However, if you’re anything like me, maybe you’ll polish off a gigantic bowl and call it dinner…

This may be because, in your eyes, sweet potatoes are the root vegetable of the gods.

Or maybe you’re not a raving food-lunatic and just happen to like dishes that take no more than 30 to 40 minutes to prepare and cook.

(No, but really – think about it – they’re both sweet and savory! You can roast them, bake them, mash them just like any other potato but you can also season them with virtually any spice from turmeric to cinnamon to sage to oregano and they’ll be delicious!  Oh, and you can slather them in brown sugar or bake them in a pie!  Or a cake!  Or —

okay, I’ll stop.)

One of the great things about this side dish, in all seriousness, is it’s simplicity.  The most effort on your part will be cutting the vegetables so that the pieces are roughly the same size (just so they bake more evenly).  After that, the oven does all of the work.

Also – versatility:  you can add more of either vegetable, you could change what vegetables you roast (for instance, replacing red potatoes with carrots or yellow squash – although, know that may alter the baking time), and you can also use whatever blend of spices you want, depending on your tastes.

Bottom line, this recipe is one for the books.

Simple Roasted Potatoes and Zucchini

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 3 medium red potatoes
• 1 large zucchini
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 heaping teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 ½ heaping teaspoons garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Chop vegetables so that they are roughly the same size, into about 1 1/2 inch chunks.  Add chopped veggies into a large bowl and add olive oil.  Add spices and stir to coat.  Spread out veggies for roasting in one layer, in a large, rimmed baking sheet (I used a 12×17 in. jelly-roll pan).

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

And now I’m daydreaming about sweet potato pie…

But I would add pineapple… I don’t know if it’s the weather (hot, with the sunny subtropical sky a blazing blue – Floridian Summer is already in full-swing), but I’m all about the pineapple lately.

2)  In lieu of a smoothie, then, I have this:

I’ll take it.

3)  I suppose it’s a little difficult for people to follow my mental leaps sometimes, but this one isn’t too much of a jump…

Pineapple…Piiiinappleeee…Piiii….Pie.

I want pie.  Specifically, this pie.

4)  As a sort of random aside, do you ever get that strange feeling…like you’re being watched?

Because I do.

5)  ’Tis the season for meandering through farmer’s markets.  I’m loving it; it’s basically food-photography heaven.   I may or may not have taken about five or six pictures of that honeydew…and knowing how my younger-self felt about honeydew (and actually, virtually all melons, with the exception of seedless watermelons), I have a sneaky suspicion that my 7 year-old-self would think that I’m now, officially, utterly nuts.

6)  On the subject of books – I’m in between about 4 different ones now and it makes me feel a little attention-deficient and disorderly (*ahem*).  However, there’s a murder mystery series I would like to recommend to anyone looking for a humorous and lazy beach read for the summer.  The DAFFODILS mystery series by Mary Clay – light reads chronicling the misadventures of three divorced, middle-aged best friends who were sorority sisters in college – follow Leigh, Penny Sue, and Ruthie as they stumble over dead bodies and right in the way of mobsters, motorcycle gangs, and even freak-hurricanes.  The funniest part for me, they are all set in the area in and around my hometown – New Smyrna Beach, FL.  The first of the series is called The Turtle Mound Murder and if you are looking for an easy and fun read, it’s certainly worth investigating.

7)   The internet has an astounding ability for fomenting every would-be-fleeting cookie craving into a nagging want.

Exhibit A:  Pistachio, Chocolate and Espresso Cookies from Heather Christo Cooks.

I can’t handle it.

8)  This was an extremely odd weekend – I spent some of it watching cartoons that were new to television during the days when I thought my brother would never be taller than me in order to practice different drawing styles.

Yeah, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

9)  I also rented two films from the library to watch them again.  Key Largo and The Maltese Falcon.

Double feature Humphrey Bogart, yes.  Oh, and Lauren Bacall and Peter Lorre?  Hooray!

In case that didn’t just spell it out for you – I highly recommend watching them!

10)  The best thing about being something of a cartoonist:

I can turn talking to myself into an acceptable form of artistic expression.

This stuff is extremely addictive.

