Broccoli and Apple Slaw

Summer Broccoli and Apple Slaw with Dijon Agave Dressing

 

 

 

Summer has arrived and I am back at the blog.  It has been a busy and exciting few months, for sure.  Don't worry all of the updates are to come soon, but let's just say "the wait is over!" ::winkwink::

 

I abandoned the blog for a while, but I am back!  I've got a backlog of recipes and other posts that I can't wait to share with you! We have been grilling and chilling recently and one of my new obsessions are slaws.  But not the soggy, mayonnaisey, cabbagey slaw you may be used to (Sorry Dad!)  I've been experimenting with other veggies and more vinegar-based dressings.  There are so many prepackaged slaw mixes at the supermarket now that you don't have to be a slave to the mandolin or cutting board.  They can easily be dressed and mixed any way you want; the possibilities are endless.  I love that you can make them ahead of time.  I prefer to have mine refrigerated for 1 to 8 hours before serving, but I like my slaws pretty crispy.  Depending on the veggies you use and how you prefer your slaw, you can even make it up to a day in advance.

Sweet Potato Hash

Eggs Baked in Sweet Potato Hash with Chorizo, Sweet Caramelized Onions and Rosemary.

Brunch is really my all-time favorite meal, both to eat and to prepare.  I love that you can mix savory and sweet, breakfast and lunch, and it is completely acceptable to be drinking Mimosas, spiked coffee and Bloody Marys.

Garlic Rosemary Bread

A Simple Bread Recipe That is Baked in a Dutch Oven.

Can one live on only bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic? If anyone out there is doing a scientific study on this, I'd like to sign up!  Bread and butter, sandwiches, french toast, paninis, you name it---  I love bread. 

I've been baking for a long time now, and I have NEVER made more than a banana bread.  I don't really know why, but something about using yeast and having to knead are intimidating to me.  I know that it really is not that scary or hard, but I have always stayed away. 



Big shoutout to one of the besties, Katy, and her boyfriend Kyle for making me this cute sign! Visit their Etsy shop here.

I knew for my first bread recipe I wanted something simple... something I could use as a good base to experiment with flavors rather than with techniques.  I settled on this recipe for crusty bread specifically because it seemed easy enough and because the bread is baked in a Dutch oven. My mom got be a beautiful Dutch oven for Christmas and I've been cooking all I can in it.  I don't know how I survived without one for so long!

Pasta with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Spaghetti with Chicken, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Garlic and Parmesan.

This is one of my go-to pasta dinners.  It has all of my favorite things and is really simple to throw together, and something that I can put together in about 30 minutes is really important to me. 

Very often my man works until 10 o'clock at night and has a 35 minute drive home.  I, personally, would hate having to eat reheated food alone every night for dinner, so I try my best to have a hot meal ready for him so that we can eat together.  So about 4 times a week we eat dinner very late, last night was no exception...

One of the struggles I am running into these days is photographing my food so late when there is no natural light. But I'm TRYING! I by no means am a photographer, I like to think that if I'm lucky enough to get a really good shot, it is all because of my iPhone or iPad and fiddling just right with Snapseed.  I don't really know what I'm doing.  And I'm sure that if my new neighbors ever looked into our kitchen at night they would think that a crazy lady moved in.  They would catch a glimpse of my makeshift lighting set-up, which includes an office floor lamp that has an adjustable light and another lamp that is missing its shade that I am constantly moving around.  They probably always wonder why I'm standing on a step stool with an iPad in the middle of my kitchen in the middle of the night.