coffee.

my parents recently bought a farm in a beautiful part of virginia. we'll be making our inaugural visit in a few weeks & i just know how deeply i'm going to love this place. how much a part of our family narrative will be rooted in time spent there.

i've been trying to figure out the perfect housewarming gift to take and though my parents aren't coffee drinkers, i know they're eager to welcome lots of coffee lovers into their home (including me!). i've been looking at these two coffee makers and trying to choose between them -- i'm curious, have you tried either the bodum or the chemex? there's something about the simplicity of this place, how leisurely i'm hoping mornings will be there (although my favorite 16 month old likely has a different pace in mind...) that i like the idea of making coffee this way. my parents will be heating up the kettle for tea any way, so we could share the ritual.

any other favorite coffee makers? morning rituals matter so much to me. i'm so grateful for your advice sweet readers!

p.s. do you have a favorite grinder you use?

two favorite cookbooks.

dinner a love story & super natural every day are newer cookbooks to our kitchen, but they are quickly becoming dog-eared, well loved favorites around here. i love the simplicity of the recipes, how wholesome the ingredients are & how beautiful the writing is. they also happen to be my favorite gifts right now -- for a friend's birthday, newlywed couple, new parents or an anniversary.

our favorite recipes from dinner a love story are the turkey chili (we often use beef & sub trader joe's bolognese for the can of tomatoes -- be sure to do the full 4 tbsp of chili powder -- it's the punch!); fish cakes; & pork loin with red cabbage (our favorite for dinner parties these days). from super natural every day, we've really loved the quinoa patties, oat cakes (oh.my.goodness.) & millet muffins.

the nicest thing is that i've come to trust these cooks -- i already know i love what happens in their kitchen, so when i try a new recipe, i do so knowing it's likely going to be a hit with us. what are your favorite cookbooks these days?

stamped to-go cups.

 

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breakfast cookies.

months (maybe years?) ago i marked a recipe for breakfast cookies -- they looked wonderful & i tucked it away. i'm a dessert for breakfast person from way back -- if there's just been a birthday & there's a piece of rich chocolate cake in the fridge, know i'll be diving in as soon as i wake up. but, that's on special occassions. normally, i'm a big believer in breakfast being the most important and nutrient rich meal of the day.

i was taken by the idea of breakfast cookies because they would work so well for our family -- ryan could grab one as he ran out the door in the early morning for a flight. my daughter who has insisted on feeding herself from the very beginning (baby food? no thank you said ellie) could chow down on these while i made my latte. & well, we covered why i would love them.

but as i actually looked at the recipe (it called for 3 sticks of butter, 2 cups of sugar and 4 eggs in 16 cookies...) i realized it wasn't going to nourish us. so, i started playing around with it -- making substitutions, trying to pack as many healthy, flavorful ingredients as i could. batch after batch we've figured out what works for us. i know as they slowly disappear that i've snuck in so many wonderful things, which makes me feel good about the way we're starting our day.

i've been meaning to post this recipe forever, but you see -- i wasn't ever measuring anything. it's not really fitting with the rest of my personality, but i'm a crazy baker. i rarely measure anything & if i do so, it'd not what others might call precise. my friend allison, who had tried many batches, was determined to get the recipe -- so she came over one night and forced me to recipe. while every batch is a bit different, this is what seems to make the cookies we love best:

combine all wet ingredients:

• 1 can pumpkin (can sub or add banana, avocado, pureed sweet potato! we like to stick with pumpkin)
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter softened/melted
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBSP flaxseed oil (omega-threes! i've been meaning to try coconut oil)
• 1/3-1/2 cup honey (depending on how sweet you like 'em)
• & 1/3 cup brown sugar

 add dry ingredients

• 1 cup+ wheat germ
• 1 cup+ whole wheat flour
• 3 cups+ oats
• ¾ cup almond meal
• ½ cup almond slivers
• ½ cup+ shredded coconut (I use sweetened, but you don’t have to)
• 1/3 cup shredded dried mango
• ½ cup dried cherries or cranberries or combo
• 2 tsp+ cinnamon

you can make lots of substitutions (i can find all these ingredients at my trader joe's!), what’s important is that your mixer is STRUGGLING in the end, these are thick cookies. put big dollaps on a cookie sheet and bake for 18 min+ at 350 degrees (you want the tops to be browned and them to stay together). enjoy!

easy peasy sweet potato dinner.

had to share this really simple recipe my dad & i cooked up. it was inspired by a loaded sweet potato recipe i saw in some magazine a while ago: given sweet potatoes are one of e's favorite solid foods, so we'd be roasting them anyway, we decided to whip up an adult version.

