I have a minor obsession with Biscoff, thanks to my friend Nikki. First she sent me a jar of Waffles and Dinges‘ Speculoos spread, then she sent me a $30 gift certificate to Biscoff. I rearranged my pantry the other day to realize I have 4 packages of Biscoff cookies and two jars of spread (smooth and crunchy).

Biscoff is a cinnamon-y, caramel-y biscuit cookie. Delta Airlines commonly gives them out as a snack inflight. They sell it in the form of a spread, which is incredible on toast, waffles, and melted on vanilla ice cream.

First came the Biscoff truffles. Now, Biscoff cookie bars. Here ya go.

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Continuing my “I love salads but hate making them at home” theme, here’s a salad I pine for: Trader Joe’s Kale and Edamame Bistro Salad.

Now, for the most part (like 90% of the time) I bring lunch to work everyday.

On days when I forget to bring lunch and need to go to Trader Joe’s to pick up groceries anyway, this is my go to selection.

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse, as well as edamame. Cranberries are thrown in for a little sweetness, almonds for additional protein and crunch, tomatoes because duh, they’re yummy, and the tangy lemon dressing balances everything out.

The Trader Joe’s salad is great, BUT okay, #1 it costs $4. #2 there’s too much dressing, which, no surprise, is loaded with calories. Ain’tnobodygottimeforthat. Make your own at home for a fraction of the price and calories.

If you’re just starting to build up your pantry, you may need to buy quite a few of these ingredients, which of course is going to add up to way more than $4. Here’s the great part: nearly ALL of the ingredients are shelf-stable, so once you have everything, all you’ll need to buy if you want to make this salad again in a few weeks is some fresh kale and a tomato!

Oh, and P.S.! This salad, including dressing is only about 300 calories!!

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These snickerdoodle bars are out of control. I’ve been working from home the past few days and it’s really difficult to walk by them and not cut off a little 1×1 square each time I walk by.

The most fun part about these is that they use ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, if you do any sort of baking. The most exotic ingredient listed here for me is milk, because I usually don’t stock milk in my fridge. But even if you don’t have milk you could probably even try making these with water or watered down half & half or creamer. Not a big deal!

If you love the flavors of cinnamon and sugar, these are just to die for. The middle of the bar is super moist with a tender crumb, while the outsides are slightly a bit more sturdy. The glaze hardens to give a nice crunch on the top. *drool*

And if THAT’S not enough — throw a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream on top of a warm one. I dare you.

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I got this harebrained idea to make homemade cinnamon coconut milk. It all started when my roommate Lauren decided to buy a Nutribullet. We’ve been “blasting” (blending) up all kinds of Nutriblasts (smoothies). One of the cool things I’ve found out you can do with a super-high-powered blender is make your own coconut milk. This involves draining the water from a whole mature coconut, splitting the coconut in half, and then carving the meat off of the shell.

Now, the last time I tried to open my own coconut, I made the mistake of getting a young coconut, and trying to bust it open using mature coconut instructions. That didn’t work and I just ended up with a small workout and big frustration.

I was hesitant to try opening a coconut again, but I figured it can’t be that bad…

Well. Even though I got the right coconut this time, yeah, it was still kind of bad. The ones I bought were “pre-scored” around the center, which should make it easier to crack open. I watched two different videos, one using a mallet, the other using a meat cleaver. I don’t have a mallet or a meat cleaver, so I used a hammer and the back of a chef’s knife.

To make a long story short, I whacked the coconut as hard as I could, several times, using both tools, and nothing. Finally, I got a screw (the only nails I have are finishing nails which are too small), pounded it into the shell, then started whacking around the perimeter again, and finally it started to crack open.

Once you get the coconut open, and once you get the meat off the shell, the rest comes together quickly. Take a look at the videos I’ve linked to, try to have the tools mentioned, and try to have someone stronger than you on hand to come and save the day if it’s not working for you…

This recipe is for a delicious, sweet cinnamon coconut milk that can be drank on its own or used in smoothies, puddings, oatmeals, cereals…

Coconut is high in potassium, electrolytes, and antioxidants. It also raises your good cholesterol!

You can use the leftover coconut fiber in cookies, to top cakes, or as a coating for chicken, shrimp or fish. Just put it in an airtight container and refrigerate.

