Hi! I’m Erica, and I’m the food lover behind Coffee & Quinoa.
I started Coffee & Quinoa as a way to share my love of food with family, friends, and anyone else who happens to come across this site.
Here you’ll find what I’ve been cooking, baking, and eating recently. Sometimes I create the recipes I share here, and some are adapted or copied from existing recipes. I love to cook, but I’m still a novice, and have lots to learn from others! I hope I can share some of that process along the way.
This past June, I switched to a mostly plant-based diet after reading T. Colin Campbell’s eye-opening book The China Study. I expected cutting out animal products to be restricting, but I actually love it! Constantly trying out new veggie-filled recipes has made me more passionate about cooking (and food in general!) than ever, and is a big reason I started this blog. It has definitely given me even more to learn! I do miss buttery pastries, though, which is the reason I recently added animal products back into my diet in moderation. I still plan to keep my cooking mostly vegan; we’ll see how it goes!
Outside of the kitchen, I work full-time in search engine marketing. I’m also a runner (or wannabe runner at least!) and yoga practitioner. Some more things I love: novels, French press coffee, everything German, red wine, hoppy beer, almond butter, traveling, sunbathing, and my hometown of Boston. I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, with my boyfriend Nate, who is in medical school here.
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you like what you find.
Erica! You’ve done such a great job on your blog! It perfectly shows your passion for creating delicious and healthy recipes that create a warm, fun mealtime atmosphere without intimidating the cook! Can’t wait til you come home for Christmas and we can cook together!
Love you!!!!!
Thanks Mom :)
Love it, Erica!!! Good work and can’t wait to try some recipes!
Thanks Marissa!
I come to you via Jane, who thought I might appreciate your blog. She was right (as grandmothers usually are) and I do! Being a novice cook of some 45 or so years, I can’t wait to try some of your recipes! They look so fresh and healthy, Erica, as is your delightful writing style. Have fun with your blogging. I think you find it an enlightening process. Enjoy!
Thank you, Penny! I’m glad my grandma is doing such good PR for me. Isn’t she wonderful?
Indeed, she is; one of my favorites and I have learned a great deal from her.
Hi Erica,
So happy to have found your blog! You are a great writer, and I am going to try some of your recipes, probably the white chocolate leaves first. Its great that you are taking your mother’s passion for cooking with your own twist. I look forward to reading your posts.
Thanks Becky!
Hi Erica — I found your blog through Caitlin…..Ben is my nephew! Can’t wait to try some of your recipes…..I think the first one I will try is the lemon pepper hummus…
Thanks for stopping by, Robin! Your nephew is a great guy :) Enjoy the hummus!
Yay for Utah food blogs!
Hi Erica! Your Mom & Dad told us about your cooking blog when we were out at Becky B’s bday bowling bash! ( the extent of my creativity today!) I kind of forgot the name sorry) but your Dad joined Pinterest and pinned it today so I was able to take a look- wow- I’m impressed! Alana has been vegetarian forever and we have another good friend whose daughter is now vegan so I’m going to repin this for all the Boston gang. Hopefully they’ll try out a few of those yummy looking recipes and bring them over to me. Although I just may have to try that lemon rosemary cake myself- a combination of two of my fav flavors! Thanks for the posts and keep cooking!
Thanks Mary Beth! Good to hear from you, and glad my dad has finally joined Pinterest :)
The fact that your mom was the first person to comment makes me like you 100,000,000 more. :) My mom’s my best friend and I always am a big fan of mama support. :)
Hi Erica,
I met you briefly after the Christmas Eve service at the Melrose UU Church. Your mom told me about your blog so of course I had to check it out… I love it!!! I’m a big hummus fan so will try your method of making it ;-)
P.S. Your family is the best!!!
Thanks for stopping by, Rebecca! I agree about my family, of course :)
Your recipes look so delicious! I will be trying some ASAP. Also, Salt Lake City is one of my favorite cities of all time! I spent four years in Park City/Deer Valley during high school as my brother was a professional skier so my family moved there for a couple years before he turned 17. I miss it so so much!
Thanks Liza! That’s awesome that you spent time in Park City. It’s such a beautiful place!
nice to meet with you! Came through Arpanas blog and will be following more of your posts :)
Thanks Dixya!
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Hi Erica! I found your blog because your Dad highlighted it on Facebook. I grew up two doors down from your Dad in Elmhurst and loved spending time with the Foulsers. Your Grandparents give Elmhurst a special flavor and my family missed them terribly when we moved to California. I now live on a 37-foot boat having sailed from Mexico to New Zealand. Luckily my guy loves to cook and we are hooked on your recipes! We especially like sweet potatoes so are trying them all! Your photography is wonderful too. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the yummy work.
Thanks for stopping by Ann! Wow, I can’t believe you sailed from Mexico to New Zealand – crazy! Enjoy the sweet potato recipes on board your sailboat!
Hello, neighbor! Was at a small family reunion and vegan cooking came up. Of course I remembered about your blog and am passing it along to my cousins. I love it! And I don’t for one second think you are a “novice”. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
Thanks Barbara! You’re sweet to pass my blog along :)
Just like to say.
I am an Aussie vegan who just decided to google some vegan soup recipes to beat my summer cold. It’s too hot to be cuddling under a blanket to deal with my cold so I hit the blogs to find a high ginger/chilli/garlic recipe and came across this blog. I made your soup (Asian noodle soup to cure a cold) and I freaking loved it.
Definitely bookmarking this blog from now on.
Thanks Hannah, so glad to hear you liked the soup! Feel better!
Thanks for all the inspiration. You’re becoming a go-to resource. Keep it up!
Thanks Andy!
Very happy to have found your blog! I love the title and these recipes are great!
Thanks for reading, Alaine!
Hi! I just came across your blog through Daily Garnish! I just moved from SLC to CA! Coffee and Quinoa are some of my favorites!
I found you through Dishing up the Dirt, and I’m so glad I did!
Yay! Love her :)
Found your site through a comment you left on Oh She Glows. Love your blog! How did your blog expand since last September? Curious to find out since I recently started my own. Anyway, you have a new follower ;-) Greetz from Holland, Daphne