Food Diary

•  Annapolis:   When a Local Tragedy Becomes National News .  (The Atlantic) •   Are you here?   Why A Pro-Life World Has A Lot of Dead Women In It .  •  Gossiping… you know, it’s bonding – like when we used to groom one another way way back in the day.   Gossiping is Good .  •  A casual four cups? Continue reading Let It Be Sunday, 178! at Joy the Baker.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of two of our sweetest friends, chocolate hazelnut spread and toasted marshmallows, in holy matrimony.  And by holy matrimony, I of course mean, cookies.   It’s summer (and wedding season, but that analogy is over) and listen… as much as I’d like to picture myself around a campfire toasting s’mores every night, the reality is that these Real Housewives episodes aren’t going to watch themselves (although… we know ALL of the real housewives ladies totally watch themselves), so I settle into my couch even in the summer months when sure… there are all sorts of festive, s’mores-friendly bonfires likely happening somewhere close by.  There’s something about toasting one very lazy,  individual marshmallow over a stove that just feels not right although, in a pinch I’ll torch that thing right up. Continue reading Toasted S’mores Squares at Joy the Baker.

Are you ok? I’ve ordered lunch from the same sandwich dude twice this week and both times ended with me fumbling with my wallet and not entirely understanding what the dude was saying.  Both times he asked me “Are you ok?”, and… first of all – rude, although I hear your concern and it’s a valid question.  Second of all – no, I’m not ok.  Third of all, and a follow-up question- ARE YOU OK? Continue reading Let It Be Sunday, 177! at Joy the Baker.

Hey friends and happy midsummer! We spent midsummer eve at a friends house, dancing like frogs around a flower covered midsummer pole. It’s one of many weird traditions that we do in Sweden on this longest day of the year. Today we are off to Noma (as in one of the coolest restaurants on earth) to test their new plant focused menu that is launching next week. We’re very excited – obviously for Noma, but also for eating a fancy dinner together with zero kids around. Before we are leaving, I wanted to post this little recipe that we uploaded to our youtube a few days ago. Just like frog dance, this savory layered sandwich cake is also a very Swedish thing. It is called smörgåstårta and is traditionally made by layering white bread with mayonnaise, creme cheese, whipped cream, dill, chives, shrimps, salmon and a bunch of other stuff. It’s basically like a sandwich gone wild. Even if we are not completely sold on the very heavy traditional version, there is something intriguing about th

I have a few friends with kids who, maybe out of delirium or exhaustion or, likely… awesome creative parenting, have asked their kids what they want for dinner and made… exactly that.  From what I can see that usually ends in a chicken nugget, strawberry jam, ice cream concoction that… if you cock your adult head just so, seems absurdly delicious.  Something along the lines of chicken nugget pancake tacos. It’s really not the worst idea. Continue reading Cheeseburger Fried Rice at Joy the Baker.

Dear friends!  Can we all just take a big ol Sunday exhale together? (Can you tell I’m in yoga teacher training? All I do is breathe with people now – it’s the best.)  We’ve made it to a day of rest and, gosh I hope you’re resting at least partly.  This week I volunteered in the kitchen with my friend and amazing pastry chef Lisa Marie White at Children’s Harbor, a summer camp for kids with serious illnesses. Continue reading Let It Be Sunday, 176! at Joy the Baker.

While we were in California on our book tour , Alex and I took a few vacation days between our stops in San Francisco and LA to do something very important: drink wine in Sonoma wine country . Our friends from Indianapolis flew in to join us on this very important quest. And it wasn’t just four adults: we had baby Larson in tow! At the time Larson was 14 months old, so we weren’t sure how visiting Sonoma wine country with a baby would go. However, we were pleasantly surprised that wine country is baby friendly. And really, Sonoma is everyone friendly–so if you’re not a parent of a baby or toddler, keep reading too! ( We also went to Big Sur , which was incredibly worth a stop.) Why Sonoma and not Napa? Sonoma vs. Napa: which to pick? Eleven years ago, Alex and I visited Napa Valley. We knew nothing about wine, we just knew that Napa meant “fancy wine country.” So we went to Napa: and loved it. This time around, we decided to stay in Sonoma since we heard that Sonoma wine country is

In between our book tour stops in San Francisco and LA, we had a few days of vacation. After two days in Sonoma, Alex, Larson and I decided to head to Big Sur for a day on our way to LA. Honestly, we weren’t quite sure what we were getting into. Most of what we knew about Big Sur was iconic Instagram photos showing insane cliffs and magical sunsets. But when we got there, finding the best sunset view in Big Sur was a bit more difficult than planned. Here’s how to find the best views in Big Sur (and if you’re hardcore, our Big Sur photography guide ). What exactly is Big Sur? If you don’t live in California, you might be asking the same question. Big Sur is a region of coastline in California known for its massive cliffs and rugged beauty. It’s not a town, or even a state park. But it’s full of gorgeous natural beauty, so when traveling between San Francisco and LA, many travelers opt for the Pacific Coast Highway route instead of the shorter US 101. Without stopping, the 90-mile st

It’s early in these warm weather months and I’ve already jumped from a dock into a lake.  And, to be honest, it was more of a reluctant fall into a lake than a confident jump because, well… everyone knows lakes are full of fish, moss, and lake monsters – enter at your own risk – which I did – and I’m here to tell the tale of that and, more importantly, fried pies. Continue reading Fried Blueberry Hand Pies at Joy the Baker.

