March 3, 2014

Chocolate Cake with Strawberries & Cream

Last Monday, I drank enough water, took my vitamins, had myself a delicious/healthy breakfast, and made myself a healthy salad for lunch. Things were going well! When I got home and stood in front of the fridge trying to figure out what we’d eat for dinner the leftovers of this cake stared back at me. I accidentally put it on shelf that was at eye level and a little voice in my head said, “DON’T DO IT, TRACY!!!” But then I did. One sliver turned into a gigantic piece. I had cake for dinner while standing in the kitchen because MONDAY.

I made this cake for taco dinner night with my parents last weekend. It was so simple that I was able to take pictures of the process while entertaining and getting dinner ready. The ingredients are modest and the cake is actually vegan if you subtract the whipped cream!

It’s a cake that doesn’t smack you over the head with chocolate; it’s all about the whipped cream and strawberries! This cake is so good, fluffy, and airy that it makes you abandon your intentions of eating “healthy.” It might become a staple this Summer when we’re entertaining.

my everyday life, Photography

March 2, 2014

My Everyday Life: Week 9

Here’s what this past week looked like:

Trip to LA!! Got to eat some of this amazing cake with this beast cat!

February 28, 2014

I love lists, Friday!

This English Muffin Bread is going on the To Do List
For the Moms with Wild Ones 🙂
It’s amazing what one can do with paper & an imagination. So cute.
I really enjoyed watching this Lena Dunham interview.
This man has survived on pizza alone for 25 years. I’m kinda jealous.
You had me at Streusel.
How to Stop Giving a F*** What People Think.
Spicy Sweet Almond Clusters & Honey Mustard Cashews. Yes and Yes.
AVOCADO PIZZA??!! Oh mah gawd.
I’d wash it down with some Blood Orange Margaritas.
59 Signs You Might Possibly Be An Adult. Pretty much.
Bucket List: Pick up a baby lamb
Most Overlooked Costumes in Wes Anderson Movies (love Frances McDormand)
How good does this Mushroom Ragu look?
Have you seen the new Ben & Jerry’s flavors???
I think it would be fun to have a party like this.
Every State’s Favorite Band. Which one is yours? I guess Idaho is mine.
Paul Rudd Lip Sync Battle. Nuff said!

I found out that I was nominated for a Homie award from thekitchn for Best Family Friendly Food Blog. I’m in the final round! THANK YOU! That’s awesome.

There’s a new Joy the Baker Podcast! (should be up soon!)This week we try to figure out how to say New Orleans. Care to weigh in? This is also Joy’s last podcast from Venice, California. Tears were shed (on my part).

Uproot From Oregon was inspired by my Spinach Tortellini Soup

See Mox Run adapted my Peanut Butter Banana Frozen Yogurt

Chill Cooks made my Pasta Fagioli Soup

Good Dinner Mom adapted my Mango Lassi Popsicles

Dawdling Darlings adapted my Baked Dark Chocolate Doughnuts

Inspiration, Outfitting

February 27, 2014

OUTFITTING: SPRING PAINTING

ONE/TWO/THREE/FOUR/FIVE/SIX/SEVEN/EIGHT/NINE/TEN/ELEVEN/TWELVE/THIRTEEN

I’ve been admiring the work of Jenny Vorwaller for YEARS. Jenny is a very talented Seattle based artist who specializes in abstract painting. She has such a wonderful sense of color and her landscapes are GORGEOUS! I hope to own one of her paintings some day. The other night I was spacing out on Pinterest and one of her prints caught my eye. Isn’t this one beautiful? I thought the colors would make a very good LET’S GET READY FOR SPRING outfit. I almost always shy away from pastels in my wardrobe because they wash my skin tone out. When it comes to Spring, I go for bold/bright colors like the ones you see here instead. You can dress this look up with purple wedges or make it casual with these awesome gray Vans. Thanks for the inspiration, Jenny!

*this post contains affiliate links*

recipes

February 26, 2014

Spinach Salad with Dukkah

I got my first letter yesterday from the child we started sponsoring this month. She’s a 10 year old girl who lives in a small village in Togo, with her mother & brother. She drew us the cutest picture of a hen and wrote to tell us that she loves spaghetti, sewing, running, and the color pink. There was a line designated for “question for your sponsor” and she filled it in with, “What do you like to eat?” I found it incredibly heart warming/ironic that the first thing she wanted to know about me what was food related. That’s usually how I get to know a person. I love her already.

One of my favorite things to eat is salad. I’ve always liked how it doesn’t take much to create a wonderful salad. Some salads benefit from many ingredients and some are so incredibly simple that they rely on the strength of a good dressing. As a child I remember always being excited to go to restaurants with salad bars (especially if they had croutons!). It was like walking into an art studio with all of the paints, canvases & brushes lined up on a table. Options! Choices! FUN! Salads are so incredibly personal and your favorite ingredients can tell you a lot about yourself. Salads make me feel healthy. Salads make me feel good about ordering french fries or garlic twists 😉

It’s taken me a very long time to embrace the olive and understand its place in a salad. I think I finally embraced it! It’s one of the essential ingredients in this salad. It adds a sharp tangy and saltiness in the same way the feta does. The red onions make it spicy, the spinach provides a tender bite and the avocados bring a much needed creamy element to the salad. The dukkah dressing creates a bit of smokiness (Casey asked if there was bacon in it!) and rounds out all flavors. I used a store bought dukkah, but can’t wait to try making my own!

So, there you have it. Salad is my favorite. Always & forever.

You best believe I’m gonna draw her a picture of a salad in my next letter.

featured, recipes

February 24, 2014

Garlic Herb Bread Twists

Has anyone ever ordered garlic bread twists from a pizza place WITHOUT a pizza? They always tempt us when they’re on a menu, and yeah- we do get them but we eat them in ADDITION to the pizza and it’s almost always CARB OVERLOAD. The question I’m faced with…do I eat one more piece of pizza or one more bread twist? It’s agony.

But, here’s the thing. We ate these Garlic Herb Bread Twists on their own. No pizza was involved and it was glorious!

There was no holy crap, I feel bloated feeling. No OMG what did I just jam into my face feeling. No negotiation with myself that I’ll just eat a bread twist instead of a piece of pizza because that’s like sooo much less cheese. I just got the whoa those were really good and I might buy store bought pizza dough every week so this goes into the rotation feeling. They’re crunchy, garlic infused, cheesy, herby, CARBY and totally delicious.