Oh My Heavens!

Let me first sincerely apologize for what I'm about to do... 

Because I feel certain that you will fall head-over-heels when I show you what I found.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing!

Pumpkin + Cinnamon Rolls? Did the heavens just part, people?

I'm sorry, but Fall just doesn't get any sweeter than that!

Geez, here I am trying so hard not to give in to sweet pregnancy cravings and then I stumble on this deliciousness. I'm thinking a girls' brunch is in order very soon (so at least I can share the love)!

image/via

Call Me Irrational...

Even though it's the dead of summer, my favorite splurge these days has been a piping cup of hot cocoa. I just can't help myself, with it's frothy goodness and silky chocolate flavor! And it's funny, because I wouldn't normally consider myself a chocolate fiend. Pregnancy does some strange thing, my friends!

What about you? Any unseasonable cravings you simply cannot deny? 

p.s.- is it too early to be craving pumpkin pancakes, because I've also had a slight hankering for a stack of those babies:)

image/Gourmet

Cravings Satisfied!

It turns out, pregnancy has given me all sorts of crazy cravings for things I would normally never indulge in, like my recent lust for fettuccine alfredo (something I formerly despised!).

Though good nutrition is still my first priority, as I want baby to get the very best start! Not wanting to use pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever I want, but also not wanting to feel completely deprived of these sudden food desires, my goal has been to make them as wholesome and healthful as possible, which generally means I cook them myself. So was the case with this traditionally rich pasta dish.

First thing I did was to turn to my trusted cookbook, The Best Light Recipe by America's Test Kitchen. Not only did it provide a wonderful looking, lighter version of fettuccine alfredo, but I had once loaned the book to my mom and she left a little note in the book saying how much her and my dad had enjoyed this particular recipe. Finally, seeing that each serving was a reasonable 300 calories, I was sold!

Grabbing all the fresh ingredients I needed from the store, I was ready to try my hand at my very own alfredo sauce.

The list of ingredients is short, though it's important to follow directions carefully. Because of this, I would highly recommend reading through the directions ahead of time, to yield the very best results.

With that said, I was so pleased with the finished product! Not being a previous lover of this particular pasta, I am now completely smitten! A splurge meal I will definitely keep in my back pocket. Just serve up with a side salad and you've got yourself a lovely meal for entertaining your dearest friends!

Ingredients
3/4 cup half and half
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
9 ounces fresh fettuccine
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated fine (about 1 cup)
Ground black pepper
I also added 2 Tablespoons of sun dried tomato pesto

Method
1. Bring 6 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Using a ladle, fill four individual serving bowls with about 1/2 cup of the boiling water each; set the bowls aside to warm. (really important step to avoid pasta from cooling too quickly)
2. Meanwhile, bring 1/2 cup of the half-and-half, nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a large saucepan. Whisk the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup half-and-half together, then whisk it into the simmering mixture. Continue to simmer the sauce, whisking constantly, until it has thickened, about 1 minute. Cover and set the pot off the heat.
3. Stir 1 tablespoon salt and pasta into the boiling water and cook, stirring constantly until al dente, about 1-2 minutes. Reserving 3/4 cup of the pasta coking water, drain the pasta.
4. Return the half-and-half mixture to medium-low heat and whisk in 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Slowly whisk in the Parmesan. Add the pesto, incorporating well. Add the pasta and cook, coating the pasta evenly with the sauce, until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Season with pepper to taste. Working quickly, empty the serving bowls of water, divide the pasta among the bowls and serve. Enjoy!

In Honor of Dad

Yesterday was my dad's birthday and in honor of him, I baked one of his favorites - carrot cake! He has a bigger sweet tooth than anyone I know and what better way to say, "I'm happy you were born" than with a good ole' fashioned sugar rush?

I made this cake a few months ago, merely to test its goodness and determine if it was worthy of a birthday cake. And after sending a few pieces home with my mom and receiving a voicemail from my dad the following day gushing over how tasty the cake was, it became clear I had picked a good one!

This delicious version comes from Pinch My Salt (shocking, I know!). It definitely delivers as a perfectly sweet treat! I love to pair a nice thin slice with a bold cup of coffee for that perfect balance.

