We made it past Monday. I think this means we deserve a treat, don’t you?

Now, I love chocolate ice cream. Anyone who knows me know this to be true – chocolate anything trumps vanilla, hands down. I also happen to love coffee more than most things on the planet. Recently I had it in my head that I wanted to make an affogato, which is basically ice cream and espresso, but I was going to do it my way.

First of all, I don’t have an espresso maker, so double-strength coffee worked for me. Simply brew half the water with the same amount of coffee you normally would use, and you’re golden. Secondly, affogatos usually have vanilla ice cream, but I wasn’t buying that. I used chocolate, and I was not disappointed.

I used a big ole scoop of ice cream and about 2 ounces of piping hot coffee, and I was beyond the moon in happiness. This is the perfect mid-afternoon treat to let your spirits soar.

A big dash of cayenne really takes this a step above, so I recommend you add that, too. It’s kind of got that Mexican hot chocolate vibe to it. Now, take your affogato outside and just relish in the flavors and the moment. You won’t regret it.

Ingredients:

1 scoop chocolate ice cream
2 oz double strength coffee
dash cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Make coffee (double strength.)
2. When coffee is ready, scoop ice cream into glass.
3. Top with 2 ounces or so of coffee, and a hearty dash of cayenne.
4. Enjoy with a spoon and maybe a straw, too!

Recently, we had a craving for gluten free bread pudding. After some poking around we didn’t find a recipe that quite fulfilled the craving, so we used a few as guidance, mostly Noshing with the Nolands, and struck out on our own.

From this experiment we learned the following: bread goes a long way. You probably don’t need as much as you think.

This recipe creation reminded us that experimenting in the kitchen is a process. Dishes are not going to be perfect the first time around, and good recipes and balance take time to develop. We all need to cut ourselves slack sometimes – the truth is if it turns out on the wet or on the dry side you can’t go wrong with baked bread, cheese, and vegetables.

Adjust the ratios of wet to dry ingredients to make this recipe just how you like it. Some people like wet bread pudding (like me!) and some people like dry (like Jennie); we think that this ratio turned out to be a good balance between the two.

Ingredients:

10 oz. gf bread, cubed (we used Udi’s hamburger buns)
5 ounces of cubed brown portabella mushroom caps (or mushrooms of your choice)
1 head broccollini, rough chopped
4 leaves of kale, rough chopped
¼ white onion, rough chopped
10 halved sundried tomatoes
6 eggs
1 cup of milk
8 oz. fontina, cubed
parmesan, for topping
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Cube gf bread and toast at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes or until slightly browned
2) Rough chop broccolini, mushrooms, kale, and onion and saute in wok until kale is wilted.
3) Mix toasted bread, vegetables, and fontina in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4) In a separate bowl mix eggs and milk then add to bread, vegetable, and cheese mixture.
5) Place mixture in greased baking pan, top with parmesan cheese and bake for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees. Use foil for last 10-15 minutes if browning too quickly.

What recipe have you been perfecting in your kitchen?

I love falafel and am constantly looking for an excuse to eat it, but I don’t love that it can leave me feeling heavy when it’s fried. The best falafel I ever had was at this place called Cafe Zog in Providence, Rhode Island with my friend Lauren (circa what, 2001, maybe?)

I recently saw Lauren and it reminded me of our adventures in Providence, and of my love for falafel. So I made some falafel baked in the oven instead of deep fried, and I threw it on a salad. I think this is a great compromise for those of us who love the flavor but don’t want to make something chocked full of healthy ingredients bad for us.

I love Mark Bittman, and his recipe really impressed me. If you plan on using canned chick peas (I did!) use two cans instead of one, and know that it might be a bit wet – you might need to not add any water, and your patties will be slightly flatter, but I can tell you they were delicious despite this.

I also just found tahini at Trader Joe’s as a dip, so I used that in this recipe and in this salad, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Falafel Salad

Ingredients:

1 recipe Mark Bittman’s falafel
4 cups arugula
1 cucumber, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
3 oz fresh feta, crumbled
1/4 cup tahini sauce
s/p

Directions:

1. Make your falafel according to Mark’s directions.
2. Chop cumber, halve tomatoes, crumble feta.
3. Add arugula, cucumber, tomatoes, and feta to a bowl, and top with falafel (crumble this in if you’d like, or leave in patties.)
4. Add tahini on the side, and salt and pepper as you see fit.

What do you think of falafel? Do you love it? Have you tried it? Let us know what your favorite Mediterranean food is!

I love chocolate and lemon together. I just think that flavor combo is right in the world. I made this chocolate lemon pie a few years back, but it’s been awhile – high time to bring this flavor combo back to you guys.

Enter Vanessa from Garibaldi Goods, who was kind enough to supply me with amazing Sweet Lady Cook Meyer Lemon Marmalade and a Twenty-Four Blackbirds chocolate bar. The perfect combo for the perfect tart. We cooked together one afternoon and decided that this tart should be present at every meal because it melds the tart lemon with the rich chocolate and makes you want seconds…or thirds.

Here’s what we did: we used this tart crust recipe – but feel free to use whatever tart/pie crust recipe you like. Then we made the filling while the tart crust par baked. Then we baked the filling, and drizzled chocolate all over it. Then we split the whole tart (kidding but almost not really, it was that good!) The whole thing was quick as desserts go, and the final product was savory and sweet and lemony and beautiful.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade & Chocolate Tart

Ingredients:

1 Food & Wine tart crust
1/2 stick butter, softed
4 oz meyer lemon marmalade
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 oz chocolate
1 oz heavy cream

Directions:

1. Make the tart crust. Let chill one hour, then form and place in tart pan. Par bake at 375 about 15 minutes. Make sure to use pie weights so the crust doesn’t rise.
2. While the tart’s in the oven, make the filling: mix together butter, marmalade, egg, egg yolk, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender or food processor.
3. When your tart crust is par baked, add filling to the crust, and return to oven until the center is no longer jiggling, about 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven.
4. While cooling, make chocolate topping: melt chocolate over low heat, and add heavy cream until chocolate is a pourable constancy. Spoon/pour over the top of the tart. Then add your lemon zest, and serve warm to make everyone love you that much more.

We hope you get a chance to make this one – it’s a real treat, and we loved using some local goods in the process. Don’t forget to let us know if you do!

The heat waves have started already here in Los Angeles – the kind that tempt you to perform spontaneous striptease and/or launch yourself screaming into neighbors’ outdoor pools. Both of which are viable options.

However, if you’re looking for a less socially impactful solution – one with, perhaps a little more tact, class and tequila – we’ve got the perfect popsicle for you. Because who doesn’t love a good margarita incarnation?

Even if you don’t have these ingredients readily available in your home, they are easily procurable, even in small doses. Want to do it on the cheap? Run by your local liquor store and get yourself a travel size Jose Cuervo and a single serving limeade in your local grocery store cooler section.

Or make a pitcher and drink it with friends before it even reaches the freezer. Even if you wanted to channel your inner “Last Man on Earth” and recreate Phil Miller’s margarita pool – there’s really no wrong option with this recipe here.

Servings: Recipe makes 10 3-oz popsicles

Ingredients:

½ cup cucumbers, roughly chopped
2 cups limeade
2 shots tequila
3-4 mint leaves
A small handful of ice
A pinch of sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in blender.
2. Pour into popsicle molds.
3. Wait. It’s the hardest part but luckily (?) for you, if you’re in LA it will probably still be scalding outside in a few hours.
4. Once completely frozen, remove from mold and enjoy before they evaporate back into this dry, desert wasteland.