Happy summer foodie friends! I am currently traveling in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, so I’ll be keeping this post shorter and sweeter than usual. Not to fret, though, as the creative juices are already flowing with summertime seafood recipes inspired by my travels….
Dry Cured Pork Belly Carbonara
Over the past several weeks, Austin has experienced some exceptionally strange weather, as have many parts of the country. As the nonstop rain continues to saturate the thirsty earth, it also bestows a diminished sense of urgency for all of my normal to-dos in what would be a very chaotic month. When the weather is bleak, home becomes more of a place of refuge and rest. This pasta carbonara is the ideal dish to feed the soul on a cozy spring day like today. …
Southwestern Stuffed Avocados with Lime Cilantro Crema
Dear foodie followers/friends,
How is everyone? I thought I would try something different by writing a post in letter format. Letter writing is such a sacred yet dissipating art and it’s a sad shame. There is a strange paradox that even in this ever-expanding blogosphere and social media realm where you can plug in anytime, anywhere with anyone, that authentic relationships and soul-hugging conversation seem more precious and difficult to come by….
Mole a la Gringa
Happy first day of Spring! To me, the start of spring signifies the end (hopefully) to a bitter winter, a glimmer of hope as the temperatures climb and our surroundings are reinvigorated with energy and newness….
Shrimp ‘n Grits
The mere idea of “shrimp ‘n grits” engenders a contented sensation that radiates warmth all the way to my core; doesn’t it for you? Whether you’re making a hearty, low-country version of shrimp ‘n grits or a spicier, richer Creole version, with this recipe you simply can’t go wrong….
Pecan and Pepita-Crusted Fish
I don’t know about you, but a little part of me is relieved that the last sugar-centric holiday (for a while) has come and gone. Love you Christmas, love you Valentine’s Day, but I’m ready to truly reset and be kind to my body with what I put into it. While I am not a fan of the detox-retox cycle (aka being “bad” then being “good”) as it is incredibly guilt-inducing, I think it’s always an opportune time to include more healthy recipes to your menu rotation. That way, we eliminate the guesswork from the eternal question “what’s for dinner?” and minimize the chances of making unhealthy choices. …
Mediterranean Turkey Stuffed Portabellos
Happy new year, foodie friends! I hope you’re feeling rejuvenated and ready for all that 2015 holds. While I believe it’s important to consciously maintain a healthy lifestyle (spiritual, physical, emotional, relational) throughout the entire year, the start of a new year is an ideal oppurtunity to refocus on what fills you and eliminate what drains you. …
Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
I simply can’t believe the holiday season is already upon us. The twinkle lights are strung, the Christmas shopping is well under way (or, if you’re like me, then it’s really just begun), and children are delightedly cutting out snowflakes (my classroom looks like an enchanted paper snowstorm just blew through), decorating gingerbread houses, and carefully formulating their letters to Santa. As Charles Dickens put it, “It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”…
Pozole Rojo
There is something about the Mexican culture that simply warms you from the inside out. Their passion, resilience, festive spirit, and genuine calidez are traits that are indisputably unique to the Mexican people, and have been the subject of my cultural envy (and subsequent adoption) for several years now. Of course, I take great pride in my own culture, which is a combination of German, Native American, and Welsh (and I’m probably leaving a few out). However, my closest relative that most recently immigrated to the US was my great grandfather who traveled aboard the George Washington steam liner from Germany to Ellis Island in 1921. Apart from my German roots, I have the tendency to feel devoid of a (or perhaps just far removed from) true culture.
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Greek Turkey Meatballs with Easy Tzatziki
Sometimes, all you need in life are meatballs. Recently, I read this article about how to change your life with meatballs, and it got me thinking about all the time I spend rushing through life and haphazardly flailing from point A to point B, whether A is the moment I wake up and B is a chaotic Monday morning at work or A is where I am and B is where I want to be. How much better would life be if I could actually learn to embrace the messy, ambiguous in-betweenness and enjoy the moment I am in right now with the person/people in my company right now, whatever the circumstance? Why is it that I allow clean, folded (and PUT AWAY) laundry dictate my sense of calm and a busier, fuller schedule puff up my sense of self? It’s all bass-ackwards, just like our culture and my whacked-out prioritization habits. …