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Summertime is upon us. My grandpa's patio is gleaming bright with all kinds of greenery. Chirping from the birds, the sweet "hello's" I hear from Lola our Cockatoo, and the sounds of the peaceful waterfall remind me that I am blessed to be spending my summer months here with my wonderful grandpa. I've had salads on my mind for days, and began scribbling down combi
"Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure." -Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist Read more »
When Justin DeMutiis, a good friend of mine and very talented wedding photographer, called me and asked if I'd be interested in making the cake for a wedding inspiration shoot, I felt incredibly honored. Not only would I have a reason to bake a cake, but I would be working alongside my other dear friend, Eileen Pandolfo from Twine Bindery. Justin explained that this wasn't just an
A love affair bloomed in February. Between a homebody's taste buds and a soft, yet perfectly textured, nutty pseudocereal. Or simply put, me and that delicious thing that most of us pronounced "kin-O-uh" before we found out the actual pronunciation. Sure, I had tried it a few times in the past, but recently something just sparked. I just can't get enough of the darn thing. I suppose that's not s
Lately, I've been having more bad days then good days. I like to consider myself an optimist, but sometimes I just can't help but become saddened (and more-so angered) by the unfortunate situation I'm stuck in. In the real world's eyes, it's probably considered petty, as there are much worse things happening in people's lives than what's going on in mine. Sometimes it makes me feel selfish for e
For the longest time I've wanted to make homemade pasta. In reality, I knew it wouldn't be that difficult to do, but I kept putting it off because the thought of making it entirely from scratch did seem a bit daunting. After attempting it for the first time, I can't believe I was afraid to ever do it! I found it to be really enjoyable, and almost a bit relaxing. There are countless s
...for your Monday morning A few photos from our camping trip last fall in Blue Ridge, Georgia. These moments were almost too beautiful for words. You can read more about it here. happy monday, friends. P.S.- Currently watching The Holiday (going against all my can't-watch-Christmas-movies-unless-it's-winter rules). I love it so much. Imogen + lush white
I'm a true admirer of everything having to do with film. The tones, the authenticity, the grain... I love it all. While I own an old, vintage film camera, I don't get to shoot with it often. The reality is that I usually shoot with my DSLR, especially when it comes to food. I started using Visual Supply Co's (VSCO) app for the iPhone to quickly edit the photos taken on my phone. I fell in love w
It's almost impossible for me to think of hummus without the episode of FRIENDS, The One Where No One's Ready, playing through my head. Phoebe gets "the hummus!" flung on her yellow dress right before Ross's museum banquet and she ends up putting a huge Christmas bow over it, haha. It's probably one of my favorite episodes, and also the first time I ever heard the word &q
I've been making variations of this smoothie for quite some time, but I never really measured out ingredients or thought about how much protein it actually packs. Without counting the fruit, we're talking almost 15 grams of protein per serving! I was pretty impressed! It's really delicious, and quite thick too. I prefer to use frozen fruit over fresh because it adds bu
It's not often that I get to bake all kinds of treats with my friends, so when the opportunity presents itself I get really, really excited! My friend Alex came over this past weekend to do some cupcake baking and to bond over our mutual love for anthro and all things food-related. We both like to experiment when it comes to baking, so it only seemed natural to make some healthi
Today's to do list: Wake up for class on time (that never quite gets accomplished), work out at some point (pending), make & eat granola (check anddd check!) These granola clusters are so yummy! And healthy too :) A good amount of them came out perfect, but others were too crunchy and tasted like they had baked too long due to my ancient oven's hot spots. I coped with it by d
The first post of 2013! (And hopefully the first of many!) I'm really excited about this year. I can feel a lot of good vibes in the air :) I have some resolutions and goals I'd like to share with you all, but I think I'll save that for some of my coming posts. In the meantime, I've been wanting to write about today's post for awhile, and I figure now is as good a time as ever.
