The Food Matters Project: Berries & Chocolate Bread

Hi. I didn't really follow this week's food matters project recipe. Sure I utilized some kind of berry, some kind of chocolate and some kind of bread. But not cherry and not in panini form. You can check out Margarita's host post here.

We spent our Father's day weekend charter fishing in Westport. It was cold, wet and mildly nauseating. I know I'm making it sound fantastic. I think it would have been a way better experience if I'd caught a fish instead of letting the only one I hooked get away. I wouldn't call it a complete wreck of a weekend. I spent some quality time with the boy side of my family and Scott. I saw the ocean from both the shore and while at sea. I learned that if I take a dramamine, wear accupressure bands on my wrists and chew ginger gum I'm mostly not as nauseated as I'd expect (I'm positive this will come in handy some day). Besides, I love adventure.

On the car ride home, after spending hours eating nothing due to a large fear of accidentally throwing it right back up, I ate a ton of delicious homemade bread.

Raspberry & Almond Muffins

Yesterday I had my first successful baking experience using only almond flour. I have so many friends who are avoiding gluten or following some kind of paleo guideline to eating that it makes sense for me to experiment with gluten free baking. These muffins were meant to be a yummy surprise for a camping trip this weekend but the trip fell through and now I'm sitting at home on a Sunday with a surplus of baked goods. I know what I'll be eating for breakfast.

These muffins are particularly good right out of the oven. The following day they prove to be a bit more oily then I'd like. Next time I make this recipe I am going to try substituting applesauce for the olive oil and I'm also going to combine the fruit with the batter instead of creating separate layers.

The Food Matters Project: Mexican-Style Fruit Salad w Fish

I had a lot of fun with this week's Food Matters Project. Thank you, Sarah, for picking such a fun recipe! I've been wanting to try out a sweet potato crusted fish recipe I ran into quite some time ago while lurking on pinterest. This gave me the perfect opportunity.

I don't know about you guys but this life is busy. I just tried to schedule hiking with a friend on a Sunday coming up and realized that I have 3 unplanned Sundays between now and SEPTEMBER. That's crazy. I can't wait for it to be true summertime when the sun doesn't go down until almost 10pm and it becomes easier to go play outside after work. Slowing down to plan out a meal, prepare the ingredients and share the results with the people I love best feels so important and so good.

Asparagus, Leek & Bell Pepper Frittata with Sweet Potato Hash base.

I am in love with sweet potatoes. It's no secret. They are tasty and delicious and versatile. You can use them in savory dishes, and sweet. We eat a lot sweet potatoes around here: as hash browns, medallions, fries, etc. I love that they fill you up AND they're nutritious too! Also, a lot of sweet potato varieties are mistakenly advertised as yams at your local grocery store. It's so weird! The only time you'll typically see "real" yams is at the asian market.

This dish was incredibly easy to make. You can substitute any vegetable you have in your kitchen. I often make a mini, non crusted, souffle version of this dish in ramekins or muffin tins to take to work.

Brown Sugar Apple Bundt Cake

I spent yesterday playing outside, baking and chatting with a good friend. Eowyn is a modern day awesome lady. She works outside of her home but still manages to garden, make delicious meals, bake bread, homemake anything that can be homemade, run an etsy shop and be a great mom and wife. You can meet Eowyn here and see her etsy shop here. When I made my way to Eo's after a lazy morning at home I found her just finishing up making sunscreen and about to hang laundry outside in the bright sun. We took a walk around the backyard - checking out the new chickens and the garden beds. Then we had a picnic. I'm not joking when I say this woman does everything. Lunch included homemade yogurt with honey and fruit. It was awesome.