Another month, another delicious list of in-season ingredients for you to cook! Might we suggest some recipes for you to make that will make use of these delicious fruits and veggies?

Asparagus
Avocados
Basil
Cherries
Cucumber
Green Beans
Nectarines
Onions, Green
Raspberries
Tomatoes

Here, of course, are some of our fave recipes using the above items that you can snag for yourself this April. Spring brings bounty, and for this we should all be glad!

Cherry Cobbler is one of our favorites. It’s so simple to put a cobbler together there is just no reason not to have one around every weekend during the summer months when fruit abounds.

This Peach Ice Cream can easily be made with nectarines, and it really should be. It’s sweet, cold (good for those of us in hot SoCal), and it’s fresh.

These Fried Green BLTs were beyond. They were one of the most delicious and decadent things we’ve made, and they were so, so worth it.

These Berry Ice Pops are amazing, and easy, and the perfect after work/school snack. You can use whatever kind of yogurt you’d like, but I prefer good ole Greek yogurt to have the tang balance out the sweet of the berries!

What’s your fave item on this list? Are you excited for cucumbers to be in season again for pickles and dipping in hummus? Do you love roasted asparagus with a hint of lemon? Let me know what you dig, I love hearing from you.

Is there anything better than fresh springtime weather after a long, cold winter? A (sort of) warm breeze carrying the scent of freshly cut grass through your (finally) open windows? You know what else is fresh and smells good? COOKIES. MUFFINS. CAKES. So celebrate the return of spring with some baked goods! We probably won’t turn on our ovens this week in L.A., it being 90 degrees and all, so have an extra treat for us! Click below for some digital inspiration, or visit your kitchen for the real stuff.

This weekend, I had the pleasure of cooking with my friend Vanessa from Garibaldi Goods. She suggested we make Tuna Puttanesca, and I confess I had never made any kind of puttanesca in my life. Luckily, I am now over that embarrassment and am an old pro. I love making new friends, you guys, because they introduce me to new things, and I especially like V because she loves food probably more than I do – a good friend to have around, indeed.

Garibaldi is great, you guys, because you can buy all Californian goods (I love supporting local business) that are just plain delicious. For those of you who don’t live in California, still worth checking out, OR you can try to find something similar in your home state.

We used some awesome products in this, and I encourage you to try it but feel free to mix and match with what you have and love – that is, after all, the heart and soul of puttanesca in the first place.

Ingredients:

1 red onion, sliced thinly
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp olive oil, plus some to coat pasta (we used Other Brother Company)
1 can kalamata olives, halved (or black, if you prefer)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1-2 tbsp Omnivore Sauce (optional, but suggested – delicious!)
7-10 oz albacore tuna (we used Community Seafood which is 7.75 oz)
1/3 cup capers
1 bunch fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 lb spaghetti (we used Semolina Artisan Pasta)
s/p to taste (we used Omivore Salt which has some spices in it – divine!)

Directions:

1. Put water on to boil, making sure to generously salt the water. When the water boils, follow the package directions to make pasta, but meanwhile:
2. Open your can of tomatoes and tuna and set aside. Then, halve your olives.
3. Chop your onion and garlic, and then saute with two tablespoons of olive oil until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Using your hand, crushed the tomatoes as you add them to the onions and garlic, and then add your olives. Add the Omnivore Sauce and turn heat to medium low to add your capers and tuna.
5. Salt and pepper to taste, and add half the parsley to your mixture.
6. When the pasta is done, drain but reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water. Add pasta water and 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a bowl, and add all ingredients and mix well. Adjust seasonings to taste, and serve hot, topping with the rest of the parsley!

This dish is easy and comes together for a fast weeknight meal. Don’t like tuna? Use chicken! Or go vegetarian and add some cheese or white beans. The power is in your hands. Have you ever made puttanesca? What kind do you like best?

Thanks to Garibaldi Goods for providing these delicious items to try, and for the recipe idea!

Hey folks! Happy Friday. We’re glad we have two days ahead to relax (read: cook all the foods) and hang out and enjoy LA (read: try to eat every ice pop we find in the hopes we don’t melt into a puddle.)

I am trying a new series around here to give you a glimpse into more than just recipes and food! I hope you like it. Holla at your girl if you don’t. But here’s what we’ve got going on:

1. This Mark Bittman article about GMOs. Say what you will about them (safe, not safe, etc.) but he finally articulates a point I’ve been mulling over for a while: if GMOs are safe, why not label foods to let people know GMOs were used? Transparency is key in all industries, especially food. What do you think?

2. Salted Oatmeal Cookies from Real Simple are everything, you guys. I made them this week for book club and they were awesome – I used chocolate covered pomegranate seeds instead of dark chocolate, and I highly recommend it.

3. Speaking of book club, we are reading Freakonomics this month. Have you guys read it? What are you reading this month? I just finished reading Wild and I really enjoyed it and kind of want to go hike the PCT now.

4. I am doing a million yoga videos right now on this site I love, Do Yoga With Me. I am doing a six week program to take me from intermediate to advanced, and I am really feeling good and happier in general. Plus, I am killing my headstands – this one was the snow from when we went to Big Bear a month back. Do you guys do yoga? Do you run or anything? What makes you feel good? Dance class?

5. Since it’s going to be hot this weekend in LA, and since I am looking for healthy snacks to get us through the weekend, here’s a throwback to our Spring’s Here Smoothie we posted last year at this time.

That’s what we’re thinking about this week. What are you up to? Happy Friday!

Hi there, chickadees!

I’m three for three this year in terms of Garlic, My Soul contributions, which is pretty much the longest trend I’ve ever had, because I get distracted easily, and also, I spend most of my time chasing around a toddler.

When I asked Jennie what to write about this month, she was like “Write about feeding a baby? Is that boring?” to which I admitted that feeding a baby is the same as feeding an adult, only babies throw food.

With that said, the following recipe is Theo-approved. It’s warming up (except for a surprise snow storm – thanks Chicago) around here, and we’re craving spring vegetables, but it’s too cold to step all the way away from comfort food just yet, so an adaptation of Smitten Kitchen’s Spring Hash was just what we needed to bridge the gap between winter misery and the elusive summer in the city. We even agreed, in a shocking admission, that this dish doesn’t even need cheese, which makes it a miracle worth trying.

Enjoy!

Not Quite Spring Hash

Serves four + lunch leftovers (note: my four includes two ladies, one hungry husband, and a toddler)

Ingredients

1.5 lbs or so Yukon Gold potatoes, diced, no need to be precise on amount
1 small onion (or in our case, ½ giant onion)
2 handfuls baby bella mushrooms, slices
2 bunches asparagus , cut into inch pieces(we like the skinny kind)
5 strips of bacon
s/p to taste
eggs (fry an egg to put on top of each hash serving)
olive oil
hot sauce, obviously
green onions, sliced, to top

Directions

1. Heat a large cast iron frying pan over medium heat and add a little olive oil. Add the bacon, and cook to your preference (ours is crispy, so it’s easy to crumble) Remove and drain.
2. Leave the heat on and the bacon fat in the pan. Add potatoes and leave them for about seven minutes (or as long as you can stand to). Add salt and pepper, and flip, and then let them hang out for about seven more minutes. This should crisp them up, though I admit, ours were kind of mushy (which was delicious and fine), but I also admit I am a bad flipper. Ky is better.
3. When the potatoes are about almost done (so about 15 minutes), add the onion and the mushrooms. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the asparagus, cover the pan and cook for about ten minutes. Remove the lid, throw in the crumbled bacon, and your hash is done—top with a fried egg (or any kind of egg you like), green onions and some hot sauce.