I've always been the creative type, usually making t-shirts for school functions and loving to re-arrange and re-decorate my bedroom more times than my mother (and my mother's wallet) could count. It wasn't until high school, more specifically yearbook class, where I found a new love for graphic designing. It was all about "having an eye" for creating the type of book we envisioned. And th
Merry Christmas Eve! For those of you who’ve already finished all of your holiday cooking and baking days ago, I truly commend you. No matter how much I plan, or how hard I try to be ahead of schedule, somehow I am always up all night the day before Christmas Eve. It was difficult to do anything too far in advance because with being in NYC, then going to Disney, THEN having a Christmas Pajama
Don't you love "A Christmas Story"? I've been watching that as I do last minute packing/organizing/nail painting/eating of my favorite Linzer cookie. So great. "Oh my God I shot my eye out!" Just kidding. But I did manage to poke myself in the eye today. The irony, I tell ya. Anywho, I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet because it's 1 a.m. an
It's officially December 1st! This makes me really, really happy. I'm pretty much obsessed with winter and anything having to do with this wonderful upcoming holiday. In high school, possibly even middle school, my best friend coined me the "CEO of Christmas." It's perfectly fitting! I love holiday cards, making gingerbread houses (in a competing, "mine is better than yo
I had such an enjoyable Thanksgiving break with my family last week. In addition to making our entire three course meal, I watched Christmas movies with Nick and my dad (after Thursday of course), helped decorate our tree, went thrifting with my grandma (it's our thing,) endlessly cuddled with my chocolate lab, taught Nick how to flour the board and roll out pastry dough, went to the Bucs game
Today my friend Amanda stopped by on her way out of town to gift me some awesome organic greens from the farm she interns at. They are amazing!The arugula smells so peppery and delicious that I contemplated eating it just as is. (Yes people, I love arugula.)I've never cooked with mustard greens or Swiss chard, but it shouldn't take me long to find a good recipe for them, especially with Food
It's a week before Thanksgiving, so naturally this is what's running through my mind majority of the day; "Only 6 days 3 hours until I can blast Frank Sinatra's Christmas album & 'Now Christmas' 1, 2, & 3" (I'm not ashamed of the latter, and I bet you secretly like it too.) "Is it too early to light an apple cinnamon candle? "No. Yes."
This concoction of ingredients was not planned one bit. You would never suspect that though, due to how well all of the flavors complement each other. To be honest, I can't remember that last time I made a salad before this one. My inner health freak feels slightly ashamed. In reality, it probably wasn't THAT long ago that I fashioned up a hefty bowl of leafy greens. My memory is just on a s
Have you ever unintentionally met someone for the first time, and you instantly became completely infatuated? And all you could think about from thereon is how that person made you feel, or how you wanted to get to know them better? Now replace that "someone" with a "something" (a particular sweet, nutty, buttery fruit) and you have my initial feelings toward butternut squash. It all started
It was a typical Sunday morning (which for me, doesn't exist until after 11), consisting of whole wheat waffles, cuddling with Little Jack, and a very anticipated trip to Ward's. I'm not even exaggerating when I say this, but I get unbelievably happy when I go food shopping, especially at Wards. Pretty much to the point where you would think I'm too obsessed with food and possibly a bit crazy
Today is just one of those days.... where it takes everything out of you to even open your eyes, let alone make your way out of your bed that you were so comfortably cocooned in. After a solid hour of continuously pressing snooze on my phone every 15 minutes, I was just barely able to face the sunlight and force myself to lazily get out of bed. And so the day began. A couple of a
Sometimes I can't think of anything I love more than heading to the farmer's market and picking up random produce without having any idea of how I'm going to cook with it. The thought of having to come up with new flavor combinations that may (or may not) work makes my food-loving heart smile. Last Saturday while I was perusing the selections, a n
....Three of my favorite things If you've been on Facebook within the last week, then I am sure you have seen someone share Starbuck's photo for the Pumpkin Spice Latte, and the fact that it's back. It's all the talk around here lately! I'm a new lover of pumpkin flavored treats... probably within the last year or so. Therefore, don't judge me for what I'm about to say. I have never tried th