Carrot Cake

recipe courtesy of Pinch My Salt

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrot (about 4 medium/large carrots)
1 1/2 cups canola oil
3/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch or three 8-inch cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together first six ingredients. Stir in oil then stir in eggs, one a time. Add carrots and stir until well blended then add nuts. Divide batter between two 9-inch or three 8-inch cake pans and bake in preheated oven, 30-35 minutes for the 8-inch pans or 35-45 minutes for the 9-inch pans. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack for ten minutes, then remove cakes from pans and let cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8-oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter (one stick), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and blend until well combined. Blend in vanilla extract. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. If refrigerated, the frosting will need to be brought to room temperature before using (after frosting is at room temp, beat with mixer til smooth).

all images courtesy of Pinch My Salt

A Balancing Act

If I'm being really honest, sometimes when I share about my "splurges", I get scared of being judged. Being someone who makes a living teaching people to live healthier lives, I fear you may think I don't practice what I preach. But believe me, it is of utmost importance that I am doing the very things I encourage others to do, which also means occasionally enjoying not-so-clean foods!

So I can't tell you how happy and relieved I was to read this today. Tosca Reno, the queen of clean eating, Oxgen's fabulous fifties colomnist and one of my biggest fitness inspirations, shares about taking a break from CE while in Paris for a few days! Seriously, she does that too?! Thank you Tosca, for being honest and such an incredible model of health and balance!

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A Project Completed and Another Milestone

Merry May friends!

How was your weekend? Ours was wonderfully productive! I was finally able to paint and recover the green chairs I've been talking about. I am absolutely delighted with how they turned out! I ended up painting them a milky white (thistle seed to be exact). And I love the color so much I'm considering painting our sweet little green console table the same shade since I've got a ton of paint left! Then I found two fun prints to recover the seats.

The pink and green chair lives in the second bedroom as my desk chair and the blue and green one resides in a little corner of our bedroom.



And Saturday morning it occurred to me that it was May 1st, the same day we signed our very first lease on our apartment together! Exciting and crazy we have lived here almost two years together (since I technically didn't move in until June 29th).

So what did we do to celebrate? Well, just like the first night we moved in, we had homemade pizza for dinner, except this time we curled up on the couch instead of picnicing on the floor (because at that time we had no furniture moved in). And then we went to Pottery Barn and bought new bedding! At least that's the excuse I used for making such a big and unplanned purchase for no reason at all! In all fairness, I have been saying I want another set of bedding to avoid ours wearing too quickly:) Anyway, we both love it!!

Here it is, though we spiced ours up with a chocolate coverlet and throw from Restoration Hardware we already owned. It looks perfect!



Hoping you have a lovely Monday!

A Sweet Start to Twenty-Four

As today is the first official day of my birthday festivities, it seems only appropriate to celebrate with something as seemingly sinful as "grown up" cinnamon toast! Mom and I made these last night and fully intend to savor a few with our morning coffee! I love birthdays!

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti
recipe from Epicurious

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, baking powder and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add 1 egg; beat well. Add egg yolk; beat well. Mix in vanilla, then dry ingredients.

Transfer dough to work surface. Divide in half. Shape each half into 9-inch-long, 1 1/2-inch-wide log. Transfer logs to baking sheets. Beat remaining egg in small bowl. Brush logs with egg. Bake until golden and firm to touch (dough will spread), about 50 minutes. Cool on baking sheets. Maintain oven temperature.

Mix 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl to blend. Using serrated knife, cut logs into 1/2-inch-wide diagonal slices. Place biscotti, cut side down, on baking sheets. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon sugar over each biscotti. Bake until pale golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on racks. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container.)

Splurges

A very unusual thing happened to me this week; I went under budget on groceries! This never happens. Never. What can I say, I delight in great food!

Like clockwork each week, I plan our meals for the week and make a shopping list using these~



On the rare occassion I can tell I will be under budget, I might stray from the list and grab a bunch of flowers or some excellent dark chocolate or some decadent tea I've been wanting to try.

I'm not sure what happened this week but I was well under budget. We're talking record breaking and I honestly couldn't tell you why. Especially since I had added some delicious lemon and thyme turkey sausage, fresh pesto that I just had to buy once I tried a sample and a good sized chunk of Manchego cheese. All things not on my list!

As we got up to the check out I kept saying how much I liked the raw honey we had just sampled, but couldn't really justify the price. At this point I didn't know how much we had spent. But my sweet husband said I should go back and get it if I liked it so much. So off I went to grab a jar, deciding it was totally worth the splurge!

So you can imagine my suprise when our total came out $11 under budget, even with all the "extras". Pure craziness!

And so I feel obliged to tell you about this delicious honey I splurged on. It's called Apitherapy raw honey by Honey Gardens. I have never tasted honey so smooth and so deliciously sweet without being overwhelming. After reading a little about the differences in raw honey I learned that it is unheated and unfiltered, so it retains beneficial amounts of pollen, propolis and beeswax. It is said to support a healthy digestive system because of the high enzyme count and has traditionally been used as a remedy for seasonal allergies. I've been enjoying it all week on oat toast with a cup of tea.

I want to know, what foodie items do you splurge on when you have a little extra?