In fact, you may make it and eat it all in two days and then have to make it again because you didn’t take enough good pictures…and then inhale about half of it before you remember you needed more pictures in the first place…

Or maybe that’s just me…hmm.

Food-blogger problems.  Life is tough.

At least there are people in this crazy world who help you peel tomatoes when you just absolutely have to get a fancy action-shot and need at least one hand to keep your beautiful and ridiculously expensive camera from falling in the sink… (Thanks, Mom!)

Gah! Naked tomatoes!  One – that sounds like it ought to be some obscure indie-band name and two – perhaps this photograph should be censored…

Just kidding.

Anyway, this salsa – truly fantastic.  I’ve tasted and tried many a store-bought salsa and, whether a bottled brand or an apparent “fresh” one from the deli or produce section of a supermarket, I honestly could take them or leave them (and mostly leave ‘em).  This recipe however, simple and vibrant in preparation and flavor, respectively, definitely “takes the cake” as the phrase goes.  I would even go as far to say that this salsa is better than those I’ve snacked on with chips at many decent Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurants.

The funny thing is, it’s such a quick and easy recipe that it will probably take longer to clean and put away your food processor than it will to make it.

Although, perhaps it will take longer if you get distracted by the bright, enticing, and fairly festive feast of color that all these fresh vegetables are before blending them into a habit-forming, aromatic oblivion…

Or is that just me again…?

Restaurant-Style Salsa

adapted from The (*amazing!*) Pioneer Woman

• 28 ounces tomatoes (about 2 ½ large ones), peeled and quartered
• Two 10 oz. cans of Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles, one can drained
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and sliced thinly
• 1 or 2 large garlic clove(s), minced
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• Juice of half a lime
• ½ cup cilantro

To peel whole tomatoes: begin by boiling water and setting up a bowl of ice water – both with enough to submerge tomatoes.  Use a strainer, submerge one tomato at a time in the boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds (tomato skin will begin to show little cracks) before taking it out and immediately submerging it in the ice-bath.  Pierce the tomato carefully with a paring knife and then peel the skin off with the knife. This process makes peeling the skin off of the tomatoes relatively easy.

Quarter tomatoes and add them into your blender or food processor.  Next, add Rotel, chopped onion, and sliced jalapeño.  Next, add the minced garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro.   Blend or pulse the mixture several times until it reaches the consistency you prefer.  Serve with chips and make sure you get to try it before it disappears…

Trust me, it goes really fast.

1)  So many flowers…all catching my attention.  It must be the season, I can think of no other explanation.

2)  I rather want one of these — should I be concerned?  I really think the only thing I need to be concerned about is whether I had the ingredients on-hand to make one for lunch.

3) I stumbled across these yesterday.  Standard-flavor macarons, while light and delicate, have a decadence all their own…but these are just ridiculous!!!  I’ll take a nice round dozen, please and thank you.

4)  Someone should make these for me…I could really use a pre-bike ride snack…please?

6)  Oh wow.  I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll leave a full critique for another time (and place, perhaps), but I will say this:  the film was true to the book, included Scott Fitzgerald quotes from sources other than The Great Gatsby (which only enhanced the film in my opinion, making it a lovely acknowledgement to the author’s poetry and talent), and left the attentive audience with the same aching disillusionment in such a way that I had feared only the novel could do.  I will certainly say that it wasn’t perfect – but I think Scott would be proud.

…and if anyone should know, I probably should.  No, I’m not obsessed!

What?

You’re pleased, right?  Yeah, I can tell.

1)  I’m always more than a little behind-the-times when it comes to television shows/series.  I simply don’t keep up with them well.  Of course, this means that when I finally discover a show I really like, I’m bound to be watching it on Netflix or Amazon watching three episodes a sitting…

The reason I am bringing this up…I just watched another episode of Downton Abbey and I’m only in the middle of season two.  But I can’t say I mind because while the rest of the world awaits season four, I have many hours of novel entertainment left to me to spend watching at my leisure.

I love the characters and the story itself as well, certainly…but my last words about this show – the clothes.  I’ll take the entire contents of Lady Mary Crawley’s wardrobe, please and thank you.

