19 Jul
I love bikes, and yes I neglect my own from time to time. But I really do love bikes, they are so much fun and they radiate Summer and sunshine and a care-free attitude. I really like the accessories that go along with the bikes too. Now that bikes are really starting to catch on in a lot of cities it was just a matter of time for the fashion of bikes to catch up. Here are some of my most recent fave bike images.
Via Poppytalk
Via Public Bikes
18 Jul
The first time I made these cookies it was for a Christmas party and they were a huge hit. I decided to make them again for a care package to send to my boyfriend who is New York for the next 7 months! The original recipe was adapted from Quaker Oats. I think the secret to these is you must use fresh nutmeg, it makes all the difference and smells wonderful. I substituted Splenda for regular sugar since these are not diet friendly, so each cookie ended up being about 160 calories and were pretty big in size so one wouldn’t destroy your day (or 3) 
They really turned out great!
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar ( I used Splenda to cut the calories)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups Quaker Oats (old fashioned – NOT instant)
1 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup toffee pieces (I used Heath toffee baking pieces)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, at least 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and beat well.
3. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat together until just moistened. Stir in your oats, then stir in your white chocolate chips and toffee bits.
4. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto greased and/or lined cookie sheets. Bake the cookies 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown (mine took about 11 minutes). Cool for a bit on the cookie sheets before transferring elsewhere to cool. Makes about 30 cookies, depending on how big you make them.
12 Jul
One of the best things about Summer is the produce by far. I had some amazing peaches and was dying to try a peach shortbread cookie recipe. I scoured my favorite food blogs and found this one that was on the healthier side, since I have a bit of weakness for cookies I wanted to make sure if I ended up eating the entire pan it wouldn’t be quite as damaging. The cookies are 100% whole wheat and had only 6 tbs of sugar, and they tasted like it. lol. I think cookies either need to be whole wheat or low sugar doing both makes them a little too healthy tasting. These were a bit on the cakey side too, they were more like a muffin which was fine just not what I was going for. On the upside though, I was able to bring them to my boyfriend’s parents house which works well since his dad is a diabetic its a great low-sugar treat that he can enjoy guilt free.
Recipe:
(adapted from Martha Stewart via Cates World Kitchen)
2 cups roughly chopped, not-too-ripe peaches (this was about 3 large peaches for me – I took the skin of all but 1 to make it as sweet as possible)
9 Tbsp granulated sugar (6 for the mix and 3 to soak the peaches in)
pinch nutmeg ( I always use fresh grated nutmeg I think it makes a world of difference)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour ( I used regular whole wheat flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 375 F and line a few baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.
Toss the peaches with 3 tbsp sugar and set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and 6 tbsp sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub it between your fingers (or mix with a pastry blender) until it looks like coarse crumbs. Gently stir in the cream, followed by the peaches.
Scoop up about 2 tbsp of dough and drop onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing the cookies about 2″ apart. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until beginning to brown on the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
11 Jul
I know this is a bit late, but better late than never. This was a great 4th of July dinner party, it was part birthday celebration for a friend, part going away party (my boyfriend is spending the next 7 months in NY for work, very sad), and part welcome to LA party (some friends were visiting from Santa Fe, NM). My boyfriend and I made a delicious all vegetarian meal that was not only healthy but full of flavor. We started with a cold red quinoa salad with cucumber, edamame and a lemon vinaigrette. It’s a recipe that he took from his favorite restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico called Real Food Nation. We also did roasted corn that was turned out sweet and delicious, we soaked them in water for about 5 minutes then put them under the broiler for 10 minutes and they came out golden and roasted. For the main dish we did black bean burgers, they were excellent. I found the recipe on a great blog called The Kitchen Sink the recipe is below, I highly recommend trying it. To finish the evening and to celebrate a friend’s birthday I made vanilla cupcakes with fresh whipped cream, but to take advantage of the great nectarines that needed to be used I folded them into the whipped cream for a slightly sweet and fruity topping. The were so yummy, I just love whipped cream.
Black-Bean Burgers
Adapted from The Kitchen Sink
Yield: 4 burgers I doubled the recipe
2 (14-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (I used regular paprika)
generous pinch of salt
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 lime
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 soft hamburger buns
Accompaniments: sliced avocado, romaine, salsa, sliced sharp cheddar
Pulse 1 can beans in a food processor with yogurt, bread crumbs, cumin, oregano, cayenne, paprika and salt until a coarse purée forms. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cilantro and remaining can beans. Add as much juice from the lime as needed to create a mixture that holds together. Form mixture into patties.
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers (alternatively, heat a grill pan and brush it with the oil). Cook burgers until outsides are crisp and lightly browned, turning once, about 10 minutes total. Serve on buns, along with the accompaniments.
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