The further we get into summer, the juicier and juicier the strawberries start to get.  Only recently have I started to notice the strawberries actually having hints of flavor in them… a sign of some amazing produce in our near future.

Other things that are popping up in the garden right now that just happen to go great with strawberries; basil and mint!  I think about those three ingredients and I see my future full of great salads, homemade lemonades, cocktails, desserts.  I can also see myself making this again for a summer party or just for myself when I’m in need of a treat!

So same concept here as traditional bruschetta, but you use thick, juicy chopped strawberries and some mint instead of just tomatoes. WOW was it good.  Oh yeah, you can spread a little herbed goat cheese over the crispy bread and you def won’t be mad about it.  I’m surprised I had enough will power not to say screw the picture taking and just eat the whole mixture from the bowl with a spoon!

What will you need?

1 loaf of french bread, sliced diagonally into toasts

12 large strawberries, cut into large chunks

6 large basil leaves, minced

5 large mint leaves, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

some spreadable, herbed goat cheese

ground black pepper

How do you make it?

Slice your bread diagonally, brush a little olive oil on top and toast in the oven for about 5 minutes until dry and crispy.

Add your diced strawberries, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and minced herbs into a bowl and mix well.  Make sure to combine all of the ingredients well, so there is a taste of each one in every single bite!

Once your toasts are crispy, spread a thin layer of goat cheese over the top.

Add your strawberry mixture on top.

Plate that beauty and revel in the gorgeousness that you just created!

So we’ve  got a really important holiday coming up, folks! That’s right, it’s Father’s Day tomorrow and I hope you’re all celebrating with your Father or Father figures in a unique, thoughtful and meaningful way.

Our family has decided to do a brunch for my Dad, as I have a Sunday afternoon flight to Memphis I need to catch (ya’ll).  I’ve been scheming all week to come up with an epic menu that’s even marginally worthy of how amazing my Dad is but I still wanted to take a few requests from the man who tomorrow is all about.  So I asked him what he would want from a late Sunday morning brunch and the man said two things:  pancakes with fruit and caramel-pecan rolls.

Fruit pancakes and caramel rolls it is, Dad. You can definitely count on those two menus items being present but you better bet that I’m going to put a few twists in there so he is surprised too!

Side note: Hi Dad! I know you’re reading this because you’re the best.  I love you and can’t wait to celebrate together tomorrow!

So I’ve got pancakes on my mind all week, obviously, because I want to make sure his pancakes are more special than average.  I’m thinking you all might have brunches to cook for tomorrow, too? If so, maybe you can experiment around with this idea a bit.  Basic pancakes (nothing too special about the batter), but a hot, homemade berry sauce on top.  Change it up a bit from putting the fruit directly in the pancake to turning it into a sauce and drizzling it on top with some nice maple syrup of course!

I am sure there are lots of ways to make fruit sauce, but this is an easy trick that we used every once in a while growing up.  Get a bag of a great frozen mixed-berry medley.  From there, you just need a lemon and a few minutes.  I’m including a recipe for some baking pancakes here, but feel free to use a mix too if you’re pressed for time!

What will you need?  (Makes about 6 medium pancakes)

Pancake batter

1 cup all-purpose flour, leveled

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon or allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons melted butter or grapeseed oil

1 large egg

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the berry sauce…

1 medium back of mixed, frozen berries

1 lemon, juiced

Lemon zest

Optional: A pinch of plant-based thickening agent, like guar gum powder or agar

How do you make it?

In a medium saucepan, add your frozen berries, 2 tbsp lemon juice and some lemon zest on medium heat.  Stir occasionally as the mixture continues to get nice and bubbly.  Meanwhile, go start preparing your pancakes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), and egg. In another bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and fold into the milk mixture; whisk until just mostly combined but do not overmix.  A few lumps are ok!

Heat a griddle pan or something similar.  Add a drop of olive oil and smear it around with a paper towel.  Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto skillet for each pancake, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round.  I tried to fit 4 on here at once!

