These are what berry muffin dreams are made of. Really. A super soft, delicate crumb, a hefty burst of fresh berry flavor and a crunchy, leave-you-wanting-more subtle lemon scented topping. We’re talking weekend breakfast while curled up with your coffee and the paper happiness. Or grab and go snack any time of the day.
It’s T minus five days until the beginning of fall and I’m excited. There’s so much happening in the world right now to be unsure of and definitely not excited about, but the changing of the seasons, especially when it’s pumpkins and apples and everything warm and cozy in between entering the picture, makes me happy just to think about it. I love autumn. And I’ve already started to fill the house once or twice this week with the aroma of cinnamon and apples. (This Baked Apple Oatmeal for breakfast is a fab way to start the season and you day btw. )
But, today I’m slowing down just a notch because berries here in California are still beautiful and sweet. And I can’t bear to hold on to this Strawberry Banana Bread with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting recipe much longer and not share. I don’t think it would be right. And besides, there’s always brown bananas needing a place in this world.
Fig season is in full swing and I’m loving every minute of it. And to think I thought that once we’re back in LA I would be missing out on the amazing figs in Istanbul. Well, I do miss Istanbul and the figs there truly are second to none, but I’m very happy to report I’m still getting in on plenty of the fig action here in LA. Not only does my sister have a fig tree in her backyard that is having a great harvest this year, but my childhood neighbor’s decades-old tree (which somehow we’ve never noticed) planted by her late grandfather is seriously producing the most lovely, ripe figs. And she is sharing them with me by the plateful. I couldn’t be more grateful and can’t help but think how the world really does work in mysterious ways. And today, I want to share one of the latest fig-tastic creations, this Fig & Whipped Ricotta Toast with Rosemary Honey.
Read more
I’m nearing the end of my beloved tomato stash from our trip to Underwood Farms. We recently went for a day of fruit and vegetable picking out in the fresh air and fields of one of our favorite annual pumpkin picking spots. Tomatoes were the star of the day and even my two little non-tomato-eating-no-way-I-won’t-go-near-that-thing munchkins had a wonderful time picking so many colors and varieties of one of summer’s best fruits. (Of course, they wouldn’t try one though.) But K and I have been happily enjoying them, (me semi-hoarding them) and having such a great time creating recipes with the colorful little (and big) gems.
We celebrated my son’s 7th birthday this week. (I still can’t get over the fact he is SEVEN already. Like, seriously, how. But I’ll spare you a trip down gushing mama memory lane.) He’s been so excited and counting down the minutes till his day was finally here, for maybe the past 7 months. No joke. And while it may not have had all the bells and whistles of years past, these Chocolate Chip & Sprinkles Birthday Pancakes sure started the day off on a celebratory note.
I’m usually all about a healthy breakfast for the kids, but sometimes and especially in these strangest of times, I think any extra little thing we can do to mark a special day and show those we love just how much we care, goes a long way. And for Mr. T, chocolate, sprinkles and pancakes will do just that. But combine those three together and I knew he would just be over the moon. And over the moon he was. While also thinking mom had maybe officially lost her mind with such a treat of a breakfast.
Read more