These Browned Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are chewy and not cakey. They are a delightful treat that captures the essence of autumn. Enjoy every bite! Why I Love This Recipe These cookies are a delightful twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie, infused with the warmth of pumpkin and cozy pumpkin spice flavors. They're a fall favorite for good reason. Why This Recipe Works Browned Butter Magic: One of the secrets behind the rich, caramel-like flavor in these cookies is ...
Recipes
Easy Homemade Mochi Banana Bread
Mochi banana bread is a twist on the traditional banana bread but adds rice flour for a bit of a springy texture. This version is full of ripe banana flavor and can come together in just a few minutes. Why I love this recipe This recipe is a variation of classic banana bread with the addition of mochiko flour. The mochi flour adds a fun textural twist, providing a slightly chewy texture but still retains the traditional feel of banana bread. For this recipe, I ...
Sophie's Salad: Burrata, Marcona Almonds, Truffle and Greens
A great salad recipe to have in your back pocket anytime you are looking for something easy, light and filling. A simple salad of mixed greens, fresh tomatoes, marcona almonds and topped with a light sprinkling of truffle oil, some Maldon sea salt and a large chunk of creamy burrata cheese. For some reason, dining in a department store feels extra fancy to me. It isn’t something that happens often and it is usually a holiday treat. We try to stop in for a department store ...
Easy Homemade Peach Crisp for Two
Once summer hits, I start to want to cook with fruit, especially peaches and berries. Luckily, we have some great sources for peaches in Southeast Florida. This homemade peach crisp recipe could not be easier. Summer peach season is upon us and this recipe is a great way to use up some of the beautiful stone fruits. When I was about ten years old, my mom worked at a grocery store and would bring home bruised and damaged peaches by the case. Those little bumps and bruises didn't bother ...
Pistachio and Cherry Granola Recipe
We eat a lot of granola around here. It is a perfect whole food snack that we all like. At one point, we imagined opening a granola business so that we could share our creations with the world. That didn't happen. Instead, we like to experiment with granola recipes as much as possible. This granola recipe started with the Essential New York Times Cookbook recipe for Eleven Madison Park Granola. I have never been to Eleven Madison Park (a well known plant based restaurant in NYC) but I ...
Apple Cider Mocktail
The holidays are a time to celebrate and that doesn't have to include alcohol. This is one of my favorite fall mocktail recipes. I realize that since it is only September 8th--the holidays are still a ways off. But, it doesn't really feel like that to me. The grocery stores are filled with great fall fruits and veggies, like apples and pumpkin and with school just starting it feels like those fall holidays are just around the corner. I haven't been drinking much in the past year ...
Simple Pumpkin Coffeecake with Crumble Topping
'Tis pumpkin season, I suppose. A great time to add a new pumpkin recipe to your repertoire. How about a perfectly crumbed pumpkin coffeecake with a sweet and crunchy top? Even in our modern world, we are still loosely tied to our farming past. At least in the United States, Halloween and Thanksgiving, October and November--is traditionally the time that pumpkins and squash would ripen. Heading out of the summer growing season and into the cold winter. These hardy veggies could ...
6.26.2019
I started writing all of these personal journal type posts awhile back--you know, like, real blogging. The blogging of the olden days. Where blogs were basically personal diaries of our deepest and darkest thoughts. Although mine were more journal entries. Focuses of gratitude. A place to write down the mundane and the exciting. I stopped after awhile because 1) it got kind of tedious to do on a daily basis and 2) I realized it might be kind of boring for the general reader, especially if ...
Hawaiian Tuna Poke Recipe [VIDEO]
I finally created a little video for my basic Hawaiian Tuna Poke Recipe. I had already made a video for my Spicy Tuna Poke recipe but have been sitting on this one for awhile now. Thankfully Sawyer finished it up for me! This really simple recipe is a staple around here--especially when we can find good, fresh tuna. ...
