Archives for 2013

Classic Gazpacho

August 26, 2013 by Erica

Classic Gazpacho from Coffee & Quinoa

Can we all take a moment to celebrate tomato season?

There’s not much that can top a fresh-picked tomato. If I didn’t kill everything I ever tried to grow, tomatoes would be on my short list for a garden – tomatoes and basil! As it is, I don’t seem to have any sort of green thumb, so I’ll let someone else grow them for me. I think everyone’s happier that way, especially my would-be tomato plants.

Classic Gazpacho from Coffee & Quinoa

The tomatoes we’ve been getting recently have been amazing, and I love dishes that really highlight them. Caprese salad is always a favorite, and when I’m in the mood for a hydrating tomato-y dish, I looove gazpacho.

There are a lot of gazpacho recipes out there, it’s true – everything from strawberry peach to yellow tomato and corn (yum!). But this here isn’t as fancy as all that. It’s just the classic gazpacho recipe I’ve been making for the past few summers.

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Copycat Swiss Orange Sherbet

August 23, 2013 by Erica

Copycat Swiss Orange Sherbet

Just take a look at this pretty little concoction I have for you today.

The more I think about ice cream, the more I remember the flavors I enjoyed as a kid. And this is just such a flavor: Swiss orange sherbet.

Edy’s Swiss Orange Sherbet was one of my childhood favorites, and was in constant supply at my aunt and uncle’s (hi Aunt Liz!). Did you ever try it? (The brand is Edy’s on the East Coast, and Dryer’s on the West Coast.) When it popped into my head a few weeks ago, I knew I had to recreate it for you. I was surprised to learn, when I started researching it, that Nastle has retired the flavor! So sad – it’s so easy to assume that everything from your childhood will stay the same forever.

In any case, I’m sorry if you missed out on the storebought version. It really was quite good. But I guess that’s just another reason that we should all start making it at home.

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Peach Guacamole

August 21, 2013 by Erica

Peach Guacamole

Well friends, it’s peach season, and that means I, like every other food blogger, am adding peaches to everything.

But this peach guacamole is not just my attempt to be a bandwagon peach lover; I’ve actually been saving this recipe on my “to-cook” (well… to-mash) list for quite some time. And when the first little Utah peaches appeared in my farm box last week, I knew the time had come.

Peach Guacamole

A few months ago at work, we got on the topic of my friend’s ex-girlfriend. Or maybe we were talking about food (we usually are). In any case, he mentioned that he didn’t like this ex-girlfriend much, but that she made this awesome peach guacamole – just regular guacamole with chunks of peach mixed in.

I had one of those culinary moments (they happen so often) where my mind just explodes. Whaaaat, peaches in guacamole?! I didn’t know you could dooooo that.

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Quinoa Crunch Granola (Vegan)

August 19, 2013 by Erica

Quinoa Crunch Granola (Vegan)

So Nate and I did something a little crazy last week.

And no, we didn’t eat half a batch of granola in the course of 24 hours. (That was the weekend before.) But we did sign a lease on a new apartment!

Eek.

Quinoa Crunch Granola (Vegan)

We were planning on staying in our current apartment for another year, partly because it’s pretty nice and partly because we’re lazy, when our lease is up at the end of this week. I’ve been meaning to email our landlords to tell them so for months, but somehow I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. And then out of nowhere we found ourselves at an open house one night last week, falling in love with a gorgeous remodeled apartment in a big old Victorian house in our neighborhood. You guys… it is so pretty. High ceilings, beautiful crown molding, subway tile, two bathrooms… and the kitchen? I would think I was in heaven if I hadn’t just written a check for the security deposit.

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Homemade Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt

August 16, 2013 by Erica

Homemade Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt

I’ve been eating fresh fruit like it’s going out of style lately.

Berries alllll the time. I wasn’t joking on Monday when I told you we’d eaten more than 2 pounds of blueberries over the course of a week. And by “we” I mean… mostly me. Blueberries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And snack. And another snack. And dessert.

You get the picture.

So naturally, I had to make sure I could work fresh fruit into this week’s ice cream. The perfect solution? Pinkberry frozen yogurt!

Homemade Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt

Are you familiar with Pinkberry? It’s a popular frozen yogurt chain featuring tart-tasting yogurt and lots of yummy toppings, like fresh fruit. There are many similar yogurt shops and chains that have sprouted up around the country; I’ve heard that Red Mango is similar. And while I will generally pass on frozen yogurt, I make a serious exception for Pinkberry.

Pinkberry is different because of that tart taste. It’s not trying to be ice cream – it really tastes like you took some yogurt and stuck it in your freezer. So… guess what I decided to do?

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Archives for 2013

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