Pear & Baby Greens Salad w/ Spiced Maple Walnuts | The Austen Escape | #JaneAustenBites

Welcome to the TLC Book Tours stop for The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay! I'll start by saying that I am very excited to be on this tour for a couple of reasons. First, I'm familiar with Reay by name, not (and I'm ashamed to admit this) because I've actually read any of her novels, rather because I've been meaning to read them. There's just never enough time in the day, is there?

Vanilla Black Tea Rice Pilaf

I tend to go through phases...phases where I can't get enough of eating a certain dish, sipping a certain drink, or using a certain ingredient. Lately, I've had tea on the brain. But when I say tea, I mean tea as a whole (as opposed to one certain variety), so that actually opens up a whole world of possibilities.

Spiced Almond Popcorn Snack Mix | #CelebrateAlmonds

I’ve partnered with California Almonds to bring you this sponsored post and all opinions stated are my own.

Almonds and popcorn and seeds—oh my! These three things may just be my ultimate snacking trifecta. They are all easy to pack in my purse or bag when I'm on-the-go, as well as for when I feel a between-meals snack attack coming on. So combining the three might just be one of the smartest things I've done lately.

Herbed Almond Encrusted Goat Cheese Bites | #CelebrateAlmonds

I’ve partnered with California Almonds to bring you this sponsored post and all opinions stated are my own.

It's been awhile since I've talked about a food holiday, but since February has the honor of being American Heart Month, National Snacking Month, and Almond Month (not to mention Almond Day falls on the 16th), I thought it would be fun to combine all three by sharing a few almond recipes with you throughout the month.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Streusel Coffee Cake

Are you ready to make the most insane, over-the-top coffee cake in the history of ever? We're talking a super thick layer of streusel sitting boldy atop a sour cream cake swirled with a spiced cocoa and walnut mixture and dotted with chocolate bits. You'll have no less than 5 dirty bowls staring you in the face once you slide the pan in the oven, but every single one is worth it.

Roasted Carrot and Farro Salad

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Land O'Lakes, Inc. All opinions are my own.

Nothing puts a bounce in my step like the onset of fall. Cool, crisp days replace the oppressive heat, and a sense of renewal fills my body. Cool weather fruits and vegetables bejewel my little part of the Midwest with rich reds, oranges, and gold around every corner. College football, sweaters and sweatshirts, hayrides, the pumpkin patch, corn mazes...I could go on.

Ambrosia Salad | Edward Scissorhands #Burtoween

It's October, which means it's time for all things spooky and kookie. In that spirit, the Fandom Foodies group theme for the month is #Burtoween! Carrie at Witchy Kitchen is our host and she has invited everybody to participate in this spooktacular feast by creating recipes pulled from or inspired by Tim Burton films. Whether he wrote, directed, produced, or did the art work—they are fair game! For more info on how to participate, visit #Burtoween at Witchy Kitchen!

I'd been meaning to do a dish inspired by Edward Scissorhands for months, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to cross that off my list! I didn't go creepy (I know, boring), but who could resist the allure of a retro dish that is somewhat quirky? Not I.

"Z Weed" Munchies Mix | Z Nation

Welcome to another edition of "In the kitchen with Zombie Fiction"! In honor of tonight's season 3 premiere, I'm sharing a recipe inspired by the hilarious Syfy series Z Nation. I hear a lot of people hating on Z Nation, calling it a TWD ripoff. I'm pretty sure that none of those people have actually ever watched it, because (and if you know me, you know I'm a diehard TWD fan) they are wildly different, similar only in that they are both zombie shows.

Brown Butter Nut Bread | #RedwallAugust

Hey, hey, it's #RedwallAugust! Ummm...it's what now?

I very well may be the last person to hear of this series of 23 children's fantasty novels written by Brian Jacques, and first released in 1986. But, not only is it a popular book series, there are also a bunch of adaptations that include about 10 "related" books that like The Great Redwall Feast, The Redwall Graphic Novel, and The Redwall Cookbook (which I just checked out from the library). There has also been a Redwall television series (1999) and even an opera based on the first book in the series.

Chicken, Plaintain and Peanut Stew (with or without Pretzel Dumplings)

Another summer, another box of mystery ingredients exchanged...it's time for another mystery box reveal!  This year, I received a box of ingredients selected by Matt from Nomageddon that contained a bottle of Sweet Baby Jesus Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, a package of Boardwalk Craft Beer Pretzel Mix, and a container of Aurora Natural Plantain Chips. These were all amazing ingredients and I couldn't wait to combine them to make one delicious dish.

First of all, next to homemade plantain chips, these are the best I've ever tried. I had to make an effort not to just snack them all away. Loved the beer on its own, as well. I couldn't get the idea of a Caribbean-inspired stew of sorts that featured plantains and peanuts, but the pretzel mix threw me for a loop there, so while that was the inspiration behind my dish, my finished dish wasn't very Caribbean.