Simple Recipe for Air Fried Tofu
I cannot get a good photo of air fried tofu. It is just not that photogenic. But, it is a great staple and building block for so many different recipes. I have been making this air fried tofu every week and use it for Vietnamese Banh Mi, Tofu Curry (recipe coming soon), tofu poke, and as a topping for a loaded salad. ...
Weekly Wrap Up| Week 2
Hi All! Happy Monday. Things have been quite hectic around here with our paddleboard business booming (weather has been perfect!) and me back at work (thankful the government shutdown is over) and the kids ending their third grading period at school. A lot going on! I am so looking forward to summer and it feels so close. Keep reading to find out what has been going on in The Surfer's Kitchen. ...
Chipotle Black Bean and Cilantro Rice Bake
I couldn't think of what to call this. I told the kids we were having green bean bake. You know, green because of the cilantro rice and beans because of the chipotle beans. But, they were more thinking of the traditional Thanksgiving side dish and were not impressed. You should have seen their relief when I pulled this bubbling cheese covered black bean and cilantro rice out of the oven. ...
Weekly Wrap Up | Week 1
I thought I might start a weekly post highlighting some of the past week, what we have coming up next week and just some random thoughts. I am more than food and travel, you know. Let's give it a try. ...
14 Vegan Super Bowl Snack Recipes AKA the Best Vegan Snacks
Around here, we tend to get more excited for the super bowl than for Thanksgiving. It really isn't about the football, although we like that too, but we love the snack foods . With an interest in eating more vegan food, I have been searching the interwebs and chatting with other bloggers for amazing vegan super bowls snacks. WOW! There is so much out there! Check out these recipes to either do a full vegan super bowl spread or to maybe just add a few vegan options for your friends. ...
Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie
Everything you need to know about this smoothie recipe is in the title. It has chocolate. It has banana. It has peanut butter. It is a smoothie. But, I didn't mention that it is a super quick easy breakfast filled with protein. If you are vegan and will like to find a chocolate that goes well with this smoothie, read the dirty cow chocolate review. ...
Hawaiian Haupia or Coconut Pudding
Since the government shutdown started (35 days ago!), I have been cleaning out my cabinets and making recipes with what I have. The combination of cold weather and empty cabinets has made me miss Hawaii and all the great food. Luckily, I have lots of coconut milk and time to make Hawaiian haupia, or Hawaii's best coconut pudding. Did you make my chocolate coconut parfait? If not, no worries. This recipe is even easier and is for those that don't want to mess with the chocolate but want ...
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls
Chocolate peanut butter protein balls are a great lunch snack anytime of day. A cross between cookie dough and a power bar--how can you go wrong? We have been packing a few of these in our lunch bags all week for a perfect sweet treat in just the right size. On a personal note, I have been furloughed as a federal employee for the past few weeks. I am struggling a bit with what to do with my time. I always think that if I didn't have to go to work---I would spend all of ...
Brownies for Every Occasion
Looking for a great recipe to take to your office party? Your friends baby shower? For any occasion at all, I turn to these brownies. Everyone loves a great brownie and these are no fail. Hi Friends! Missed me? I haven't been posting as much as I would have liked. I have been cooking though--recipe testing all the time with Nova and Sawyer. We have a bunch of new recipes to roll out in the new year but I thought I should at least pop in and say... Happy Holidays! I made you brownies! I ...
Chocolate Chip Butter Mochi
Have you noticed I have been absent lately? There was a bit of family drama going on and cooking/writing/blogging just didn't make it to the top of the list of things to do. I am sorry about that. I am back now, mostly because these chocolate chip mochi bars were so good---and I felt the need to share. These are different than the usual treats you see this time of year (fall and holidays) but they are unique and delicious enough to bring to your holiday parties! ...
Chocolate Coconut Pudding
This chocolate coconut pudding might be my favorite dessert ever. It was inspired by a craving for Ted's bakery coconut haupia pie on the North Shore of Oahu. My craving caused me to search through the house to make a pie only to find that making a pie crust from on hand ingredients was just not going to happen. And, regular blog readers will know that I do not like going to the store if I don't have to. Instead, I decided that crust really wasn't needed because I was really just craving the ...