2)  I’m feeling oddly ambitious and for a late spring/early summer project, my mother and I are slowly trying to wheedle each other into starting a vegetable garden.  We have a little garlic plant beginning to sprout and a tomato plant already promising some pretty edibles…now I need to plant some basil and lump the lot of it in a patch together with the label “Future Marinara Sauce.”

3)  I’m tempted to start a flower garden too and I certainly would want to feature one of the plants above, called a Bleeding Heart.  They are so lovely.

Ooo, and penta, and hydrangeas, and hollyhocks, and daisies, and tulips, and zinnias, and…

See, I told you – oddly ambitious.

4)  Three more days until GATSBY!!! YAY!!!

5)  Speaking of Gatsby, I’ve finally been reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald — I must say, I thoroughly love it and am flying through it.  I may be a little biased in favor of a novel like this, as I’ve read (and re-read… *cough*) biographies on both Zelda and Scott before and on my own time… but honestly, it’s fun, especially in light of the little Gatsby/Jazz Age-style revival I’ve been noticing with the upcoming release of the new movie.

6)  Lemon pound cake.  That’s totally breakfast…right?

7)  Or better yet, may I have one of these?  In fact, I may need one…

Oh, and some English Breakfast tea please?

Even if I could perform a Summoning Charm, I’m fairly sure waiting for one to arrive from California care of Joy the Baker would take a while… and yes, a not-so-veiled Harry Potter reference for you – I’m sure it was long overdue.

8)  For afternoon tea, these may be necessary…if not immediately then some time in the very near future.

9)  Lately, my morning bike rides along the river have included a few porpoise sightings.  They swim so gracefully with their dorsal fins and a glimpse of their glistening, smooth grey backs curving up, out, and back under the water’s glassy surface.  It’s been especially fun spying the littlest ones, the babies, whose dorsal fins follow the adults’ out of the water by less than half a beat, but are also only about have the size of they’re apparent keeper’s.

10)  I just found this and I’m wondering if I might need to similarly honor my addiction with a post sooner than later.

Also, is it too early for one of these?  Yes?  Oh well, I was afraid so.

and baking assistants…

birthday cake,

and garden musings…

These are good weekends.

{Your basic, irresistible NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Mini Morsel Cookies:

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12 oz. package) of mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Cream together sugars, butter, and vanilla together in a large mixer bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate after each addition.  Gradually beat in dry ingredients.  Stir in mini chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 9 – 11 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing them to cool on wire racks.}  

P.S. I hope your weekend was as lovely as mine. 

…that’s probably because I made her watch NBC’s Hannibal last night… : /

One of these will do quite nicely, I suspect.

Bare with me please… I will warn you that the lighting in these photographs leave something to be desired…

Like, a more sparse cloud-cover, possibly?

Natural lighting is so nice to have for food photography (and for most photography really, I suppose) that I’m a bit partial to baking with at least some sunlight…

Oh well, it’s still better than a flash I guess.

The last few days have had meteorologists delivering predictions of rain chances of over 50%…Welcome to Floridian Spring…  In truth, I can’t complain too much – with each gentle shower there is an unspoken promise of flourishing flower blooms.  As May continues, Florida can expect to live up to it’s namesake “feast” of flora.

Even in other seasons, however, I find I love rain for convincing me that the day would best be spend curled up on a couch like a spoiled cat while reading a good book – half-listening to the steady percussion of the falling precipitate and half-wondering if your interest in the last few paragraphs left your tea growing cold.

If the small worry of my tea getting cold were the only thing to plague my mind today…well, let’s just say I think we could all get used to that life.

These little muffins turned out to be excellent, and relatively healthy, tea-time fare.  Nut butters generally lead to a denser muffin than some people may prefer, but I think this recipe is certainly worth trying.  Heat these up again for breakfast (with the addition of blueberry preserves or more cocoa almond spread or butter perhaps) for a semi-indulgent start to your day!

These slightly chocolaty, nutritious, moist, and delicious treats studded with warm blueberries are certain to brighten your day – even if the sun stays behind the clouds.