After about 2 minutes, flip pancakes with a flat spatula and cook on the other side for another 1-2 minutes.  Boom.  Done and golden.

Your sauce should be pretty much ready by now!  I threw in a pinch of guar gum at the end to thicken it up a bit, but that’s totally optional.  It should look like this: reduced and juicy and so, so colorful.

Plate your pancakes in a little pancake mountain.

Cover with the piping hot berry sauce.

Drizzle a little maple syrup on top to make the whole thing a hot, runny pile of heaven.  Happy Father’s Day tomorrow, everyone!  I hope you all have a wonderful day.

So this salad is beautiful, there’s absolutely no doubt about that.  I also have been making a version of something like this literally every single day for lunch for the past… oh about two weeks.  Of course the version that I make for my lunches isn’t quite as artistic and well-styled as the one in these pictures, but the taste is so good that I don’t think I could ever get sick of it.  It is a perfect summer party salad, packed full of fresh, juicy, charred vegetables and topped with a homemade chipotle dressing that has a little kick to it.

I made a big batch of this salad to serve at a party last weekend and every last bite was gone by the end of the night.  Even the non-vegetarians couldn’t get enough!

The key to this recipe is actually pretty much everything that is in in:  good spices, sweet corn straight from the husk, the freshest, juiciest peppers that you can find, ripe avocado, and chipotles in adobo sauce.  These are absolutely necessary, but be careful with the quantity you use because they are mighty hot.

Can I also just note really quick how excited I am that it is finally time for fresh sweet corn again?!  I can’t wait for the local Minnesota stuff to be ready in a month or so.   I remember one summer (when I was a lot younger) I worked at a farmer’s market stand that specialized in sweet corn.  They taught me there that sweet corn should be eaten straight up RAW…  if it is good stuff, there is literally no other way that you can justify eating it.

What will you need?

1 large head of lettuce, chopped

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 poblano pepper

1 large, ripe avocado

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp fennel seeds

Salt, pepper

1/2 lime

For the dressing:

2 tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 lime

1 small clove garlic

1 tsp brown sugar

How do you make it?

Finely chop up all of your peppers into nice, bite-sized pieces.\

Take your sweet corn, remove the husks and slice off all of the juicy kernals.  Pop a few of them in your mouth while you’re at it

Put all of your vegetables in a bowl.  Add the chili powder and fennel seeds and squeeze the juice from your lime over the top.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add in your vegetables.  Sprinkle with a little more chili powder, salt, pepper and sautee on high heat for about 5 minutes.  I like to cook the vegetables until they get nice and charred – it makes me feel like this salad was made on the grill!

Once the vegetables have reduced in size and are nice and tender, they are ready for action.

Meanwhile, whiz up your homemade dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a small food processor and pulsing.  Reserve on the side in a small jar.

In a large bowl, combine your chopped lettuce, red onion and cilantro.  Toss lightly to combine and add to your plate.

Put a heaping scoop of your hot, charred vegetables on top.

Add a few slices of creamy avocado to cool it down a bit.

And drizzle the spicy dressing over the top.

Yes, my friends. You just made this.

And now you’re about to eat it.

To all of my Raisin-Bran-loving friends (and I know there are a lot of you):  you know that age-old Raisin Bran dilemma, right?  That feeling like the raisin to flake ratio just isn’t quite right?  The anguish of knowing your bowl of cereal could be so much better if there were just a few more raisins in it?  I’ve been in that situation far too many times and so I decided to come up with a solution…  Homemade cereal mixes.

Specifically in this case, homemade Raisin Bran.

The whole concept of cereal is just one that I adore because you can get so creative with it.  The crunchy flakes covered in cold milk go well with an endless list of toppings; bananas, fresh berries, nuts, dried fruit, spices, seeds. Now days, the term “milk” has even taken on a new meaning as our grocery store shelves are loaded with decadent dairy alternatives made from nuts, soy, hemp, rice… man don’t even get me STARTED about milk.