it couldn't be easier -- roast sweet potatoes & brussel sprouts (depending on size 400 degrees for 30+ minutes). split the sweet potato open, chop up the brussel sprouts & spread them across potato. we then added dried cherries & shredded aged provolone, but go wild & throw it whatever you have on hand. i can speak for this combo -- it was delicious! what are you cooking these days?

cinnamon drop biscuits.

i'm all about simple go to's & one of our favs are cinnamon drop biscuits. it's literally the bisquick recipe (which is bisquick & milk), plus some cinnamon sprinkled in. takes 3 minutes max. drop them on the tray for 10 minutes & voila! we pair them with roasted veggies, favorite soups & the other morning i made them for bible study in the morning (a little jam/honey & let's call it breakfast!). i was raised in a family where bisquick is a food group (and the gospel in terms of pancakes) & these have grown into a favorite of our little family too!

favorite chocolate chip cookies of all time.

perhaps it's a blogger cliche to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe & swear by it, but i simply couldn't keep this discovery from you. to be honest, i'm a break & bake girl. if i'm going to bake, i tend to think i should do something more orginal than classic chocolate chip cookies, so i usually just do break & bake if i'm in the mood for them.

that said, i've been seriously craving chocolate chip cookies since ellie arrived (i really don't want to know how many i've had in the past two months) & so last week i decided to make some from scratch. a quick search of my google reader starred entries led me to this post and these cookies, which i'm now totally in love with:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
• preheat the oven to 325 degrees. grease cookie sheets.
• sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. in a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.
• beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
• stir in the chocolate chips using a wooden spoon. drop rounded balls of cookie dough, about a spoonful at a time, onto the prepared cookie sheets. cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
• bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the edges are lightly toasted. cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

*be sure you have friends to share with immediately!

chocolate & caramel brownies.

 

 

for valentine's day, along with this chicken pot pie, i was wild & made brownies not from the box (well sort of...)! this recipe is from a neighbor who is a wonderful cook & i thought you might like to add it to your dessert go-tos: 

• 1 (2-layer) package of devil's food cake mix
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 14 oz package of caramels  *i found it impossible not to eat some as i unwrapped, so mine was decidedly less than 14 oz!
• 1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips

combine cake mix, butter, & 1/3 cup evaporated milk until dough is combined & sticks together. press roughly 2/3 of it in greased 9x13 inch pan. bake for 6 minutes.

melt caramels with remaining 1/3 cup evaporated milk over low heat. 

spread chocolate chips over cooked brownie layer and cover with melted caramel. spread remaining 1/3 brownie mix over this & bake for 20-25 minutes.

cool completely & cut into bars.

happy baking! xo

chicken pot pie.

two quick disclaimers:

1. if you saw this post with only the photos, so sorry! i wasn't going minimalist on you or trying to leave you hanging without a recipe, it's just that blogging comes in spurts these days & i'd managed to get the photos up, but not run downstairs to get the recipe! & then forgot i scheduled it to post today, shoot!

2. people who bring new parents meals are making stars in heaven. especially breastfeeding moms who are eating like 14 year old boys these days. so, to all the wonderful people who have cooked for us over these past few weeks, i'm so, so grateful. that's how i stumbled on this AMAZING recipe. i didn't even think i liked chicken pot pie until i had this, now i'm hooked.

when this arrived in the days following ellie, i honestly would have been happy just to eat the crust (confession: every piece i cut for myself had crust stolen from the other slivers, sorry ryan) , so when i found out it was homemade crisco crust, i knew it was worth the extra effort (little did i know the pillsbury ready made crust i've been using all these years doesn't hold a candle to crisco...)

i followed this recipe for the double crust (be sure you make double recipe!)

ingredients for crust: 3/4 cup or stick crisco all vegetable shortening; 2 cups flour; 1 tsp salt

next:

line pie plate with bottom crust

and place cooked chicken (i just baked 3 chicken breasts with light salt/pepper & cubed them); cooked vegetables (i used potatoes & carrots, you can boil or roast them or use other favorite veggies you have around the house -- i would advice using fresh veggies as opposed to canned/frozen) in pie plate, then pour this filling in:

melt 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/8 tsp thyme; stir in 1/2 cup chicken broth & 1/2 cup buttermilk or cream; let boil 1 min to thicken.

place additional pastry on top, crim edges (i clearly forgot that step...) & make a steam slit on top

bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 min (pastry is cooked & insides are bubbly & hot!)

this was the valentine's dinner i made for ryan (brownies i made the same day in next recipe post!) & it was the perfect, rich, comfort meal for that evening.

it did take me ALL day to make these two recipes. ellie was on a napping strike & wanted to be in her sling in the kitchen with me all day long (& spit out her pacifier every 5 seconds just so i could chase it...) that said, it was so, so worth it. bon appetit!

my favs.

cannot get enough almonds, clementines & dark chocolate raisinets these days. new mama cravings!