Fair to say it’s been a rough week but here we are, still in the world with a Sunday in front of us.   I heard a passing news story this week about bird sounds in the Amazon rainforest and how the people that live in the rainforest can tell the time of day, the season, the weather, the everything of their world by the sound of birdcalls. It’s a tangible rhythm, and a reminder of all we have to tune into. Continue reading Let It Be Sunday, 175! at Joy the Baker.

Peanut butter and chocolate is a winning combination that is featured in all manner of desserts and candies. Every time that I think I’ve tried all the possible combinations of chocolate and peanut butter, however, I eventually come up with something I haven’t tasted yet. My Honey Roasted Peanut Chocolate Chip Cookies are a good example of this, with a lot of peanut flavor and pops of rich chocolate. These Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies deliver a deep dark chocolate chocolate flavor, accented with swirls of creamy peanut butter for a delicious bar that is rich and addictive. The brownies have an intense chocolate flavor and a pleasingly chewy texture when you bite into them. It is thick enough to support the swirls of peanut butter that are added to the top, but not so thick that the brownies end up feeling too heavy and dense. They have a really nice balance of textures and flavors. The batter is studded with chunks of dark chocolate, which only add to the overall richn

Hey friends! I get my best podcast suggestions from friends and since WE’RE FRIENDS (newsflash), I thought now would be a good time to get all of our summer listening sorted in hopes of lots of summer travel adventures and road trips. Here’s what I’m listening to and what’s on my radar for the next few months.   What are you listening to? Are you holding out on any podcast secrets!? Continue reading What We’re Listening To These Summer Days, 2018 at Joy the Baker.

This week, I was proud to announce that my newest cookbook, Perfectly Creamy Frozen Yogurt , was released and you can now buy copies at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other fine retailers. If your bookstore doesn’t stock it, ask them to order it for you! While ordering a copy is the fastest way to kick start your summer frozen yogurt-making, I’m going to be giving away 5 signed copies of Perfectly Creamy Frozen Yogurt to celebrate it’s release! That’s right! Five of my readers will win a signed copy of my newest cookbook – and entering couldn’t be easier. To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite flavor of frozen yogurt. I won’t give bonus entries for telling me your favorite frozen yogurt toppings, but feel free to mention those, too. Do you like cookies n’ cream in a waffle cone with mochi and strawberries on top? Do you prefer classic tart frozen yogurt with caramel sauce? The options are almost endless – just like the 56 different flavors of frozen y

This week would probably be best measured in hours of Law & Order SVU reruns I’ve watched.  How many hours are in a week?  Let’s just ballpark that 40% of those hours involved Olivia Benson.  I don’t want to do the math, I just want to be loosely honest with you.  It’s too soon to complain about the heat.  Also, no one wants to hear it.  I’m working on some meal prep for myself today. Continue reading Let It Be Sunday, 174! at Joy the Baker.

It’s that time of year again!  BUCKET LIST buck•et list (noun): a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have accomplished during their lifetime.  Also, a 2007 comedic film featuring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.   SUMMER BUCKET LIST sum•mer buck•et list (noun):  a list of things that a person would like to accomplish and experience during the summer months.  If done correctly, should involve water balloons, ice cream, and a pool party or two. Continue reading Summer Bucket List, 2018! at Joy the Baker.

Order the book ! It’s been nearly 4 months since our  Pretty Simple Cooking cookbook was born! In that time, our world has been rocked. We’ve cooked live on the TODAY Show! The cookbook was named as one of Epicurious’s top vegetarian cookbooks . We were featured everywhere from  Bon Appetit to Oprah.com (Oprah!). Alex, Larson and I traveled to SEVEN cities on book tour and met some of you along the way. You joined us for an epic worldwide virtual dinner party. There are almost 100 Amazon reviews for the book (if you’ve left a review, THANK YOU!). Also BIG NEWS: we’ve had so much positive feedback, we’re having another virtual dinner party! We’d like to personally invite you to our virtual Pretty Simple Dinner Party, Summer Edition on August 18–scroll down for details! Pretty Simple Cooking–your reviews! The absolute best part of Pretty Simple Cooking is not the press mentions–it’s hearing from YOU!  We wrote this book for you , and hearing that you are making and loving the r