My point is this:  your bowl of cereal does not need to be boring.  It doesn’t need to be draped in sugar to taste good. It doesn’t need to come from a huge factory assembly line.   It doesn’t necessarily even need to come from a box!  Let’s look at how you can get a little more creative with this traditional morning favorite.

I like to buy these things called Heritage Flakes in big, bulk bags.  They’re very similar to the flakes in Raisin Bran but they are packed full of all sorts of great, ancient grains like wheat, oats, kamut, barley, spelt and millet.  Not only do these flakes taste amazing in a bowl of cereal, but they have an amazing earthy, nutty taste to them that makes a perfect crunchy snack during the day.

In addition to having plain flakes around the house, I always have jars and bags of dried fruit, nuts, and seeds on hand so I can make a million different combinations of flavors and textures.

Let’s get back to the topic at hand… recreating the perfect bowl of Raisin Bran.

What will you need?  (to recreate the picture)

1 cup plain cereal flakes

1 cup almond milk

2 tbsp toasted, slivered almonds

RAISINS (however many you want!) – I used golden and regular raisins

Pinch of Cinnamon

How do you make it?

It’s pretty intuitive!

Flakes on the bottom.

Then raisins.

Toasted almonds.

Dash of cinnamon!

And lather it all up with some ice cold, creamy, decadent almond milk.

No offense, but Kellogg’s who???

A few weeks ago I was doing a little research on the benefits of eating raw and perusing the internet for recipes to make my own raw bars.  I came across this website for Two Moms in the Raw and couldn’t WAIT to try their product.  This company (and product) exemplifies everything that I love about entrepreneurship; someone recognized and/or was experiencing a problem, so they created a solution to it.  Hell yes.

One could argue that there are endless benefits to adopting a raw lifestyle.  Personally, I like cooked food so I am not going that intense, but I can certainly appreciate incorporating interesting things like this into my diet now and then!  More important to me is the quality of the food that I eat… and these bars are top notch!

Two Moms in the Raw is a family-owned gluten free, raw food manufacturer located in Boulder County Colorado founded by a mom and daughter team.  One of the founders was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis and she found that a raw food diet made her feel a  lot better.

What does it mean to be “raw”?

The raw food or living food movement promotes eating food that has not been cooked or exposed to temperatures over 118*F. When food is heated above 118*F there is a risk that the enzymes essential for all the chemical processes in your body might be damaged.  Soooo that means lots of veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds… people are starting to get more creative and offering a lot of cool raw products now, too.

So how about the product?

Everything is handmade from organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, kosher and vegan ingredients.  There are so many people in the world now with food allergies, sensitivities, compromised immune systems and dietary restrictions that products like this are life-savers, literally.  As someone who doesn’t have any special dietary requirements, I can still appreciate the fact that the quality of the ingredients that they use in these products is the best.

And how do they taste?  So, so good.  You know that feeling of eating something and just knowing that it was a good decision?  You can literally feel the food nourishing your body as you chew?  That’s how I feel when I eat the cranberry and goji berry granola bars.

They aren’t too chewy, but not crunchy either.  There is a strong cinnamon taste which I’m not mad about.  Look at the close-up!

I’ve only seen these in specialty grocery food stores like my local co-op or Whole Foods.  You can buy them there or online!  Eiher way, I think you should  support this great company and give them a try.  Your body will appreciate it!

A few months ago, I started to get curious about these cute little leafy pod-things at the grocery store that I had never cooked with before. So I did my research and it turns out that the vegetable that was catching my eye was endive; an adorable little member of the daisy family and the star of what I am about to recommend you make this weekend.

Endive can be prepared in a variety of ways but most recipes that I’ve seen use the leaves to create a raw salad or a sautée of some sort. It’s important to know that endive is a little more bitter than other greens, so be aware of that as you are cooking and dress it appropriately.

To make this salad, I just halved and seared the endive face down in some browned butter. I countered the bitterness with a bit of sweet agave nectar, some citrusy lemon and some toasted pie nits.  It was literally perfection. I ate the whole thing as lunch, but one of these halves would be a great starter or a side to a meal, too!