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
Do you ever have those nights where you just don't want to go out to eat but you also have nothing in your house to make? This vegetarian tortilla soup was created in one of those moments. ...
Watermelon Feta Basil Salad
This watermelon-basil-feta salad is not really a recipe. It is more of a suggestion. I read about this recipe years ago in some autobiography and it has stuck with me. Until then, I only thought of watermelon as a fruit. Something that you eat a big bowl of for a summer dessert. I had never thought of tossing it with other ingredients to make a salad. In fact, when I first saw the recipe, I scoffed. ...
Best Ever Banana Bread
I am a sucker for quick breads, see pumpkin bread, chocolate fig bread, and now this, the best ever banana bread. There is something about using super ripe produce and making an entirely new creation. Plus, I feel that it is sort of good for you, since you know, fruits and vegggies. Ahem.... Anyhoo.....I seem to have loads of leftover bananas these days. ...
Puerto Rican Bean Salad
Looking for a light summer salad? This Puerto Rican bean salad is for you! Recently, we had a potluck baby shower at my office and I had no idea what to make. I always get nervous about what to cook for a group. I usually don't want to bring a dessert and I really try to accommodate all of the dietary restrictions that I know of. For this particular baby shower, ...
Gluten Free Chocolate Fig Banana Bread
Chocolate fig banana bread is a decadent way to use up leftover bananas for an elevated quick bread recipe. I bought dried figs to serve on our cheese platter for the holidays and then just forgot about them. During some digging through our too deep cabinets, I found them and decided they must be used immediately. I had some ripe bananas on hand and a strong chocolate craving so I mixed them all together to come up with this quick fig banana bread. This is one of those ...
Chocolate Coconut High Protein Energy Bites
This recipe for chocolate protein energy balls started as a fail. I was trying to make chocolate sea salt Rx bars and it just didn't work out. The mixture was a tad too sticky to cut nicely into bars and I had given up trying. I was at my kitchen counter, pulling the failed chocolate goo off of the foil paper it had stuck to when I decided to try it. Wow. Good stuff. Hmmm.......maybe it wasn't such a failure after all. I rolled them into balls, dipped them in ...
Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Steak and Goat Cheese
Looking for the most perfect salad? My spinach, strawberry salad topped with sliced steak and a sprinkling of goat cheese is pure perfection. This salad is barely a recipe but enough to share for a few of reasons. ...
3.2.18-Gymnastics Fun in Savannah Georgia
I have been in Savannah Georgia for Nova's gymnastics competition at the Pink Meet (for breast cancer research). A few mom's and daughters teamed up to rent a cool old Victorian house, right near Forsyth Park to watch the girls compete and enjoy the city together. The girls competed on Friday morning and did really well---Nova didn't have her highest score of the season but still did fantastic. I love how consistent she is between meets and between events. She looks solid and ...
Easy Sugar Free, Flour Free Fudge Cookies
Sometimes, you just need a cookie. It helps that these are refined sugar free, flour free and ready in minutes! Ever have one of those days that you just can't seem to get anything done? Like, you have a list a mile long but don't seem to make any progress on it. This was me yesterday. I had so many projects I could have been working on but such a hard time moving forward with any of them. I mentioned to Sawyer that I was feeling bogged down and he said, "Just get in the kitchen and make ...
2.19.18
Oh hello there gratitude journal! I have missed you! I just went back and checked and my last post was over a month ago. Not too great---since I am really trying to focus on gratitude this year. Instead of re-hashing all of the minutia from the past month, I'll just start here, with the now. Today I am off (yay! President's Day!) and it is giving me just what I need to get up to date with the blog, the business, the kids and the bills. Luckily, I paddled yesterday ...
Beef Tip and Sweet Potato Chili
I made this sweet potato chili a few weeks ago and have made it since about four other times. I would make a big batch and take it to work for lunch. It was a perfect lunch during the Whole 30 because it is so flavorful and really filling. Depending on your partner, this might make a great Valentines Day dinner. Serve with cold beer and lot of love. ...