I have a slight obsession with frozen yogurt. I used to make my way into TCBY at least two times a week, until they moved to a new location. It was heartbreaking to hear, especially because in my opinion, TCBY has the most delicious fro-yo around. It was for the best, though. My thighs are probably most thankful. As much I love frozen yogurt, I don't always love the calories. (Yes, fro-yo can b
....my last adventure of summer 2012 Every August, myself, my brother, and a group of close friends travel to Blue Ridge, Georgia to spend a few nights in a luxury wood cabin over-looking the mountains. Although each year has been filled with unforgettable memories, this one may possibly take the cake. Justin, my good friend and the planner of it all, booked the biggest cabin for our trip th
I was finally able to cook dinner with the peppers growing in my garden! It had to be something quick and easy because I had kickboxing that night, so this dish was perfect. I basically just threw together some ingredients that I knew would go well with each other, and the result was a really delicious rice dish that I cannot wait to make again! Next time I will probably serve it as a side dish wi
I mentioned recently that I took a trip to Manhattan with my dad and younger brother a few weeks ago. We had such an enjoyable time, despite the fact that it was so much hotter than Florida. It was unreal. My solution to this was to wear decently short shorts and tie up my shirts. My dad however, had no such options. (I felt for him and his half-drenched clothes after being outside for a mere five
I don't always plan my meals ahead of time. It's days like these where I'm happy that my list-making, OCD-ness doesn't get the best of me. I sort of felt like I was a contestant on "Chopped," but instead of a basket full of random ingredients, I had to make do with what was inside my dad's kitchen. (Please note, this is not an easy task!) I often find myself having to run to the store one way or a
I'm sitting upstairs in our natural light-filled kitchen back home, sipping on warm tomato basil soup, staring out of the large glass doors that over-look the water, and admiring grey clouds that are slowly passing by. Seems lovely, doesn't it? I wish I had this view from my kitchen everyday. Instead of huge windows that allow natural light to pour into the kitchen, I'm stuck with one window th
Hello everyone!! I took a small break from blogging over the past couple of weeks. I didn't intend to, but between some important school work and getting everything ready for my trip to NYC last week, I unfortunately didn't have time to squeeze in photo-editing and blog-writing. I made these recipes a few days before I left for my trip, in the hopes that I'd be sharing them with you all much soone
{SC&OO is now on Facebook!! Click on the icon on the right ----> to "like" the page and stay updated!} I love planning menus for holidays and events. Unfortunately, July snuck up on me and I'm not prepared for the 4th by any means! This may be a good thing though, mainly because: less cooking on Wednesday = more time spent hanging with the fam. I do have a couple of
About a year and a half ago I was at a local bistro and had one of the most delectable lunches my mouth had ever tasted. It was a time where I was trying new things, especially flavor combinations I would have never though to put together. The waitress walked over to our table and described the specials to us. When I heard "A watermelon and feta salad with pumpkin seeds and olive oil," I i
Sometimes you have a long explanation on why you made a certain recipe, other times it's strictly due to the fact that you had bananas about to see their last days. I. don't. like. to. waste. food. Ever. I meant to bake this banana bread back when I made this beauty, so you can only imagine how much more ripe (and mushy/brown) they have become since then. It was now or never, a
When I think of summer, so many thoughts come to mind; refreshing drinks picnics being outdoors lots of SPF (have to keep my skin healthy too!) sundresses big beach hats light & nutritious foods taking photos with friends my birthday (July 30th for those who wonder ;)) It's the most a wonderful time of the year. the most wonderful time to me starts when fall tu
cloudy, rainy, cozy, relaxing.... This weather isn't making it easy to stop lounging around on my couch. A 100% chance of rain was predicted for most of this past weekend; tropical storm Debby isn't messing around. I wanted so badly to do something active today. Lemons took over my afternoon instead. Curtains were open, rain drops were making their way down the window, cats were curled up by