What will you need?

2 heads of endive

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

1 lemon wedge

a drizzle of agave nectar (honey will work, too!)

How do you make it?

Slice you endive in half length-wise.

In a large sautee pan, simmer 1 tbsp of butter on medium heat.  As soon as it starts to get slightly caramel-colored, reduce the heat to low.  Don’t burn the butter!!!  Put the endive halves face down in your hot pan.

Sautee on medium heat until the bottoms get a bit charred – about five minutes.  They should be perfectly cooked at this point!  You don’t want to cook them too long because then they get mushy.

Remove from the stove with a tongs and plate.  Add your toasted pine nuts and squeeze a lemon wedge over the top.

Drizzle with agave nectar and serve hot!

Happy National Running Day, everyone!  I swear, there is a different race going on every weekend here in Minnesota now.  It is absolutely glorious.  The last timed race that I ran was the Goldy’s Run with one of my best friends, Daniel, on the campus of my beloved University of Minnesota.  There was snow on the ground and it was below freezing out, but we did it anyway and it was awesome.  Such a quintessential  Minnesota Experience!!

Daniel has since done a half marathon and finished his first WHOLE MARATHON just this past weekend! He’s such a boss, it’s unreal.

A huge component of the effectiveness of your run is not only what you do to prepare and of course how well you execute the run, but it is just as important to have a deliberate post-run routine including stretching and EATING.

There are a few components that should absolutely be present in a post-run refuel snack or meal in order for it to assist in repairing and replenishing everything that was used up during your run.  I am a strong advocate of three critical components:  Carbs. Protein. Fats.  Of course, you can definitely mix fruit and veggies into whatever you’re eating to make it more interesting!

Because I am running a lot, I’m also always thinking of quick and unique ways to make my post-workout snack more interesting.  Below are just a few ideas that I have used and ENJOYED!

Greek Yogurt with Fresh Berries, Almond Butter and Toasted Pecans

Greek Yogurt with Dried Exotic Berries and Raw Cashews

Shrimp, Avocado + Carrot Salad

Quick Turkey Panini

Bruschetta Chicken Salad

Sweet Potato Scrambled Eggs

Happy running, my loves! I hope this gives you some good ideas!

It’s amazing how impactful it can be to switch up the daily routine a little bit and do something completely unplanned – one minor decision has the power to  change the course of your entire day.

Real life example: yesterday I felt like doing something completely spontaneous so I decide to dye my hair darker.  (I know, living on the edge!) It may seem pretty insignificant and I went to bed feeling no different, but I woke up this morning feeling a bit more… fresh.

This fresh-feeling start spread to the rest of my day, as I felt like I had an extra skip in my step… and trust me, I am normally a bundle of energy on an average day the way it is.  While I usually make healthy decisions pretty consistently,  I’ll be the first to admit that I could definitely benefit from getting out of my normal routine every once in a while too.  So for the entire day today, I tried to do a few minor things I haven’t done for a while and challenge some long-standing habits.  It was awesome.  It was almost as if I was liberated from the constraints of my old hair color!! Hahaha.

See when you make one decision that is out of the ordinary, it opens up the rest of the day to be a continuance of your newly enlightened state.  Even though someone might make really good decisions as part of normal patterns, making difference decisions does not necessarily have to mean decreasing your net daily benefit.

A few things I did today to continue my fresh momentum included:

1.)    Parking about 2 miles away from the gym instead of in the parking lot, using the brisk walk to and from my car as a cardio workout instead of being confined to a piece of equipment!

2.)    Deciding to pass on my afternoon coffee/caffeine fix – I didn’t need the extra energy, trust me!

3.)    Painting my nails an odd color that I’ve never used before!

4.)    Eating these BEAUTIFUL brussel sprouts instead of… not eating them.

5.) Treating myself to an AMAZING juice at a new juice bar in my neightborhood.

6.)    Completely embracing the nighttime rain, rather than quickly running through it.

