WHUT.  Christmas is less than a week away, and the year is done-zo in less than two!  How are you feeling?  Are you getting holiday stress?  I had myself a panic moment a few days ago when Aubrie asked me why there are still no presents under our tree.  I mumbled something about not wanting them to poke around the presents and wreck the wrapping like last year, instead of the truth, which is I was procrastinating the mundane task of wrapping them up.  On the actual gift-buying side, I had 90% of gifts purchased by early December but the last 10% is by no coincidence, the most difficult.  People like my dad, dad-in-law, etc are impossible to buy for.  So I'm still working on that last 10% ... kiiiinda cutting it close, I reckon.  Socks?  Again?

This season, Vitamix came up with this Winter Spice Seasoning of cinnamon sticks, crystallized ginger, cardamom, pink peppercorns, cloves, dried orange peel, salt and brown sugar (tip:  sub coconut sugar for Paleo / refined sugar free version!) blended into a fragrant seasoning of warmth and WINTER MAGIC. 

Vitamix and theFeedfeed partnered up to sponsor this post so that I can bring you this recipe I created using that heavenly seasoning mix.  Can you smell it in your mind's eye...eerrr, nose?  I want to put it in everything, both sweet and savory!

I'm giddy with excitement this time of the year when holiday season is in full ramp-up mode!  It's my favorite.  I love that the season is about giving to others.  While I don't condone frivolous over-consumption (which is admittedly a huge downside associated with the holidays), I really enjoy putting careful thought into the gifts that I am giving to the special people in my life.  There's a dizzying joy and smug satisfaction when I just know I've found the perfect gift for someone. 

I'm still giving myself pats on the back for the Aesop hydrating cream for my mom / sister, and the fold-able (brilliant!) vegetable spiralizer for my brother-in-law last year.  We won't talk about the socks I gifted my dad tho - he's a hard one to buy for!

With the start of school and adieu to summer vacation, I begin to accept that Fall is just around the corner.  Every year when I spot the first copper-y dried leaf fallen on the sidewalk, I think of (lower your device's volume if you're at work haha) this old KFC commercial where the woman is screaming and pointing at something. The camera then turns to the sidewalk in front of her, showing a single fallen maple leaf on the ground with the voice-over saying "summer can't last forever".  She then bolts in the other direction.  I feel exactly the same way!  Does anyone else (Canadian) remember this one?  Best.  Commercial.  Ever.  My favorite. :)

Cauliflower has been having quite a moment in the sun.

Have you seen all the clever and creative uses of cauliflower lately?   The popular ones that spring to mind are cauliflower steak, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower buffalo 'wings', cauliflower tater tots and even using cauliflower as a smoothie ingredient to provide bulk without the added sugars of bananas and other fruits (can't say I'm sold on that one ... yet).  

So despite it's pale and unexciting appearance, turns out this cruciferous veggie kinda has superpowers!  And cauliflower RICE, for me, is the most super-y-est of them all because of it's ease of preparation (including how much faster it is to cook versus rice), superior nutritional value over rice, it's versatility and above all, how satisfyingly well it stands in for rice.

Hiya!  It's been a minute since I posted. How has this month flown by so fast?  Oh I remember now.  It's because I've had my hands full with the girls who are on summer break.  Why even is there a summer vacation?  People who work don't get 2 months off their jobs (I mean other than school-related staff).  Stay-at-home parents don't stop cooking / dishes / laundry / vacuuming / groceries / chauffeuring and all of that for a couple of months every year.  Why do children get 2 months off school?  Isn't school basically their job?  Seems like a good idea to keep their minds sharp all year round.  Maybe next year I will sign the girls up for math camp all summer heh heh. #tigermomgoals

I am super excited to share this recipe as a follow-up to last week's Everyday Veggie-Loaded Ragu share.  For forever, it was a no-brainer to make a lasagna later the same week I make up a big batch of my go-to ragu.  I literally don't know a single person who doesn't like lasagna, do you?  But when we began limiting dairy and gluten consumption (among other things) at the end of 2016, it seemed our lasagna days were over.  Bye bye.

Or so I thought.

Does the internet really need another 'spaghetti sauce' recipe? For a year and half since I started this blog, the answer to myself was consistently NO. Yet here it is.