There are 3 things that you will always find in my kitchen; lemons, blueberries, and Greek yogurt. Together they create such a harmonious combination. Separately, they are pantry staples that work in so many other dishes/beverages. Emphasis on beverages... hint, hint ;) This quickbread came out really delicious, so without question I'm sharing it with all of you. But I have to be honest, I feel li
Did everyone have a nice weekend? Hopefully it was filled with quality family time and good food! For breakfast on Sunday, my dad requested banana walnut pancakes. We headed over to my grandparents house in the morning and I whipped those up. It's a very easy recipe, which I adapted from my raspberry oat whole wheat pancakes. I ended up using regular all purpose flour, which I rarely use anymore,
Growing up, we always referred to it as "ziti & meat sauce," even though the actual macaroni my mom always bought wasn't technically ziti. It's probably the most nostalgic dinner my mom ever made. The diagonally-shaped pasta with ridges that perfectly held the subtlety spicy sauce is something that I will always associate with comfort, good memories, and favorite food. When I had birthday part
In my last post about Father's Day Idea #1, I promised I would come up with two more ideas to share with you all. We've covered dessert -- which by the way, my batch of Ooey Gooey & Chewy S'mores Cookies are ALL gone! -- so now we move onto breakfast in style :) Typical buttermilk pancakes are always yummy and a great treat to make breakfast, but for special days, I like to make special foods.
Has it really been just about 2 weeks since I last posted on here?? Last week really flew by. Between having a midterm & going to Disney to celebrate one of my best friend's birthday, my time was very limited. I really wanted to post a new salad last week for the June Salad-A-Day Challenge, but unfortunately it didn't work out. I decided that it might be easier to post a "salad of the week" fr
In an attempt to get back to eating a little healthier, I decided that participating in The June Salad-A-Day Challenege would be a fun and creative way to add some more fruits and vegetables into my diet. I really do like salads, but I only have about two staples that I go to when I'm in the mood to make one. I think this will double as a creative outlet for me to come up with some different salad
While I was in NY, I interrogated my Aunt Nina about the recipe for her delicious breakfast cake that I could not stop eating, found out the difference between my Uncle Benny's pasta sauce and his marinara sauce, and asked my grandpa for his pizza dough recipes. My mind was overloading with ideas, adaptions, and new recipes. I thought to myself that when I got home, I was going to be experimenting
Guess where I'm headed in about 3 hours? If you guessed New York, you know your lyrics. Well, your Alicia Keys lyrics. This past December I flew up there with a few of my best friends and we had such a great time. When we're all together, we are usually making references to F.R.I.E.N.D.S and making fun of each other, it's perfect. It was winter, we were bundled up, we basically conquered all of Ma
+ step-by-step photos! The sunlight that comes through my kitchen window around 9 a.m. is absolutely beautiful. The soft rays emit the perfect amount of light. It's pretty sad that this is the first time I'm realizing this since I moved in a year ago. I'm convincing myself that it's because my eyes weren't trained to notice how light falls, like they are now. Every where I go, I notice shadows,
I have this thing about eating pancakes on Sundays. It's just something that feels comfortable. When you have a heaping amount of blueberries in the fridge that are going to go bad soon, and more lemons than you know what to do with them, it results in easy & quick lemon blueberry pancakes. The fact that today was Mother's Day and I wasn't able to spend it with my mom, had me thinking of so
If you love fruit crumbles, but rarely indulge because of the high calorie content of butter and sugar, then I undoubtedly feel your pain. I decided that I shouldn't deprive myself of a dessert that has a warm, sweet, refreshing filling with a toasted oat topping, and neither should you. Oats are such a healthy grain, and crumbles don't have to be bad for you. Fruit contains natural sugar, so I di
This pretty much goes without saying, but.... TGIF!! What a long week this has been, and what a long day, too. Just a few recaps: orgo chem lab quiz, the start of SC&OO (woohoo!), life-cycle nutrition exam, online eating disorders module assignment, and to top it off- an orgo chem lab practical. Can't even begin to explain how happy I am all that is over, but not happy about basically doing
