Gaby’s Roasted Beets and Labneh

Would you look at those colors?! This roasted beet side dish is the prettiest recipe I’ve made in a long time, and the leftovers look like an…

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roasted beet salad recipe with herbs yogurt

Would you look at those colors?! This roasted beet side dish is the prettiest recipe I’ve made in a long time, and the leftovers look like an abstract Easter basket.

This recipe comes from a new cookbook called Eat What You Want by Gaby Dalkin. You may know Gaby from her blog, What’s Gaby Cooking. I love Gaby’s fresh, California-style cooking and boundless enthusiasm for all things food-related!

eat what you want cookbook with beets

The funny thing is that I’ve never met Gaby in person, but I feel like I know her after watching her on Instagram over the years. We share an affinity for fresh herbs and flaky sea salt, and I turn to her blog and cookbook for inspiration often. When she offered to send me a copy of her cookbook, I said yes, of course.

Her newest book features “125 recipes for real life” and I had a hard time choosing just one to share with you. I’ve been on a beet kick lately, so beets won the draw. This recipe also gave me an excuse to make Gaby’s go-to basil vinaigrette, which I’ve been meaning to try for ages.

This dish features roasted beets over thick yogurt (I used Siggi’s “skyr” instead of labneh), with fresh basil vinaigrette, avocado wedges, and a heavy sprinkling of fresh herbs. Even my husband, who’s not a fan of beets, went back for more.

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Easy Black Bean Tacos

Like everyone, I’m craving some adventure and daydreaming future destinations. Mexico City might be my first stop. It’s a vibrant, energetic city with incredible food around every…

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black bean tacos recipe

Like everyone, I’m craving some adventure and daydreaming future destinations. Mexico City might be my first stop. It’s a vibrant, energetic city with incredible food around every corner. I hopped down there a few summers ago and came back with a list of restaurants to try next someday.

For now, we can make tacos at home. I can’t claim these black tacos are authentic, but they are easy, quick, tasty, and quite versatile. (If you’re looking for truly epic tacos, here they are—but they are a bit more time-consuming and reliant upon fresh produce.)

black bean taco ingredients

I hope these tacos are exactly what you need right now. I’ve provided suggestions on ingredient substitutions and alternate sauce ideas below.

Serve them as-is for an easy dinner, or keep on reading for side dish suggestions!

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Bee’s Knees Cocktail

When life gives you lemons… make a cocktail. How about that? My friends and I have been sending each other instructional videos on how to make our…

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The bee's knees is a classic gin cocktail with lemon and honey

When life gives you lemons… make a cocktail. How about that? My friends and I have been sending each other instructional videos on how to make our favorite cocktails for happy hour.

I’ll never be a gin and tonic girl, but I’ve been enjoying gin-based drinks as the weather warms up. Gin plays nicely with citrus and fresh herbs, so it seems just right for this time of year.

bee's knees ingredients

The Bee’s Knees is a classic Prohibition-era cocktail made with gin, lemon and honey. It’s brightly flavored, lightly sweet, and just an overall delightful drink—hence the name.

Enjoy one at home on a nice spring day. It tastes even better on a patio or balcony, if you have one. Cheers!

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Easy No-Bake Granola Bars

How are you doing? I find myself oscillating between hope and frustration. I look at the news, and promptly crave a distraction. I’ve always hoped that this…

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best granola bars recipe

How are you doing? I find myself oscillating between hope and frustration. I look at the news, and promptly crave a distraction. I’ve always hoped that this website serves as a helpful resource. If it provides a ray of sunshine or a healthy escape, even better.

Today, I offer you my go-to recipe for granola bars. These bars are delicious and easy to make with basic pantry ingredients. They can pass as a quick breakfast, and they make a perfect snack.

granola bar ingredients

These granola bars have spared me from some hangry moments lately. They’re satisfying, just sweet enough, and stick with me for a few hours. Granola bars to the rescue!

I’ve finally found some ingredients to work with, so I’ll be back with more recipes soon. Please let me know what you’re looking for, and I’ll try to come up with something good.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

These chocolate crispy bars are a modern, abstract rendition of scotcheroos—the treats printed on Rice Krispies boxes in the 1960s. If you squint a little bit, the…

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chocolate peanut butter crispy bars

These chocolate crispy bars are a modern, abstract rendition of scotcheroos—the treats printed on Rice Krispies boxes in the 1960s. If you squint a little bit, the pecans might remind you of butterscotch.

You could call these sort-of scotcheroos, or mostly-naturally-sweetened scotcheroos, or just plain delicious. Somehow, I landed on Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Bars.

chocolate peanut butter crispy bars ingredients

I always get a hankering for Reese’s peanut butter eggs around Easter time. They’re my favorite. This crispy-crackly, honey-sweetened, peanut butter-and-chocolate recipe is fully satisfying my Reese’s craving.

These no-bake treats are easy to make, and they’re ready after a two-hour rest in the refrigerator. If you have a box of brown rice crisps (or Rice Krispies, for that matter), you’re in luck!

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Honey Butter Cornbread

Got some cornmeal in the back of your pantry? Great, let’s make cornbread! This cornbread recipe is my favorite. It’s made with browned butter, for maximum butter…

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best cornbread recipe

Got some cornmeal in the back of your pantry? Great, let’s make cornbread! This cornbread recipe is my favorite. It’s made with browned butter, for maximum butter flavor, and it’s naturally sweetened with honey (maple syrup works, too).