This is *not* the easiest recipe in the world, and does require some special equipment and elbow grease. You’ll need a high powered blender, like a Nutribullet or Magic Bullet, or a VitaMix. You can also try it with a very good blender. If your blender doesn’t do too well with ice, you may want to skip out on this recipe. Additionally, you’ll need a nut milk bag OR a paint straining bag OR a cheesecloth. A nut milk bag is basically a fine mesh bag with a drawstring that will run you anywhere from $5-10. I use a paint straining bag from the paint store that cost about $0.85. It doesn’t have a drawstring, but a drawstring isn’t necessary. Especially if it means at least another $4.15 in your pocket

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Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

I’m finally getting a chance to get back into my Daring Bakers’ Challenges!

It’s been QUITE a busy year so far. I spent all of January transitioning out of my position at Hungry Girl, training my replacement. It was a difficult company to leave, but I knew I needed to make a move in order to continue my personal growth.

For the past two months I’ve been working at a digital marketing agency as a web/social media designer and front-end developer. I’m learning new skills everyday, its’s great!

Coinciding with my job change, I’ve been trying to eat “clean-er.” For quite some time I’ve been straying further and further from over-processed foods, but it’s really hard to avoid when you’re working at a company who uses many of them as their basis for recipes! Now that I’m not in that environment anymore, I’ve been doing a lot of juicing and smoothie-ing. I’m reintroducing healthy fats (like COCONUT!, traditional nuts, seeds) in moderation, as well as power grains like quinoa. ALthough many of the recipes on my blog are “clean,” you may see some “earthy crunchy” recipes like smoothies, homemade nut milks, and chia seed puddings. Things that I don’t normally make or eat, but have taken a recent interest in.

This absolutely does not mean I’ll be giving up baking or entirely switching up ingredients I use when baking. You have to live a little!! So back to making time for Daring Bakers!

I’d been seeing recipes using black beans in brownies for quite awhile, so I decided to find a recipe and give it a whirl. You definitely cannot taste the beans at all, not like I expected one to be able to in the first place. Black beans don’t have THAT distinctive of a taste, just a bit salty. Right?

I changed this recipe up a bit, but if I made it again, I would make some more modifications. They were a bit too thick for my taste. Normally I’d just use a larger pan so they come out more thin, but you’re already using a large pan here. I would try reducing the flour by about 1/2 cup. The brownies are super rich and decadent, so you definitely want to have a glass of milk handy. I ended up cutting them into small squares (the ones pictured, for example, were cut into fours).

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Making a salad at home, in theory, sounds like a great idea. After a weekend of indulging, by Sunday night I’m usually ready for something light and fresh. But I’m always stumped when it comes to add-ins. I have this mental roadblock that happens as soon as I get past the lettuce part. I come up with shredded carrots and tomatoes. Then it just stops. I think I’ve been traumatized by a childhood filled with the most boring salad ever of a bag of iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots and red cabbage, paired with ranch dressing. Shudder.

So after years of discouragement, I finally realized I should re-create restaurant salads at home. Duh. So I’ve been experimenting a little more. This recipe comes from a great restaurant in New York I went to over the holidays, UVA.

Salad doesn’t get any easier than this. It basically boils down to dressing, beets, beans, cheese, greens. I always try to keep some form of beans on hand, as well as goat cheese and canned beets, so this comes together really quickly for me.

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Sometimes you just need Mexican food. In the form of a bean and veggie tortilla casserole. Spicy, warm, and comforting.

I love Mexican food. It’s one of those things that happens when you move to Southern California. Prior to moving here, Mexican to me was Taco Bell or Don Pablo’s (which is, as I remember now, a not-very-good Mexican chain in the Northeast). I almost always ordered a quesadilla or enchiladas, which is kind of like the cheater “Mexican” food. “Give me a tortilla filled with greasy melted cheese and possibly covered with bland tomato sauce.” Yuck.

Here in LA, thanks to the large Mexican population, you can get authentic Mexican food on nearly every corner. Burritos are my go to, with (soft) tacos a close second. Flour tortillas are smooth and buttery, chewy, sometimes a tiny bit crisp. Tacos from a street truck are just two small corn tortillas topped with the meat of your choice, and cilantro and onions if you’d like. Outside the truck is a table of assorted condiments – spicy pickled carrots and jalapeños, green, red, and orange salsas pureed to a smooth consistency. And since I love condiments, you can guess I load up on all of them.