I assume most people's mornings are just as hurried as ours.  Mine goes like this:  wake up, get self ready (aka barely splash some water on face and put a bra on), dress children, make breakfast, pack lunches and most importantly drink that coffee that's getting cold dammit.  The saving grace of warmer mornings now is more simple options for breakfast, such as chilled overnight oats or overnight chia puddings.  Lately the girls have been obsessed with chia pudding parfaits and they really get a kick out of choosing their own fixings and assembling their own little parfaits.  Which is a complete score for me.  I can sip my hot coffee while they take over that part of the morning routine.

Besides hurried mornings, this Do-It-Yourself concept translates really well for overnight guests or a weekend brunch gathering with friends too, as the main event (as it is definitely filling enough) or a hands-off component of a larger spread.  The assortment of goodies is more or less the same, although you may add more options to make it extra special (see my suggestions further below).  All you need to do is scale up in quantity.  The best part is how it can be styled beautifully into an impressive spread, as I've done for this blog post.  Isn't it pretty?  As a mama of a daughter with food restrictions, it's bonus for me that it is suitable for both adults and children, as well as people with dietary constraints since the entire set up is dairy-free, gluten-free, refined sugar free, vegan and paleo-friendly (if the granola is omitted from the parfait for those individuals).  

I'll concede that as far as food trends go these days, you're much more likely to see a chia pudding appear on your Instagram feed than a tapioca pudding! You might even say the latter is a little old-school. But to me, this MANGO TAPIOCA PUDDING has a special nostalgia and holds a supreme ranking as far as desserts that delighted me as a child. And as an adult :)

The selfish part of me doesn't want to publicly share how ah-mazing beef cheeks are for braising!  Beef cheeks are at once lean and tender.  When slow cooked or pressure cooked, it is extremely flavorful and yields lusciously to your fork.  Or should I say, spoon because that's the utensil to use for this dish.  It's how wonderfully tender it is!  

Sometimes a classic flavor combo just beckons.  Like this CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY MASCARPONE BUTTERCREAM.  Classic chocolate cake with a simple American style buttercream made more luxurious with the additions of mascarpone cheese and homemade strawberry puree (or really good strawberry jam).

Due to popular demand, I'm putting up this recipe which is an oldie I found through the Food Network website and have made it again and again.  These days we are limiting gluten and refined sugars but I make exceptions when I'm baking for others or just as an occasional treat.  Believe me I don't go wasting that 'quota' just on anything.  I have to tell you, these shortbread cookies are well worth it.  

The magic happens in the final simmering when the starch released from the rice cakes combine with the liquid cooked out of the cabbage to create a velvety, luscious sauce that coats everything. This Shanghai Braised Rice Cakes recipe is an easy one-pot meal that is total comfort food.

After my theFeedFeed snapchat takeover last week making this Maple Almond-Cashew Iced Latte, I wanted to immediately follow up with this post.  This is a game changer, friends.

Currently my favorite caffeinated iced drink (I was obsessed with this horcatta iced latte for awhile too), it beats any iced latte drink you can order at SBux.  Although I was thrilled that Starbucks recently started offering almond milk option, it still comes out of a carton.  Nothing compares to homemade nut milk.  Nothing!  Before you think there is no way you have time to make this, think again.  Besides the passive time required to soak the nuts (see note below re soaking), it takes about 15 minutes to make a batch which can be savored over a week of lattes. That's a pretty solid ROI if you ask me! 

Of course, you can drink the nut milk straight up.  It is so, SO delicious!  But what isn't improved with a shot (or two) of nice strong espresso?  I think you know the answer my friend.  Cheers!

Ever since my family moved to a diet with limited dairy, my girls have been begging for mac & cheese.  This is a dairy-free version which satisfies all the cravings for the real thing.  They love it so much I literally have to cut them off before they gorge themselves silly on it.  

I wrote about my daughter's grain-free / dairy-free (essentially "paleo") diet in a previous post here.  This meant our beloved weekend pancakes became a fond memory.  Until NOW.

You might not guess from miso's intense brininess and gochujang's spicy pungency, that they would mellow out to result in a tender braised pork dish that is rich and deeply savoury yet well-balanced. Serve with rice, pasta or other carb-y side of choice to enjoy the saucy goodness.

I'm so happy to kick off the new year with a recipe I'm rather excited about as it uses an amazing and wildly flavorful ingredient that is a relatively recent discovery for me - tamarind.   I didn't grow up with tamarind, but I have made up for that lost time by how much I love it now.  Are you thinking what even is tamarind anyway?