I am ready to be done with winter. This one has been so cold! I had a tiny break last weekend in Florida and since then I've been craving the sun's warmth. Luckily I have a longer trip in just a week to sunny Australia! But in the meantime I want to feel like I'm already soaking up the sun, even if I'm actually bundled up in a sweater and its 20 degrees outside. The best way to do this? Eating food that reminds me of summer!
And that's where this delicious salad comes in. Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries come together in all their berry-glory to brighten up a bed a spinach. With the addition of thinly sliced cucumber, creamy blue cheese, and a lemon vinaigrette it becomes instantly refreshing. Ahh, I can already feel that summer sun beating down on me. My boyfriend and I are headed down to Florida this weekend (Universal and Daytona 500, here we come!), so we need to make sure we use up everything we have in our fridge. This means lots of meals where we just throw things together. We have already done pasta, stirfry, salad...and frankly we wanted something new. I started to realize lots of what we had went together quite well - avocado, greek yogurt, black beans, ground meat, cheese, tortilla chips - so I set out to buy a lime and some cilantro to tie it all together!
Valentine's Day is coming up quick and if you are anything like me you don't have a restaurant reservation made. For me it's partially laziness, but mostly it's more like I'd rather cook a fancy dinner at home and have some privacy with my boyfriend rather than be in a restaurant (though nothing is wrong with that - it is just my personal preference!). So if you are where I am, you're probably wondering what the hell you should make for you and your significant other this Valentine's Day. Or maybe you are single and want to have a friend date, roommate date, whatever. Either way, it's a time to get fancy.
We all want to get fancy without breaking the bank. The only splurge in this is the duck breast, which will cost somewhere around $10-15. Even then it still beats the cost of a fancy restaurant dinner! A few simple ingredients made the right way will impress whoever you are cooking for this Saturday and really set the mood right. Don't you love when a good friend is visiting? This weekend my best friend from childhood came to Brooklyn and stayed with me - it was awesome! She and her husband are leaving in two weeks to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (wish them luck!) and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible since I won't see her for a good 7-8 months. This included wanting to cook her some awesome food without having to focus on the cooking too much.
So I made this amazing broccoli dish! It involves minimal prep. Cooking = simply pop in the oven. It is such a pleasant combination of flavors! The earthiness of the broccoli, the saltiness of the pecorino, the smokiness of the bacon...all brought together by the deep tones of extra virgin olive oil. |
AuthorAli is a Brooklyn based blogger and Certified Health Coach with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, providing you with recipes to inspire you to cook more at home! She is a firm believer in knowing that eating healthy can be made easy and inexpensive if you simply know how to cook and understands that for the average person there needs to be balance between "healthy" and "unhealthy". Whether you are looking for easy weeknight recipes, delicious snacks, or want to try something new, Ali's recipes are easy to follow at all skill levels! For more info about Ali and her offerings, check out the About page. Categories
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