Whole Wheat Cocoa Almond Butter & Blueberry Muffins

inspired by and adapted from How Sweet It Is

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 flax-seed “egg” (I tablespoon ground flax-seed plus 3 tablespoons water)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
• ½ cup cocoa almond spread (I used one from Trader Joe’s, however, Nutella or dark chocolate peanut butter would work well too), melted and cooled
• 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare muffin tin by lining cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, add your dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk these to combine and set this bowl aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, the flax seed and water, and sugar until smooth and well-combined.  Whisking steadily and continually, add melted butter and melted nut butter, one ingredient at a time until smooth.  Whisk in the almond milk.  Add dry ingredients and stir with a large spoon until just combined (being careful not to over-mix).  Lastly, carefully fold in blueberries.

Fill muffin tin cups with batter (over 3/4 full but not overflowing, just to the top of the liner) and bake at 350 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean. Alloy to cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy warm, whether plain-Jane or dressed to impress.

Perhaps you can see that I was too impatient to bother with any extras before taste-testing…

Before I begin with pictures and ramblings, I would just like to wish a very happy May 1st to the Internet world.

You may have noticed that there’s been a lull in postings, which I am honestly sorry for – however, I do have an explanation…

When your environment/work space is cluttered and disorderly, it’s surprisingly easy for your head-space to get a tad cluttered and disorderly too…

Suffice it to say that the last few weeks of April had me pulled in every direction!  But I can’t complain too much…after all, most of the time each direction led me to more friends, family, and food.

Expect more recipes and nonsense very soon!

Happy Adventuring! (and eating…)

1)   When I was in high school…aaaannd we’re not going to get into how long ago that was *cough*… I would come home every afternoon and watch reruns of Law & Order.  We’re talking the original here; my favorites were always the earlier seasons from the late 1990s.  Currently, thanks to Netflix, I’m spending my time at home listening and half-watching season 6 while I do chores and similar menial tasks.  Of course, this means that all those tasks go a bit slower…meh.

Okay, so I’m sort of drowning…Haaalp!

2)   Summer solstice falls on June 21^st this year, but the heat wave rolling in here, particularly around midday, has me wondering if it’s not already here. 

This weather inevitably has me daydreaming of beach-side brunches with strawberry lemonade, floppy sunhats and billowy sundresses.  When I was younger, I used to fight it…but if you can’t beat it (which, hey, it’s just the time and the season, you really can’t) you might as well dive in headfirst to enjoy it.  The crisp air of autumn and the lazy soft comfort of light sweaters will always be my favorite… but in the meantime I’ll imagine warm nights and margaritas, beach strolls and bike rides, all with a smile.

3)   For me, summer also means attempting to make a dent in what I call my “Life Reading List.”  Basically, it’s a word document with a (very) long list of novels and stories that I want to read…originally meant to be a list for the summer, it’s length has transformed it into a list for a life time.

Last night I spent about an hour (I’m meticulous…hush, no judging) inventing a “Life Movie List.”  I hope to make a decent dent in that list this summer too.

4)   Saw this post yesterday….yum! So, who’s going to come here and make me one for breakfast…hmmm?

5)   While we’re on the subject of breakfast…I may need one (or three) of these too.

6)   I know…I’m a little obsessed.

7)   So, I know I’m jumping from breakfast to dessert here (for anyone who knows me, this wouldn’t necessarily be considered out of character…), but I just saw this post this morning and um…wow.  I would just love to reach into the computer with a spoon and take a little scoop of this sunny-colored delight.  Ah, if only.

8)   Of course, if reaching through the computer were possible, I’d help myself to a slice of this too.

9)   Every time I take a walk near my apartment complex, I catch a whiff of the spicy, enticing aromas diffusing in the air from the kitchen of a little Jamaican restaurant just down the block.  I’m struggling to reason myself out of walking there for lunch today.

For some reason, I’m craving jerk tofu…

I don’t think I ever imagined in my youth that I would want to feel like my face is on fire, but I guess life is odd like that.

10)  Honestly, I should resist going out for lunch, since I’m trying out a new restaurant tonight!  I’ve never been to Saboré before…perhaps I’ll return from my food venture with pictures…