This cornbread is not exactly traditional. It’s sweetened, like Northern cornbread, but it’s made in a skillet, like Southern cornbread. I grew up near the border of the two regions, in Oklahoma, and all I knew was my mom’s cornbread from the Jiffy box. Dinner was always more exciting with cornbread on the table.

On the cornbread sweetness scale, this one falls somewhere around the middle, near Jiffy levels. It’s not dessert-level sweet, nor is it dry. If you prefer sweeter cornbread, be sure to serve yours with honey or jam.

cornbread ingredients

This cornbread is golden and fluffy on the inside. I love to make it in my large cast iron skillet—it yields lightly crisp edges and keeps the cornbread warm for a long time. What’s better than warm, freshly made, homemade cornbread?

Preheat the oven to 375 and let’s get going! If you don’t have a skillet, I’ve got you covered.

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Roasted Garlic Bread

My grandma Virginia makes the best garlic bread. It’s soft and buttery in the middle, irresistibly garlicky, and we all love it. Amongst a family of picky…

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roasted garlic bread recipe

My grandma Virginia makes the best garlic bread. It’s soft and buttery in the middle, irresistibly garlicky, and we all love it. Amongst a family of picky kids, the garlic bread was always a winner.

This garlic bread recipe brings back warm memories, although it’s quite a bit different. This bread is crisp and crusty with deep roasted garlic flavor. Since roasted garlic is inherently buttery in flavor and texture, I was able to cut the amount of butter in half.

roasted garlic and butter

I’ve had this recipe in my back pocket since sharing my tutorial on how to roast garlic. I second-guessed publishing it, since this recipe takes longer to make than your average garlic bread. On the other hand, it’s a simple, comforting side dish that goes well with many homemade meals.

If you’re making some saucy pasta tonight, how about a side of garlic bread? I’m working hard on a pantry resource guide for you and will be back soon.

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Lemony Green Pasta with Peas & Ricotta

Spring is here! It switched on like a light bulb about a week ago in Kansas City. The daffodils are on their way up, the birds are…

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Lemony Green Pasta with Peas & Ricotta

Spring is here! It switched on like a light bulb about a week ago in Kansas City. The daffodils are on their way up, the birds are chirping, and Cookie and I are thrilled. I’m literally humming, “The hills are alive,” on our walks around the neighborhood.

Today, I wanted to share a shockingly green pasta dish with you. It’s easy to make, nourishing and comforting, which is exactly what we need right now. I wouldn’t blame you if you find the color off-putting, but I promise it’s so tasty!

ingredients

The cool thing about this dish is that we use the same pot of water to cook the kale (including the kale stems), pasta and peas. You’ll need to set a few timers. It’s not complicated, but maybe wait to pour another glass of wine until you’re sitting down to eat.

Once it all comes together, this dish almost tastes like deconstructed ravioli. It’s bright green and punctuated with tender peas and creamy ricotta. Make some for dinner tonight?

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Broccoli Cheese Soup

It’s about time you met this broccoli cheddar soup recipe. It’s rich and indulgent, but not so much that it weighs me down. My husband declared it…

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creamy broccoli cheese soup recipe

It’s about time you met this broccoli cheddar soup recipe. It’s rich and indulgent, but not so much that it weighs me down.

My husband declared it the best he’s ever had, and started throwing out one-liners in between spoonfuls:

“It’s the velvet of the soup world.”

“All the sin without any of the guilt.”

“This may be the universe’s best delivery system for broccoli.”

“It’s like a warm blanket after being outside on a long winter day.”

broccoli soup ingredients

I tried to make a great broccoli soup six months ago. I gave up after several failed attempts, and recently tried again after discovering Sarah Jampel’s method in Bon Appétit. Thank you for showing me the way, Sarah.

I have high standards for broccoli cheese soup. I wanted soup that met the following qualifications:

  • Sufficiently green and full of fresh flavor
  • Cheesy!
  • Luxuriously smooth but with some texture from tender florets
  • Preferably free of flour and heavy cream

I wanted all that, and I didn’t want to feel like I was eating a bowl of queso (don’t get me wrong, sometimes that’s exactly what I want to eat). This recipe checks all the boxes!

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Easy Green Goddess Dressing

This green goddess dressing is exactly what we need right now. It’s creamy, tangy, and fully loaded with fresh, herbal flavor. I’ve savored it by the spoonful…

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easy green goddess dressing recipe

This green goddess dressing is exactly what we need right now. It’s creamy, tangy, and fully loaded with fresh, herbal flavor. I’ve savored it by the spoonful while imagining sunny days ahead.

The Green Goddess is going to carry us through to spring. We’re going to make it. I can feel it.

herbs for green goddess dressing

I put some soup recipe development on hold when I finalized this dressing. I’ll figure it out soon enough (hint: it’s also green). I’m too busy drizzling this versatile dressing over anything and everything.

The funny thing about this green goddess dressing recipe is that it’s so very simple. I tried adding lemon juice and olive oil, and they only distracted from the beautiful combination of good Greek yogurt and fresh herbs.

In fact, you can use any combination of fresh herbs for this recipe. That leftover parsley and cilantro in the fridge? Let’s use ’em up.

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