Now I’d like to clarify here:  I think there is a big difference between spontaneity and straight up impulsive behavior.  I think the risk of consequence of my hair-changing decision and car-cleaning is relatively low compared to the other decisions I could have made when feeling restless.

The point is this – loosen up a little bit, my loves.  Do something odd or unusual or just totally uncharacteristic of your norm.  In fact, try it right now!!!!  And let me know what you decide to do  It’s really, really fun and who doesn’t like feelin’ fresh?  I’m hoping to ride this feeling well into the weekend.

Hump day tomorrow!  Get ready!!

I heard a word on the street that the watermelon  from our local co-op has been really good lately.  On a separate but related note, the mint in our garden is popping up faster than we can drink mojitos!  Combine both of those items with the fact that we celebrated a ridiculously important birthday party this weekend… and you can safely assume that I made a summery,  minty melon salad and enjoyed it with a bunch of great people.

Don’t let the simplicity of this salad fool you – it tastes fancy, sophisticated and expensive.  It also gave us inspiration a couple of hours into the night to combine remaining juices and chunks of fruit with vodka… yup not the best idea in the world.

All you need to make this salad is 5 ingredients: watermelon, honeydew melon, fresh mint, cucumber and lime juice.  I used a mandolin slicer to cut the cucumber so thin that they were like ribbons.  Be super careful if you are going to use those… I sustained some pretty serious battle wounds because I wasn’t being too careful.

But honestly, can you think of anything that says summertime more than a giant, juicy, messy watermelon?

What will you need?

1 honeydew melon, cubed

1 watermelon, cubed

1 cucumber, thinly sliced

1 large lime

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, torn

How do you make it?

Cut your melons into bite-sized pieces. Thinly slice your cucumber to the consistency of ribbons.  Add all of this into a large bowl.

Squeeze all of the juice from one lime over the top and add in your torn mint leaves.

Mix everything together and chill.

PARTY TIME!

I recently entered some of my work in a local food photography contest.  In fact, the submission deadline was yesterday!  I wanted to enter some photos that I could take outside with our beautiful green grass and trees in the background.  When I was shopping around the grocery store for some inspiration, I saw a bunch of rainbow chard that was so beautiful it made me weak and I said to it, “You BELONG on camera”.

This recipe is pretty simple and easy to make, but it looks and tastes pretty damn sophisticated! Sauteed chard with ginger + garlic, toasted walnuts, some fresh grated parmesan cheese.  Boom.  Just add a (big) glass of wine and you’re good to go.

You might be asking… what is Rainbow Chard?  WELL chard is this amazing, green, leafy vegetable that technically belongs to the beet family but you can use it pretty much anywhere that you would use spinach or kale or other leafy things.  It is SO nutritious – great source of Vitamin A, C and K and other vitamins that are important for optimal cellular metabolic functions.  It’s also rich in minerals like iron (important for cellular oxidation and red blood cell formation In other words, eat up.  And add some nuts. Another thing I like about pasta dishes like this is that you can serve them warm, cold or room temperature.

What will you need?  (makes 2 big servings)

1 bunch rainbow or swiss chard 1/2 cup toasted walnuts 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 1/4 cup water 2 tbsp sesame or olive oil 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced Salt, pepper 2 cups cooked, whole wheat pasta

How do you make it?

Wash and dry your bunch of chard and coarsely chop it up. In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil and soy sauce and start sauteeing your garlic and ginger.  Stir quickly so it doesn’t burn!  Add 1/4 cup water, reduce to a low simmer, and throw in the greens. Sautee for about 5 minutes, until the greens are wilted and the sauce has thickened a bit.  When it looks like it does in the picture below remove from the heat and set on the side. Meanwhile, you should probs start cooking your pasta so that is ready soon.  Toast some walnuts while you’re at it! When everything is ready, pick a pretty bowl and fill it with about a cup of pasta. Add your sauteed greens, toasted walnuts and grated parmesan cheese on top… maybe a little salt and pepper, too. Eat this outdoors, preferably with a nice, frosty glass of wine. Wish me luck in the photo competition!!!!!!!!!!!!!