Coffee Biscotti w/ Almonds & Goji Berries

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Folgers. All opinions are 100% mine.

I'm the kind of person who needs coffee to clear the fog from my brain in the morning. It just gives me the boost I need to get the household up and running and power through some morning work. By the time early afternoon (aka break time) rolls around, my coffee pot has been cold for hours—that's when I open up the cupboard and reach for the instant coffee.

I actually love this time of day, because it's my "me time"; a window of time between that busy morning and late afternoon when my husband and kids walk through the door after work and school. I use it to watch a movie, read a few chapters of a book, brainstorm recipe ideas, or just sit and listen to the world...more often than not with said cup of instant coffee and a snack.

Tropical Trail Mix

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sunsweet Growers. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I'm looking for an easy on-the-go snacking option, more often than not I will grab some dried fruit and nuts. I love the contrast of intensely concentrated sweet and juicy fruit alongside the crunchy, salty nuts. Not only is it a simple fix, it's also a nutritious fix. But the best part is that by throwing a few kinds of fruits and nuts together, you have a completely customized trail mix that can be stored in a jar on your pantry shelf and poured into a baggie or container when you need a fast snack.

Sunsweet recently launched a couple of new dried fruit flavors to complement their Philippine Tropicals line of dried fruit. Sourced from unique micro climates that have ideal growing conditions, these sweet, succulent dried fruits let you experience a burst of the tropics with each bite. Hey, if I can't be in the tropics, at least the tropics can be in my mouth.

Salted Cashew Caramels

Christmas Week sweetness continues with these soft, chewy caramels that are studded generously with cashews and sprinkled with sea salt. Looking at my first two contributions to holiday baking, you can probably sense a theme - simplicity. Both sweet treats have ingredient lists that you don't need more than the fingers on a single hand to count.

Soft caramels have always been a weakness of mine. There's just something comforting about sinking your teeth into a rich, burnished chunk of transformed sugar. I'm also the girl that can polish off a tin of cashews all myself without coming up for breath, so the two of them colliding may be more of a danger than anything else.

Chocolate Fruit 'n Nut Bites

Here's the thing, I love holiday baking. The planning, the process, the wrapping, the handing out to teachers, bus drivers, neighbors, and loved ones...or at least, I used to. I'd still love it if I could only find the time to do it. For the past 5 or 6 years, it seems like I go to sleep after a satisfying Thanksgiving meal and wake up a few days before Christmas in a panic. The holidays are stressful, yo.

But I do my best to wake up in the middle of it all and actually get something done. Therefore, easy holiday baking and treat recipes are a life saver. And really, these chocolate fruit 'n nut bites couldn't be any simpler. There's not really even a recipe, but I did write down approximate amounts of what I used so that you could have a bit of a guideline to go off of.

Tangled Apple, Pistachio, and Golden Raisin Salad

It's transition time in the world of food. Peaches, corn, tomatoes and zucchini battle apples and pumpkin for our attention on food blogs, twitter, and pinterest. And I'll be honest—I'm torn. I'm totally an autumn kinda girl, willing the cooler air, football games, and apple orchards in with all my might. But, there's still about a month left of summer, and now is the time for trying to keep up with the summer harvest.

There are worse dilemmas to have.

I think August and September just have to be transitional months. A little bit of summer and a little bit of fall. That's a compromise I can work with. Today I'm looking forward to fall with a fresh, simple apple salad that lends itself nicely to cool weather lunches and potlucks.

Baseball Nut Ice Cream (a copycat Baskin-Robbins recipe)

You know how certain foods, just like certain songs, can transport you back to a certain moment in time? For me, Baseball Nut ice cream is one of those foods. I didn't plan such a perfectly round number, but it was exactly 20 years ago this summer that I didn't go home from college for the summer for the first time. It was the summer after my sophomore year, and really, the next step in exercising my independence.

I rented the tiniest room known to man in a house rented by some of my friends who were already living out of the dorms. Seriously, it should have been a closet. My twin bed was just able to squeeze in between 3 of the walls, my other stuff in boxes stacked high against the fourth wall. I didn't have any room to walk, only enough room to open and close the door. After about a week or two, there was no hot water in the house and it was filthy (my housemates were all guys)—but I was on my own.

I didn't have a car, but it was the mid-90's, which meant that I rollerbladed everywhere. I lived in East Lansing, but worked in Okemos, which was about a 3 mile treck. I had pretty much the same meal every day: a sleeve of saltines, a tin of tuna fish, and an orange. Once a week I'd walk to Subway and order a Subway Club with light mayo and salt and pepper. And every once in a while I'd treat myself by popping in to Baskin-Robbins and ordering a double-scoop of Baseball Nut Ice Cream. Only that, never anything else.

