we are obsessed with medjool dates right now. especially mila. she eats them like candy, which totally makes sense because they taste like candy. we even keep a bag of them in our diaper bag for her (okay, and for me). and i’ve really been craving scones lately. like, make-them-twice-a-week craving them. i started out just glazing them in honey. then i moved on to spreading dates over the top. this weekend i baked them inside and now i think this is my new favorite food.
Category: breakfast
matcha chia seed pudding
my new go-to breakfast is chia seeds. seriously, who am i?
sounds a little more crunchy/hippie than i usually lean when it comes to food (i type, as i devour an entire bar of chocolate, like my true self).
oahu’s cutest coffee shop
steven and i like to think we are savants when it comes to traveling. we love finding great food, awesome coffee shops and fun shopping. we found all of that at arvo in honolulu.
we crushed their loaded avo toasts, and their salmon toasts.
the matcha chia seed pudding + fresh fruit was amazing.
and then there was the activated charcoal lattes.
we went three times.
baked matcha donuts
now that i’ve finished *cough* four *cough* of these, i can take a break before eating a few more to write down the recipe!i’ll be honest: i never ask my husband to make two when he has his nightly cup of matcha, but i really love baking with it because it gives everything such a fun, natural pop of color. if you’re trying to get on the matcha bandwagon, these donuts are a great way to ease into the new, unique flavor. if you’ve loved matcha for years — well, these should make your breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or second dinner) even better!
weekend breakfast in bed
the chef’s favorite breakfast is pancakes. every morning we have off together, the first thing he says when he wakes up is, “let’s have pancakes.” fine by me, especially if he does the flipping. i mix, he flips. when i flip it’s a total catastrophe and we eat semi-burned pancakes.
here are a few fun recipes for the best breakfast in bed ever, in three easy steps:
1. get out of bed
2. make breakfast
3. get back in bed and eat.
blueberry + lemon pancakes, cayenne candied bacon and roasted spiced plums. maybe too decadent for every day, but perfect for the weekend : )
breakfast tofu bahn mi
leftover dinner for breakfast is my specialty.
last night we had tofu bahn mis — this moring, bahn mi breakfast. marinated tofu on the bottom, eggs over easy, side of pickled veggies, topped with kewpie, sriracha and wakame.
blood orange upside-down cake
the very best thing happened this week! i found blood oranges at the grocery store! okay, for most people that might be categorized under r/midlyinteresting, but i’m from west virginia. blood oranges never quite make it into that state.
anyway: we found these little pretties at trader joe’s here in baltimore. while the chef was preoccupied with making blood orange old fashions with our neighbor peter, i whipped up this upside-down cake. it’s super dense; kind of the blood orange version of banana bread. it was great for after dinner, but even better for breakfast. it was also gone in two days. whoops.
happy valentine’s day!
here’s a cute way to impress your sweetheart this valentine’s day! we posted a quick how-to, along with pictures, for these apple rose tarts over on the baltimore chef shop‘s blog. make them with your kids or with your valentine for a super fun afternoon activity! and send me a picture after you’re finished! ; )
apple tart
the beauty of a good dessert is that it also doubles as breakfast. at least it does in my house. and this apple tart is no exception. it’s desserty, but not too sweet. and so pretty, it would look beautiful sitting on the breakfast table on thanksgiving morning! a really great way to feed (and impress!) family members who are staying over for the holiday. the best part is, you can make it the day (or week) before and put it in the freezer, then bake when you’re ready to eat. how easy is that!
cinnamon pecan pie bars
my love affair with cinnamon continues. i’ve been trying, since returning from our honeymoon, to recreate this pecan pie / pecan bar / slice of heaven made by the chef at the dreamcatcher guest house. this is as close as i’ve gotten so far — and it’s so good, i’m not sure i need to keep trying. it is so caramel-y, so cinnamon-y, and best of all, since the chef at the dreamcatcher served it to us as a breakfast desert, that means it’s completely acceptable to eat first thing in the morning. right? nevermind, don’t answer that.
chef meets girl 