Not to mention this wonderful thing called POTATO tacos and burritos (notably from one of my favorite Santa Monica spots, Tacos Por Favor). Soft potatoes with lettuce, guacamole, rice, beans. This is a really big thing, considering potatoes are one of my favorite food items. I’ve never seen anything potato related at Taco Bell or a chain Mexican-American restaurant, have you?

I usually need to have some sort of Mexican food at least once a week. Usually it’s a burrito from my beloved Benito’s around the corner, but they’re not exactly the lightest thing to eat. So for those times when I shouldn’t splurge, at-home-Mexican it is.

Enter black bean and veggie tortilla casserole. This is a nice twist on enchiladas. I’m not really a fan of enchiladas anymore because I feel like the corn flavor of the tortillas deepens when they’re baked and ends up tasting weird. Here, in this casserole, the tortillas end up softening and practically melting into the rest of the ingredients. In a word, it’s awesome.

This recipe was inspired by Everyday Food, but has been pumped up with the addition of veggies and mushrooms.

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When I was younger, I really liked routines. One summer during elementary school, I went through the TV Guide looking for all of my favorite shows. I made a schedule, from 7am to 10pm, Monday through Friday, of all the shows I wanted to watch. I was kind of a loner. I didn’t watch every show every day, but I think I liked having that little custom guide to search over when I was bored. It was easier than flipping through channels.

In sixth grade, I was getting a little older and starting to get into music. I was also at an age where I felt it was acceptable to watch MTV and not have to watch it at a low volume and flip to Nickelodeon when I thought I heard my parents coming. Everyday after school I would run home from the bus stop, pour a bowl of Banana Nut Crunch cereal with 2% milk, plop into my bean bag chair, and watch the show MTV Jams. One of my favorite videos of the time was “Nice & Slow” by Usher, which has lyrics that are wildly inappropriate for a 12-year old. Other favorites were Lauryn Hill, DMX, “Hard Knock Life” by Jay-Z, and D’Angelo’s “Untitled (How Does It Feel).”

I looked forward to relaxing with that crunchy bowl of cereal each day. This banana nut crunch muffin recipe reminds me of those times.

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This buffalo cauliflower recipe was inspired by an incredible dish at a mostly vegan restaurant in Silver Lake, Mohawk Bend. Mohawk Bend is a great little spot with all local ingredients and offerings, including only beer, wine, and liquor produced in California. And a live jazz band on Sunday mornings!

We made our way over here before a Dodgers game one hot Sunday afternoon. Everyone on Yelp raves about the vegan buffalo cauliflower, so we knew we had to try it out. I’ve been trying to recreate it ever since!

Slightly crisp baked cauliflower is paired with the spicy buffalo goodness of Frank’s Red Hot sauce to mimic buffalo wings. Mohawk Bend serves theirs with a homemade vegan blue cheese, but that’s besides the point. you can make your own vegan blue cheese or pair this with your favorite blue cheese dressing (or ranch). This recipe is for the main star – buffalo cauliflower!

This is a fantastic recipe for Football Sundays, which makes it absolutely perfect for the Super Bowl this weekend!!

What are your plans this Sunday? Staying in? Party with friends? Heading to a bar? (or “Melissa I don’t care about the Super Bowl!”)

I’ll be hanging out with my friends enjoying a keg of Lumen (hoppy Belgian-style pale ale with jasmine flowers) from Monkish Brewing!

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Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls – I made these last year and they’ve become a favorite, as well as one of the most popular recipes on my blog.

Ultimate Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies – Classic. Must have!

Coconut Sandwich Cookies – I’ve been making these for the past five years or so, but lately I’ve been making just the cookies and skipping the sandwich part to make them less decadent.

Chocolate Chip Rice Krispies Treat Cookies – A fun recipe I tried this year. The Rice Krispies give an interesting texture. Make sure to cover the marshmallows in dough, otherwise they’ll melt all over the baking sheet.

Tonight I’ll be preparing this Overnight French Toast Casserole and trying it for the first time!

What are your Christmas traditions? What have you made so far this season and what will you be making tomorrow?

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