No-Churn Butter Pecan Ice Cream inspired by Butter | #FoodnFlix

I will state the obvious before I go any further. I made ice cream as my Food 'n Flix inspiration two months in a row. I don't know why that makes me feel a wee bit guilty; both are rooted in the particular movie and both were too delicious to let that guilt weigh too heavy on my mind. So, on to this month's inspiration...

This month's Food 'n Flix pick is Butter, as chosen by our hostess Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Here's the thing—I picked up a copy of the dvd when it was first released...and didn't really like it. There were funny bits, and the opening scene of movie said it was "...the cut-throat story of greed, blackmail, sex, and butter." I had high hopes, but it just didn't connect.

I think it was just that I could not stand the racist, elitist snob that was Laura Pickler (played by Jennifer Garner). When I think about it, it's funny that a single character could overshadow (in my mind) the great characters played by Ty Burrell, Olivia Wilde, Alicia Silverstone, Rob Corddry, and Yara Shahidi. But, I gave it a second chance. Wiped the slate clean and decided to watch it as if it were the first time.

Romanian Easter Braid | #BreadBakingBabes

Today is the 16th, and that means it's time for another Bread Baking Babes reveal!  This month, BBBabe Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms challenged us to bake up a Romanian Easter Braid. Easter may be over, but I'm pretty sure this enriched loaf would be welcome at any table year-round. The dough itself is lightly scented with lemon from the addition of some finely grated zest, and the filling is a sweet, nutty swirl that be switched up to meet anybody's preferences.

So, Elle told us that according to wiki, this Romanian bread can differ significantly from region to region. Essentially it's a sweet bread that is enriched with butter, eggs and milk, but you can find anything from the lemon zest I used to orange zest, raisins, or rum flavor in the dough itself. The actual recipe the challenge is based on used ground almonds in the filling, but I went with one of the more well-known options, walnuts. Hazelnuts, vanilla, rum, even poppy seeds, raisins, or cocoa powder are other choices.

 I did want to add a little twist to my nutty swirl, though. I liked the thought of adding rum (obviously), but I wanted something a little out of the ordinary, as well. I have a few bottles of flavored rum, and I thought the coconut variety might add a little something special if I also used some fat, dried coconut flakes. I was pretty pleased with the taste of the filling (I had to walk away from my spoon lest there be none left once the dough was ready for it).

Canyon Ranch's Spa Baklava + Eat Right For Your Sight book tour

"Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is damage to or breakdown of the central part of the retina, called the macula, which allows us to see details clearly."

Like many others, I grew up with the adage that carrots were good for my eyes, so I'd better eat them up. Turns out, that wasn't just something our parents said to get us to eat our carrots. But, they also could have told us that eating sweet potatoes, broccoli, mackerel, oysters, walnuts, raspberries, olive oil, and so many other things were good for our eyes. Also, it's not just the foods, but also the way we eat them together that makes a difference in preventing and slowing down the progression of eye diseases.

Eye diseases weren't really on my radar until I read Eat Right For Your Sight. But now, seeing how simple it is to work the nutrients needed by our bodies into our everyday routine, it's something I'll take into consideration. If I can serve my family delicious meals, snacks, drinks, and even desserts packed with the colors of the rainbow (which we already know is good for so many aspects of our health) and look out for our eye health at the same time, I say that's a win-win.

I recommend reading the nitty-gritty at the beginning of the book before diving into the recipes. Not only will you learn a little more about AMD and who is susceptible, but you'll also find a chart of Healthy Foods for Your Eyes, a Nutrients Table, a handy list of Foods to Have in Your Pantry, and tips for Getting Started with your healthy eye diet (in the sense of nutrition, not weight loss).

Red Cabbage and Golden Raisin Salad

Once the new year hits, you hear people left and right making resolutions and setting goals that often revolve around their diet. I'm not immune to getting in that mindset, but I also try to be realistic. You know, with myself. I definitely get the urge for lighter and fresher. But the thing is—it's January. And January in my world means it's still downright freezing outside. So, I'm still knee deep in hearty stews, slow cooking roasts, and comforting casseroles. And don't plan on letting those go for at least a few months.

That said, I love adding a bit of freshness to those meals meant to warm you to the bone. Although that can also be a bit of a challenge this time of year. While I love locally grown produce, and devour it with an urgency as soon as the ground thaws, sometimes we have to get a little creative with what we have this time of year. Onions, winter squash, tubers, and cabbage abound! You know what's great about that, though? All of those crops are inexpensive and extremely versatile.

When you think red cabbage, images of a big pot simmering on the back of your grandmother's stove may fill your head. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that (pass me a bowl!). But, I know many people who don't like cabbage...or think they don't like cabbage. And it's usually memories like boring boiled cabbage that they cite as the reason why when I ask.