How to Be Fancy

1. Roast some fresh squash with a little bit of olive oil and sea salt.

2. Chop up some pretty green lettuce (or just grab some arugula...arugula is always fancy).

3. Put thinly sliced Honeycrisp apples on your turkey and cheese panino (and use the correct Italian verbage).

4. Surround yourself with strawberry and parsley plants at dinner time.

Autumn Overload (and some soup)

Is anybody else as excited as I am about fall? I love everything about this season. The cool, crisp air that smells of spice and crunching leaves. Wrapping myself in a scarf and wearing boots, going pumpkin picking (even if it happens to just be at a roadside stand), and scooping the guts out of the pumpkin for carving. And maybe most of all, I love the food. Pumpkins, apples, pies, sweet potatoes. I've said it before, but I'm not sure I've truly gotten across my love of Autumn. If I could be any spice, I'd be cinnamon, and then I could eternally live in Autumn. It's so warm and comforting, but it also packs some heat. Sweet and sassy!

*Courtesy of Bailey Joyce

I Had a Bad Day So I Baked Cookies and Ate Too Many

Today was just one of those days. You know when one thing goes wrong and then everything else seems to go wrong and the phones seem to ring off the hook and you want to yell at everybody? Well, I had one of those days today. By noon, all I wanted was my fuzzy slippers, my kitty, and a glass of wine.

I had actually planned on posting my brother's birthday brownie bars tonight, but when I started writing the post, I could still feel the pangs of the day poking at my sides. So why fight this? If I find baking to be cathartic and writing even more so, why not let out exactly how I feel...and sugar coat it, both metaphorically and literally?

So here goes...

A Love Letter to Kale

Dear Kale,
Thank you for being so delicious and also so nutritious. Because you are a super food (it's true, go look yourself up on the Whole Foods webpage!) I do not feel bad about shoveling handfuls of your roasted crispy goodness into my mouth as if you were buttered movie popcorn (which, in my opinion, does not taste nearly as good). Tonight, I roasted you in the oven with a pinch of salt and olive oil and lamented seeing the bottom of my bowl. Maybe tomorrow, I will sautee you alongside scambled eggs and mozzarella cheese. Or maybe I'll juice you. Either way, we will both be happy.
Forever and ever,
Rebecca

Let's Talk About Stuff!

Stuff that I am totally into right now? Natural remedies. My three current obsessions are baking soda, coconut oil, and molasses. These are three things you probably have in your pantry (and if you don't, I strongly suggest you get them. Nudge, nudge.) So what's so special about these three things? I'm so glad you asked!

Pumpkin Baked Ziti

When I told my boss I was making pumpkin baked ziti for dinner he looked at me as if I'd just told him I was making beer flavored cookies. I assured him, "No no no...this will be good!" but he was not hearin' it. 

Well, maybe I can't convince my boss, but I certainly convinced my friends that pumpkin + cheese + pasta = greatness. And maybe you guys will be believers, too!

This weekend, I hosted a little dinner party for a couple of my friends. The whole week I debated what to make. Initially, I wanted to make crock pot chili with a chipotle cornbread, but there were time restraints, and waiting 6 hours for chili to cook, while on a cold, leisurely day, sounds amazing (and you bet your bacon I'll be doing that soon!) for Friday night after work, that just wasn't going to cut it. So I had to regroup and brainstorm. 

Obviously, I've been on an Autumn kick, so I thought why not make an all-in-one, roasty, toasty, savory dish to celebrate the month of October? So that's exactly what I did!