For some reason I am into the holiday spirit a little early this year. It’s not even Halloween and I’m already going crazy in my kitchen with colorful fall-inspired recipes. And one recipe that’s been calling my name a lot lately is my delicious spiced pumpkin cookies with maple frosting. I hadn’t made these in a looong time (at least 2 years) and well I was more than overdue. It coincided with my decision to add something compact to my usual holiday pie fare Easy Sweet Potato Super Food Tart. It’s especially important for me to have super delicious healthy treats around this time of year with so much temptation in […]
Black Forest Cherry On Top Yogurt Parfait
I first visited the Black Forest or Schwarz Wald in Germany when I was a freshman in Junior High School. That was a long time ago. However to this day, I recall every magical moment I spent in that mysterious place. It was the setting for many a children’s story and many a folklore. And it was most likely the origin of one of the most beloved desserts, Black Forest Cake. What makes the cake so über special? The combination of cherries, chocolate and cream. It was a union of flavors destined to be legendary. And it was destined to grace this colorful yogurt parfait. The Black Forest Cake or Schwarzwälderkirschtorte […]
Almond Mocha
Almond Mocha, interestingly, is an American spin-off of a latte with added chocolate and almond flavors. Combining all three of these immortal flavors in one drink was brilliant. It was one of those rare times to me when more was better. Coffee, almond, chocolate…….three of the best flavors in the decadent drink department. To me, it’s right up there with coffee, fruit and chocolate Dreams of Cacao. I wanted Almond Mocha so bad one day that I decided, against my better judgment, to create one myself using only whole natural ingredients. I used to purchase them ready-made but only once in a while because they usually contained too much refined sugar and artificial […]
Seasoned Cauliflower and Broccoli Soup with Jasmine
“I live on good soup, not on fine words.” Moliere These words mirror my own feelings about soup; give me a good book and I’m content, give me a good bowl of soup and I’m happy. And with fall fast approaching, I’m ready to dust off my special cool weather soup recipes and ladle, and get busy making some body and soul-nurturing soups so welcome this time of year. I’ve lived in several climates in the last 10 years and it never ceases to amaze me how appealing soup is in all of them. Maybe it’s because soups have been around so long (the first real soup may date back […]
Iced Minty Matcha Green Tea Latte
I developed this recipe with a certain purpose in mind…making a homemade green tea latte. It sounded so good to me that I just had to give it a try. I’ve always loved these refreshing lattes but started to avoid them because of the artificially spiked energy burst and post-drink fatigue I felt afterwards. Fresh homemade green tea latte…with matcha tea. A double dose of a very good thing. As you may already know, commercial green tea lattes often use ingredients that may not agree with you and certainly don’t improve your health. Steamed pasteurized milk and/or canned sweetened condensed milk is typically used which may or may not be […]
