Two Kitchens, One Passion

I am so grateful that I was able to stop working a full month before my due date.  This gave me the perfect amount of time to relax, meditate, prep for our baby's arrival, and even get an art project completed for the nursery. I spent a full week cooking snacks and meals for the freezer and stocked it just about as full as I could!  Two and a half months later and we still have several items left to eat.  Below is a list of the things that I cooked with notes about which were actually useful in the immediate weeks after coming home from the hospital. Full freezer, ready to go! Nursery Art Project Postpartum Meal & Snack Plan: Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon This is still in the freezer, but not because it isn't delicious!  Dan and I were able to cook more than I expected afterwards so we just haven't gotten to this yet.  I also froze some sweet potatoes to serve this with. Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole O...

What a year it has been, AGAIN!  I know I have not kept up with blogging on a regular basis, but that is hopefully about to change. My life these days is sure a lot different than it was a year ago.  I am now a mother to the most wonderful baby girl and my current career is stay-at-home-mom, which I couldn't be happier about.  Our baby girl even got to tag along (in my belly) for the half Ironman I did last summer (and I completed it just under my goal time in 6 hrs 29 min). This blog may look a bit different these days, with more recipes focusing on postpartum recovery/nutrition and breastfeeding nutrition.  Right now, I am 10 weeks post c-section and have begun increasing my workouts by attending some yoga and Crossfit classes again.  It's a slow process of regaining my strength, but this is much better than taking things too fast and injuring myself. Without further ado, I bring you the first recipe in over a year: Sweet Potato Green Curry!  This m...

Instead of trying to make a reservation at a nice restaurant for Valentine's Day, Dan and I decided to celebrate with a homemade Valentine's Day Brunch.  After all, brunch is always the best meal of the day!  Below are all of the recipe that I put together to make our meal complete - I even got creative with some heart-shaped breakfast sausages! Buckwheat-Oat Pancakes V.2 Yield: 8 small pancakes (2 servings) Gluten free, dairy free, vegan, soy free, egg free For our brunch, I decided to modify a buckwheat pancake recipe I have made in the past to make it entirely sugar and dairy free. It still resulted in perfectly textured and delicious pancakes - you'd never know they were gluten free! I've really come to the conclusion that buckwheat flour is the best substitute for making gluten free pancakes.   Ingredients 1/2 cup buckwheat flour - 1/2 1/2 cup gluten free oat flour - If you do not have oat flour, simply grind 1/2 cup of gluten free oats in ...

I am so glad that it will finally be summer soon so that I can get back to posting recipes more regularly!  With the hustle and bustle of the school year and teaching I always get severely behind in my blog posts.  Over the rest of this month I plan to make up for my recent absence my blogger by posting many new and delicious recipes for you to try. Many of my posts this month will be related to a nutrition challenge that I am currently taking part in with my Crossfit gym.  We just started a 30 day Primal diet challenge based on Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint ( www.marksdailyapple.com ).  This diet is not much different than how I eat on a regular basis, but I am excited to use this month as a great time to focus on clean eating 100% and testing out new recipes again. I am going to start a string of new recipe posts with one that I made a while ago - Grilled Primal Bison Burgers on Cauliflower Buns.  The cauliflower buns worked even than I e...

What are some of your favorite things to do when it's snowing outside and you're stuck at home?  A few of my favorites include cuddling with my husband (or our dog), reading a book in a cozy chair, watching a movie, and drinking some creamy hot chocolate.  With the snowstorm we got in Maryland this past weekend, hot chocolate was a definite necessity to keep warm!  Rather than making a traditional hot chocolate, I decided to make a Superfood (& Super Delicious) version of this favorite hot drink.  The result was a super creamy, super healthy, and super chocolately drink! One cup of this will allow you to reap the benefits of the superfoods explained below (for additional information, click on the links for each food): Coconut Oil: Nutritious source of saturated fats with antioxidant properties Maca powder : Rich in vitamins B, C, and E.  May also improve sexual function in men AND women, relieve menstrual issues, and increase energy! Cinnamon : Ant...

For the most part, if I am craving some takeout for dinner, the Indian restaurant around the corner is my go-to spot.  I love the intense flavors and fresh spices involved in Indian cooking.  One of my favorite dishes to order is Rogan Josh, an aromatic lamb delicacy cooked with spices in a tomato (or chile) based sauce. Since I had eggplant on hand last night, I chose to take a stab at creating my own version of Aloo Baingan.  This dish is traditionally made with eggplant and potatoes, which are cooked with spices, onion and tomato to create a side dish with a nice thick consistency.  For my version, I cooked eggplant with fire roasted tomatoes and sweet potato puree, to give it a thicker consistency.  I also chose to serve it over a bed of rice to enjoy it as more of an entree.  The spice level for this recipe is mild, but could easily be made spicier by increasing the amount of red pepper flakes used. The Aloo Baingan was so delicious that I a...

Rather than making reservations at a nice restaurant on Valentine's Day, I decided to use this holiday as an excuse to cook an extra special meal at home with Dan.  This ended up being the perfect decision with the Valentine's Day mini snowstorm that arrived Saturday night.  We may have spent at least a couple hours in the kitchen preparing our dinner, but it was all completely worth it.  In honor of this day devoted to celebrating love, I created a delicious three course menu! Appetizer Main course Dessert So what was my favorite  component to this three course meal?  It's a tough call, but I must say the flourless chocolate torte was the best I've ever had (even better than the one I got at a really nice restaurant on my birthday)! Chocolate Dipped Lemon Ricotta Olives Adapted from  Cupcake Project Yield: 20 olives + extra filling Gluten free, soy free, egg free Ingredients 1.8 ounces dark chocolate (I bought a bar o...