You guys, we had a wonderful weekend with King Arthur Flour and a bunch of other new blogger friends (hi friends!) and I am excited to share more with you about it, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a delicious snack with you that everyone should make now. Ready?

Here’s a secret: roasted chick peas are delicious and easy and a great snack.

Now that you know, you should go forth and make yourself some delicious roasted chickpeas and you should eat them all up.

Here’s what you do: take a can of chickpeas, rinse ’em off, dry ’em off. Drizzle about a tablespoon or two of olive oil onto the peas, then add pretty much whatever spices you want – I added cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and salt. You can add about a half a teaspoon of each spice and about a quarter teaspoon of salt.

Roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, but you should check them AT LEAST every 10 minutes. Keep ’em in until their nice and crispy.

These are a great snack. They are a little spicy, they are a little savory, and they are absolutely portable for work or play. What is your go-to snack for work or play? We’re always looking for more snacks around these parts!

I had made a peanut stew many years ago, but clearly had forgotten just how delicious a peanut stew could be.  So I was delighted when I came across this recipe over at Cookie and Kate and decided I needed to make it immediately.  I’m also a huge fan of recipes that inherently are gf as opposed to modified to be gf.  The potential gluten in this recipe is the broth or bouillon, but that’s easily avoided.

I have made this recipe several times since I found the recipe and have made some slight adjustments and discoveries in the subsequent iterations.  First, I stopped using liquid broth because it is more expensive and takes up way more cabinet space.  I switched to some GF bullion powder; much more bang for the buck.  Personally, I prefer kale to collard greens so that’s what I used and I love any excuse to use red onions.  I find them a little too harsh for eating raw in salads, my onion vehicle of choice, so its nice to find something that mellows them out a bit.  Finally, instead of using sriracha I used ground fresh chili paste which has a spice that builds instead of scorches like sriracha.

The major discovery given a thinner batch is like the recipe warns is that the balance of tomato paste and peanut butter to broth is integral to getting the right consistency of soup.    If you don’t use enough tomato paste and peanut butter the soup ends up on the thinner side, so adjust accordingly for the desired effect.

The last time I made this I made a double batch and froze a whole slew of it so any time I get a craving I have a secret stash!

What are some of the meals you crave?

Spring is here! The sun is staying out later, the weather is getting warmer, and the evening adventures are getting longer. All of these things lead to one of my favorite activities: brunch! Now with the arrival of spring our inhibitions go down when we’re out on the town, often leading to a morning with a little bit of a headache. So whether you like to hit a restaurant patio or stay in your pajamas and enjoy your eggs, pancakes, waffles, and bacon at home, here are a few cocktails that will taste awesome and take a little of that head pain away.

MORNING GLORY FIZZ:

Prep Time: 2 Minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients:

1 ½ oz. blended scotch (1 Shot)
1 medium egg white
½ oz. lime juice
½ oz. lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup
½ oz. of absinthe or herbsaint
½ oz. club soda

Directions:

1. Grab your shaker and drop in the juices, syrup, and egg white. DO NOT PUT IN THE ICE YET! The egg needs to break down first and the acid from the citrus basically cooks it while you are mixing. Vigorously shake the contents of the mixer for about a minute. When you’re done, the inside should be very fizzy.

2. Add ice and your blended scotch to the mix and once again shake vigorously for about a minute.

3. Rinse an old fashioned glass with the absinthe or herbsaint, getting a nice layer on the inside. Now discard the liquor. Trust me – you don’t want it in there.

4. Strain the contents of your shaker into the glass, fill the remainder of the glass with club soda, and use a thin lemon peel as a garnish.

You’ll end up with a fizzy drink that will be sweet, sour, and light.

MIMOSA SUNRISE:

Prep Time: 2 Minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients:

3 oz. of sparkling white wine or champagne
2 oz. of orange juice
1 tsp. of sugar
3 dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters
½ oz. of grenadine

Directions:

1. Fill your shaker with the sugar, bitters, champagne, and orange juice. Use a mixing spoon until the sugar as broken down and blended with the liquids. This should take about a minute.

2. Add ice to the shaker and vigorously shake for about thirty seconds.

3. Strain the contents into a champagne flute or wine glass and add your touch of grenadine. This is a delicious, and colorful new take on the classic mimosa!

BLOODY MARY:

Everybody has their own Blood Mary recipe and everyone insists theirs is the best. I will not do that, I will simply say that for me natural is the real way to go and if you are using pre-made Bloody Mary mix you are cheating your guests and yourself. Often referred to as the “Hair of the Dog”, it is sure to add a little spice to your morning and help that headache become a thing of the past. At least for a few hours…

Prep Time: 2 Minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients:

1 ½ oz. of Vodka (1 Shot)
3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
4 dashes of Tabasco
1 tsp. of celery salt
1 tsp. of black pepper
½ oz. of lemon juice
4 oz. of fresh tomato juice (not V8)
1 celery stick for garnish

Directions:

1. Drop all the ingredients into a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for about a minute. Strain the contents into a Collins glass and garnish with the celery stick.

What is your favorite brunch cocktail?

Good Spirits Folks!

Recently, I wanted to make a new breakfast food, and was thinking of making lemon pancakes with strawberries when I saw the recipe for an Oven Pancake in my fave cook book, the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

As I was making it, as there was no picture, I was remembering a dish that my friend Liz had made for me once, which she called a Dutch Baby, and I realized that was what I was making. Here’s her version. It’s very similiar to this recipe, and I will say this is an impressive looking and SUPER easy breakfast that’s so savory and amazing with berries, or any other fruit. This was also the first batch of strawberries locally from California for this season, which is very exciting for the amazing produce to come!

Ingredients
Modified from BH&G

2 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put butter in baking dish and stick it in the oven for 3-5 minutes until butter melts.
2. Beat eggs. Add milk, flour and salt. Beat until smooth. Pour immediately into baking dish.
3. Bake 25 minutes, or until puffy edges and looks done in center. Serve with fruit (like strawberries) with cocoa powder or powdered sugar (or cinnamon…you get the idea!)

What’s your go-to breakfast? I’m always looking for something delicious to enjoy on my weekend mornings!

This simple, veggie-heavy and paleo-friendly dish is a great staple that can be made to feed a large group of friends or that can be used as leftovers for the week.

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
2 eggs
Broccoli
Spinach
Mushrooms, halved
2 cups cashews
2 tablespoons coconut oil
salt/pepper

Optional:
Coconut Aminos

Directions:

1.) First, roast your cashews. You can do this in a cast iron skillet over medium heat (just watch that they don’t burn) or in the oven (heat at 350 for about 10 minutes).
2.) While your cashews are roasting, turn your head of cauliflower into “rice.” You can do this the old-fashioned way and finely chop your cauliflower. Or, if you have a mini food processor or even a blender, you can puree your cauliflower until it looks like “snow.”
3.) Saute your veggies (minus the cauliflower) in a pan or wok with your coconut oil until they soften. You can cover them as well and/or add a splash of water for even softer veggies.
4.) Wait until your veggies are right about where you want them before you add your cauliflower rice. You don’t want the cauliflower to get too mushy. Mix all veggies (including cauliflower) together.
5.) Crack both eggs into the pan and mix until the egg is cooked.
6.) Add the cashews and salt/pepper to taste
7.) Use your coconut aminos as a tasty soy sauce substitute and add as needed to each serving.

This is a great staple that can be modified to fit your needs week to week. Have extra veggies lying around? Throw them into this stir fry and enjoy!

Also, cauliflower rice keeps well. You can always make a batch and keep it uncooked in your fridge. Add to dishes as needed!