Roasted Apricot-Glazed Rosemary Chicken & An Apricot Habanero Jam

Well, I am sad to share that we have neared the end of apricot season, but not to worry! Within this post I not only have a recipe for a good ol' roast chicken, but an apricot habanero jelly that will help you savor the apricot's bright and springy flavor all year long. And don't be scared of the habanero, I only used one diced very finely for the large pot of jam, and while it did add the smallest and most trace amount of heat, it mostly just contributed an interesting sweet/sour tang to the jam, much like the flavor of tamarind. Combined with the sweet and slightly tart flavor of ripe apricots, it immediately became my new favorite jam, perfect for smearing on a cracker with a thin slice of white cheddar cheese (which is how me and Jeremy killed an entire 8-ounce jar of it one night while watching Frasier reruns. Yes, I did have a tummy ache afterwards.)

Red Wine Burgers with Mushrooms, Goat Cheese, & a Tomato Salad

The summer is almost upon us and you know what that means...time to clean out the ol' grill and put it to use again cooking up some tasty grilled burgers and veggies. I started my tomatoes very early this year so I was able to start harvesting them mid-May, and decided to have a little "welcome back, summer!" dinner by making a small salad and having some rich and delicious burgers made with the prized Flannery beef blend and Troublemaker wine. I was very intrigued by the two because they're both "blends"of various different types of ingredients. I used the wine within the burger patties, as well as some diced mushrooms that I sautéed prior to incorporating them into the patty mixture. The result was a resoundingly rich and deeply flavorful burger that tastes of the old French classic, boeuf bourguignon, (beef and mushrooms in a red wine sauce), but in a simpler and more manageable form.

Boozy Lime, Honey, & Lemongrass Popsicles: And a Book Club

It certainly has been heating up here in Southern California, and there's nothing quite like frozen citrus juices to help cool you down and keep you feeling refreshed. Also, I've found boozy frozen citrus juices to be particularly helpful. So, I decided to try my hand at making some boozy popsicles and ended up with about a dozen of these tasty little guys. I used honey and water to create a simple syrup that I simmered a bit of lemon grass in to add another dimension of freshness to the dish. You may have had lemon grass before in Asian broths, stews, or curries, which is where it's most commonly used. Lemongrass has a very bright and clean flavor to it, slightly lemony but without the bitterness, almost like lemon zest, cucumber, and basil combined. It's a pretty amazing flavor, and when extracted into a simple syrup and combined with lime juice and tequila, it makes for an incredibly refreshing frozen treat.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies & A Sucré Macaron Giveaway!

As you can tell from my last post, I've been on a bit of a chocolate kick lately, and it finally culminated in me making these gloriously cocoa-filled cookies. I had them for the first time at the little cafe inside King Arthur Flour, and after the first gooey and chocolatey bite, I knew I had to try to make them at home. This plan was made much easier when I saw that the recipe for the cookies was actually posted on the KAF website, so I made them here with the addition of chocolate chips! I also used a blend of cocoa powders because I'd been looking for a good recipe to use the black cocoa I'd bought at the KAF gift shop when I was in Vermont, and since it's incredibly potent, I used 1/4 cup of the black cocoa and 3/4 cup of regular dutch-process cocoa in this recipe. But feel free to use 1 cup of regular dutch press cocoa, yours will still come out very chocolately, they just might not look quite as dark as these.

No-Bake Turtle Upside Down Cake

A couple weeks ago Jeremy and I found ourselves stranded in the longest line at the Michael's check-out counter that we'd ever seen. But I needed those craft supplies, so we stuck it out and meandered through the shelves of merchandise they station along the line to try to lure you into making last-minute purchases. I found myself staring and the box of turtle candies and we got to discussing how addicting they were, and then Jeremy said "what if you made just one GIANT turtle?" And we both fell silent and stared at each other wide-eyed while nodding our heads in unison for a good 5 seconds, and we knew at that moment that I had to make it.

Lamb Burritos with Lemon Oregano Rice & Homemade Tzitziki

This weekend I am back home in Oregon for an extremely brief (we're talking about 36 hours) visit. I'm checking out the open house at our wedding location and my mom and my sister are throwing me a bridal shower (which I am SUPER excited about because 1) I get to see all the women back home that I love and 2) because my dad is making his spanikopita and hummus for us to eat. YAY GREEK FOOD!!!) So because I will be partaking in some tasty Greek food myself, I wanted to be able to share some tasty Greek food with all of you, as well!

Apricot & Rhubarb Galette With a Scottish Shortbread Crust

Spring is here and in full swing, which means the time has come to get started on all our spring cleaning. If you are a procrastinator like myself, fear not! For I have an exciting little something to share with you all. I am hosting an event on the 25th of this month with Kinfolk Magazine, where I'll teach you how to make your own natural and safe cleaners with everyday items like lavender and vinegar. We'll be enjoying the great outdoors, stationed in picnic area in Griffith Park in front of the former LA Zoo (where some of the scenes of Anchor Man were filmed). It's a beautiful part of the city surrounded by wooded hills and hiking trails. The air over our table will smell like lavender and rosemary and there will be scones for one and all! Yes, after we make our useful cleaners I will be providing some homemade spring snacks and baked goods for us to munch on. Yum!!

~ Click here to purchase tickets ~

It's going to be such a fun event and I hope to see some of you Southern California residents there! And of course if you have any questions about the event feel free to post a comment here or email me any/all of your thoughts about it.

Olive Oil Ice Cream

I had olive oil ice cream for the first time at the little Italian coffee shop down the street from our house.  I took my first bite expecting to get a mouthful of intense olive oil flavor, but what I experienced instead was sweet, silky smooth, and subtly fruity. It shook everything I thought I knew about ice cream and olive oil to the core, and that was when I decided I had to try and make some myself so I could eat it whenever I wanted/all the time.

Very Lemon Loaf with Poppy Seeds

I originally made this for me and Jeremy as a little treat, but we enjoyed it so much I decided to share it here with all of you. Because I wasn't originally planning on posting it, I don't have any step-by-step photos for this post, unfortunately. But I DO have a lot of pictures of the final loaf and detailed instructions for each step. This is a sweet yeast loaf with lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon extract, and a poppy seed marble. And for a bit more tartness I covered the top with candied lemon slices before serving. The result was a sweet and slightly yeasty lemon loaf with the wonderful little textural crunch of poppy seeds mixed into the moist bread.

Butterscotch Pie & King Arthur Flour

I know I've been talking about it for a while now, but here it is! I am finally posting about my trip to the  state of Vermont. A little over a week ago I was lucky enough to be able to spend time with Carey from Reclaiming Provincial and learn from the incredibly knowledgable employees of King Arthur Flour. Vermont is a long ways away from Los Angeles and my plane ticket wasn't anything to sneeze at, but nothing was going to stop me from meeting my good friend and learning about baking from the people who live and breathe it every day (Literally. Flour poofs = everywhere.)