Kahlua Fudge Brownies
Looking for a sweet treat for your Valentine? These Kahlua Fudge brownies will do the trick. I actually made these at Christmas time and going back through old photos, I realized I never posted the recipe. I had to get on here to do this today because you want to make these brownies! It seems that fudge recipes are everywhere during the winter holidays but then after that, it just dies off. Why? I say, it's time for fudge in February! (Can you tell that today is my last day of the Whole ...
Instant Pot Hearty Vegetarian Chili
I meant to post this Instant Pot vegetarian chili BEFORE Super Bowl Sunday so you could make it for your parties. But, I didn't and that is still OK. This takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and is made with mostly things you likely have around. You can still make it in time for the Super Bowl. Or, you can make it tonight and serve it up for your lunch every day next week. This is a great recipe to have in your arsenal when you are looking for something vegetarian, filling and ...
Baked Spicy Chicken Wings {Paleo and Whole 30 Adaptable}
The Super Bowl is coming and I am still going to be doing the Whole 30! Instead of being bothered by it, I decided to experiment with some slightly healthier chicken wings for game day. These are made paleo and Whole 30 compliant if you 1) make your own Sriracha sauce or 2) buy this brand of Sriracha that doesn't contain sugar. If you are not doing a Whole 30 and don't care about the sugar in the Sriracha sauce, use the real deal. These wings are baked (not fried) making ...
Instant Pot Indian Chicken Curry with a Stovetop Option
When I was pregnant with Sawyer, Aaron would bring me food home from his friend Corey's house and this Indian inspired chicken curry was one of my favorites. They would hang out and play video games and Corey would cook food. This was long before I started cooking and the idea of someone making curry from scratch was kind of mind blowing. I thought that curry was complicated and something you could only find at a restaurant, made by specially trained chefs. It really is super easy and ...
Seven Things Saturday: Week 2
We spent the weekend away at Nova's gymnastics meet and I am just now sitting down to write this post. This week is a bit odd because my full time job is with the government and they can't come to a budget agreement. We are shutdown and can't work until they figure this all out. I am hopeful that will be soon and things will get back to normal but if it doesn't--I have lots of projects to work on. SEVEN THINGS SATURDAY: Whole 30 Day by Day continues to be such a resource for ...
Curried Carrot Soup {Vegan, Paleo, Whole 30}
This curried carrot soup has been on constant rotation since I started the Whole 30. I am not used to eating meat at every meal so I have been making an effort to make meals that are not so meat based to eat. This soup fits the bill--it is warm and comforting and really very filling. I have been making a big batch on Sundays to pack for lunches throughout the week to increase my success throughout the week. It is filled with super healthy ingredients: ...
Whole 30 Meal Plan: Week 3
How's your Whole 30 going? I am not going to lie, Days 10 and 11 were pretty hard for me but I managed to make it through. There was a plate of bread on our table while dining out and it took a lot of resolve to stop myself from having just a little taste. I did it though and am now going strong and planning for the next couple of weeks to be a breeze. Like, I have said before, I would not have success with this if I didn't plan. Time is always as an issue and without a plan, I start to ...
Berry and Greens Smoothie
It's flu season and it's a bad one. I'm downing these berry and green smoothies to keep my immunity up. It is just one of those morning where nothing really sounds good but I know I need some nutrition to get going with the day. This berry and greens smoothie usually does the trick--loaded with good for you ingredients: ...
Eggplant Moussaka (aka Vegan, Gluten Free Lasagna)
This recipe comes from my favorite vegan cookbook, Veganomicon but I revised it a bit to be Whole 30 and Paleo compliant. Eggplant Moussaka or Vegan Lasagna (as I call it around here) has been in rotation in our home since the recipe crossed my path, many years ago. I made it for a dinner party we were having and I knew one of the families didn't eat sugar, grains, dairy or meat. This was long before the Whole 30 and long before I started experimenting with healthy recipes. Anyway, I served ...