I love the idea of cupid piercing my heart and that my husband remembers Valentine's Day, even if it is a made up Hallmark holiday.  Sounds simple but I do see Valentine's Day as another opportunity to celebrate one another, whether these are significant mates, friends, family, pets, you name it.  Our family doesn't go out to dinner on this day but I will make a simple nice meal for the three of us and of course a sweet something ...

I am crazy about dark chocolate, nuts and coconuts.  So why not put them all together?  My local Whole Foods makes chocolate covered clusters that you can buy in bulk for about $18.99 a pound.  I know it's expensive but this is because the mix includes sprouted nuts, raisins, blueberries, coconut bits and chocolate.   I figured why not try to make my own home version with a good dark unsweetened chocolate and about two cups of w...

Making these adorable spring cookies was a successful family affair.  It was still chilly outside on Sunday morning so instead of running out to the playground we decided to make cookies.  John and I were excited but Gabriel beamed once he realized that the step-ladder his daddy brought over was meant to facilitate a first class engagement with the goings of the kitchen countertop.  All the ingredients were ready to go bu...

After my morning yoga class and before picking up Gabriel from school today, I worked quickly to make these cookies and ate some of the batter along the way.  Bad, bad me.  The recipe should make 16 cookies but mine only made 12.  What a craving I had for these when I woke up today.  Luckily I had all the ingredients in the kitchen drawers so it was just a matter of putting them together.  When Gabriel got home he looked up on ...

These cookies are technically flourless since one of the main ingredient besides peanut butter are ground almonds.  You can buy these in flour form, which just means exactly: ground blanched almonds. Bob's Mill makes a reasonably priced bag found at most natural food markets such as Whole Foods. The blackstrap molasses in this recipe add calcium and iron and combined with the almonds, you have a super power cookie. Peanut Butte...

I make a lot of dishes that call for cream and I substitute with the usual suspects such as soy, almond and rice milk mixed with thickeners to get to a good cream consistency.  They have all worked fine and I am happy to use them.  But to be honest, my favorite non-dairy cream that I can just use directly from the carton is Mimic Creme, which is both dairy-free and soy-free.  For everyday dishes I use the unsweetened version made of ...

I remember being a child in Peru and watching people feed Quinoa to the chickens because it was so abundant and inexpensive. The only people who mostly ate Quinoa were the Andean people living high in the mountains where this grain originated thousands of years ago.  Because my grandfather loved to experiment in the kitchen  with local ingredients, we'd eat quinoa  as a part of different dishes, including desserts.   It was an excit...

I have a friend who loves chopped salads and has recently turned me on to the concept of them.  When we meet for lunch she usually has a cobb salad of sorts, which usually includes chicken, eggs and cheese.  I like the idea of a chopped salad without these ingredients so  I usually end up asking for whatever vegetarian ingredients I can get in the restaurant and make my own salad on the spot.   This particular salad I make at home a...