recipe

Cherry, Peach and Raspberry Chia Seed Crisp

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Holy moly! I’ve only recently heard about chia seeds and their alleged health properties, but I am now a full on believer! Packed with protein and aiding hydration, these little guys are a wonderful addition to your diet, particularly in the hot summer months when it’s hot and you need all the water retention you can get.

While at the local farmers market, Whole Foods was set up promoting healthy eating and this amazing raw cherry chia seed crisp recipe. It was so delicious I ended up coming back for seconds, and because they were strategically placed right next door to a farmer selling Rainier cherries, you better believe a pound of those things came home with me. I promise that this recipe is not a labor of love, even though it does involve a food processor. You’ll have it whipped together and served to delighted friends in T-20 min or so. Continue reading

Potato Green Bean Salad and Rustic Pesto

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It’s picnic season, and an all time favorite of mine is this gluten-free, super easy potato and green bean salad. This baby first came into my life during my inaugural Hipcooks class “Healthy, Fresh and Zingy 2“, and I’m happy to say it’s made many appearances over the past few years. The most time consuming part of this dish is boiling and cooling the potatoes, everything else is smooth sailing.

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Lemon Artichoke Chicken

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Nom. Just nom. Yet another win from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice! This light chicken dinner is seasonal win for the upcoming summer evenings, plus it’s easy to put together and leaves satisfied customers all around. The artichoke marinade can be prepared ahead of time, so it’s perfect if you’ve had a long day and want a simple (and delicious) meal ready within 30 min.

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Spinach Parmesan Couscous

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A perfect compliment to a citrusy main dish, this couscous side dish is a pretty fast, tasty and colorful addition to your dinner (or lunch) plate. Once again, Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice provides a lovely recipe, that I look forward to trying again and again. Continue reading

Colorful Kale and Cauli Salad

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Colorful Kale and Cauli salad

Fast, visually pleasing and delicious, this salad brought me great joy as my dinner. I was lazy after pilates and didn’t want to cook, so I dug through the fridge and tossed together my findings, and thus became my tasty meal.

Salad bits

  • Kale
  • Blue cheese crumbles
  • Shredded cabbage
  • Died cranberries (or cherries)
  • Pumpkin seeds (great for building immunity)
  • Pine Nuts
  • Fig & Walnut Vinaigrette (found at New Seasons)
  • Cauliflower (first tossed with the Fig & Walnut Vinaigrette)

Salted Dark Chocolate Caramel Delights

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Chocolate and caramels are a complicated subject matter for me. I love them, but I’m not as crazy for them as other desserts (give me crème brûlée any day). However, I am starting to sing a different tune after having experienced some of the most amazing chocolate caramels ever. My friend, Sara is an incredibly talented blogger/photographer and, turns out, baker, and when she contributed traditional and chocolate caramels to our December Crafty Night, I knew my world would never be the same. Continue reading

Moroccan-Inspired Salad: Dates, Mint, Quinoa, Beets and Arugula

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During a recent après ski evening, some friends compiled a series of side dishes, and the quinoa, date and arugula salad simply stole my heart! It’s the perfect spring salad: mint, dates, peppery arugula and quinoa for some extra texture and protein. I made my own version and decided to add beets: huge win! The original concoction did not include cheese, but at a friend’s recommendation, I added some chèvre and it was a double win. Picnic season anyone? Continue reading

Homemade beef meatballs

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First of all, let me just give the disclaimer that there will be a LOT more beef posts coming in the near future. I went in on a cow share this year, and this is now what my freezer currently looks like. I am a fairly conscious meat eater, choosing leaner meats and locally raised when I can, but my perspective may be permanently altered after having some of these Eckler Mountain Meats. The beef was raised on grass pasture, supplemented in the winter with the farmers’ own barley hay, oats, and alfalfa, and are corn-, antibiotic- and hormone-free. What’s that they say? The best things in life are free?

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Queso: Austin lives in Portland

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Last week I had the privilege (and duty) to participate in my first SXSW Interactive Festival. It was a week filled with innovation, meet and greets, celebrity sightings (most notably Grumpy Cat, Mindy Kaling, Edward Snowden–by satellite, Snoop Dogg and George Takei) and tons of amazing food. I only visited Austin one other time, when I was introduced to the amazing signature dish of Texas: queso.

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Scallops with Salsa d’Acciughe e Rosamarino

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It’s no secret that one of my favorite places in the world is Hipcooks. I’ve written about them many a time, and am happy to say that I have recreated multiple dishes they taught me, but I think this one is my favorite. To ward off the initial scrunchy face syndrome, Hipcooks wisely calls the sauce for this dish “Salsa d’Acciughe e Rosamarino”, which has a lovely ring to it, rather than what it actually is: garlic, rosemary, lemon and anchovy sauce. No matter what, it’s delicious, so wipe that scrunch off your face, make this up and enjoy the hell out of it! Continue reading