quick Homemade Breakfast Oatmeal

We saw some family this weekend. Lucky for me, my family members are my biggest fans & they notice when things aren’t up to par - & usually tell me (thanks for calling me out Melissa Donnelly - I needed to hear it).  Lately, I haven’t been blogging a whole lot & that is going to change. Truth is I was sidetracked but other projects that I thought I wanted to try my hand at - & while they taught me new life lessons what I really learned is that this is where I want & need to be right now at this point in my life - here blogging about what I love on a daily basis.  So without further adieu, I’m posting more recipes & other things that lift me up more regularly. Will there be days where I don’t - probably - I’m human after all - but I will do my very best to bring you more of my original posts here. Thanks for sticking with me.

Today, I’m talking about breakfast - a meal that I can usually do without, but I’m trying to be better about eating it as it has been deemed the most important meal of the day.  The one person that I know who eats breakfast on a regular basis (for the past 87+ years!!!) is my Grandpa Paul.  He eats oatmeal everyday for breakfast, except for Sundays when he eats bacon & eggs.

Granted my oatmeal isn’t Grandpa’s - because I like more toppings (he just eats his plain). In the past I’ve eaten oatmeal - mostly instant. You know the package that you tear open & it has oatmeal & other dried counterparts in it - usually semi-identifiable.  Well guess, what Grandpa doesn’t eat that powdery stuff in the package - so I’m going back to basics & making mine from  scratch - well kind of - I’m using the microwave. Instead of taking 2 minutes in the morning to make your instant oatmeal this heartier & healthier way will take you about 5. I think the 3 extra minutes in the morning are worthy of knowing what exactly you’re putting in your body. Plus, it tastes better.

Polenta Squares with Sun-Dried Tomato & Walnut Tapenade

This past weekend my sister-in-law, her hubs & my sweet little niece came over for a visit. I channeled my inner mother, went out on a limb & tried a new recipe that I had never tried to serve our guests.  I tried this recipe for polenta squares with sun-dried tomato & walnut tapenade.

I think it came out pretty tasty, although now looking back at my photos & the photo they show on food52.com, my polenta squares look a little thin (note to self: next time I’ll make them a bit thicker). I have to admit I was a bit spastic at making my squares or rectangles as I now see that’s really what shape they were. I’ll note where I spazed out in the directions in hopes you'll learn from my mistakes.

PS: happy birthday to my cool-little-dude nephew, Chris! I love you!

Crunch Celery, Spinach & Parmesan Salad

I watch food network all the time. I even watch it at the gym. Yes I do.
This past weekend I watched the Barefoot Contessa whip up her Italian inspired celery and parmesan salad. I took a nod from this great lady & made this for dinner. I added some spinach for a little extra green-age.

Spinach Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Hoboken is only a mile square but it has a ton of great restaurants.  Among them are some tasty Cuban spots like La Isla.  It's a casual little place with rarely an empty seat with tons of tasty dishes on it's menu. One of my favorites is the spinach salad. It's just fresh with a combination of sweet and savory flavors as well as creamy and crunchy textures.  It's not a terribly complicated salad it's just the care they take to pile it on the plate.  It's really a feast for the eyes and the tastebuds too.  It's great on it's own or you can add shrimp or chicken to if if you want to "beef" it up. If you're ever in Hoboken, NJ I definitely recommend stopping by La Isla for a meal, if you aren't you can make a salad inspired by this great spot right in your own kitchen!

Smitten Kitchen's Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting

Spring is in the air with all lovely things I'm allergic to, to boot. In any event, sorry for lack there of posts. Truth be told I started this post before Chris & I took a long weekend in Florida last week, more on that later. Right now I'm writing in between gulps of hot water with lemon & honey (which sounds oh so Samantha from Sex & the City but when you're drinking it because you have a sore throat &  a bit of a bark (cough) it suddenly is a little less sexy).

Nevertheless, I'd rather go to a happy place - cupcakes!

In order to fully celebrate the first birthday of this here blog, I deemed it only proper to make cupcakes to share with the class (aka my office) & my number one supporter, Chris, of course.  So I searched for what is now my favorite carrot cake recipe: Smitten Kitchen's Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting.

The cake is really moist & yes your classmates will be reaching for the ones with the most icing because it traditionally just so good & this one's made with maple syrup (double good). Plus, there's carrots, raisins & walnuts in them - that makes it healthy right? Yes, let's call these health muffins - now it's ok if you eat ten.

Get the full recipe here  & click through for my (20+) photo story on making these yummy treats.

PS: Happy friday & happy (early) birthday to my gal Alexis!

Spaghetti Squash with Arugula Basil Pesto

I cannot believe I've never had spaghetti squash - until last night. The gals at the office were chatting it up so much I had to try it. Turns out it's not only delish & gluten-free it's super easy - so don't worry about making your own pasta with some alternative flour to steer clear of flour allergies. No ma'am. Mother nature has done it all for us.

We will definitely be eating spaghetti squash at our house again & again very soon.

Click through for the full recipe & full photos of how to make spaghetti squash with arugula basil pesto.

Omegas for Dinner

Everyone is trying to eat healthfully & clean for the start of the new year. I try to find the balance between whole foods & yumminess (like here). I will now introduce exhibit a: omegas for dinner: zesty salmon served with cranberry, walnut, basil & spinach quinoa. This dinner is not only full of color & flavors but omegas too. So we can all rest easy knowing we did our part after eating a healthy dinner. Oh & did I mention it's a pretty quick fix too? Well it is, read on for the full recipe.

If you're vegetarian or just don't 'do' fish, make the quinoa it's tasty all on it's own & makes a great lunch or simple supper.

Reality Bites Banana Bread

This weekend I devoured Apron Anxiety.  You must read it, especially if you're at any kind of crossroads in your life.  It's just such a fun read & I found it totally relatable.  Plus, it has delightful little recipes between chapters that are very real & very accessible even if you're just beginning in the kitchen.

I also consumed some much more caloric banana bread a la  recipe from Apron Anxiety. I had a bunch of overripe bananas so I doubled the recipe & poured the batter into a bundt pan for a large ring-like loaf.  I have to say it wasn't the traditional banana bread that I grew up with (it has chocolate chips in it!) but is still equally delicious. I added some nutmeg like my mom always did & cinnamon for some fun.

Click through for the full recipe.

Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies

A co-worker made these cookies for my team & I long before I'd even tasted the original famous Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I was instantly impressed & needed the recipe.  Since then I keep a stained piece of paper  in my mini recipe binder (that I've had since I was 12 ) with just the ingredients written down. I've made these cookies so many times that I have the process down pat, but I still need to double check my measurements - this is baking we're talking about after all.

There are four things that make these cookies as good as they are (besides the obvious chocolate chips & butter):

1. ground oats
2. cinnamon
3. lemon juice
4. the fridge/freezer

There is probably some kind of chemical reaction that happens - but I'm not going there because I'm not going to even pretend to know.  What I do know is that these cookies offer the perfect thickness & the right amount of yum to keep you making them over & over again.

Without further adieu, per Ms. Lindsey Barton's request, please click through to get the official recipe!