Montauk

Hello!

 This week I've been out at my family's summer house in Montauk! It's so beautiful here, so peaceful like a little piece of heaven! I feel so lucky to have this house to come to. Maya and i stayed while my dad, grandpa, uncle and brother went back to the city a few days ago..I am so glad i decided to stay longer with Maya, i seriously can't think of a good enough reason to leave! :) We are having such a lovely time together and soaking up the summer weather, shopping in the hamptons, walking barefoot on the beaches, eating fresh seafood, relaxing on the deck, playing scrabble and watching movies! So excited that i will probably be spending most of my summer days here, considering my parents are selling our house soon and i am moving to Rhode Island for school in September!! Ah i can't wait! 

Anyway, these macarons, or should i say 'Smacarons' :) turned out absolutely delicious, although they looked more like sandwich cookies rather than French Macarons...I think i made them too round or flat or something? Oh well ^_^ ha I don't quite know? I followed a classic French macaron recipe and filled them with raspberry jam and some Italian chocolate hazelnut spread that my dad had.

I am way more confident when it comes to cooking rather than baking, but I plan on attempting this recipe again soon and perfection is my goal! ;) Nevertheless it was very fun to make these and my family and i devoured them in a day! 

Anyone have any experience making macarons, any tips? 

xo

Bircher Muesli

A few years ago i discovered Bircher Muesli and ever since then it's become a favorite summer breakfast! I actually haven't made it in a while but then a few weeks ago i remembered and since then I've been having this almost every morning for breakfast. I love waking up knowing i have a delicious breakfast waiting for me that involves barely any work!  This is such a versatile recipe and perfect for the warmer months, you can add any fruits and nuts you like. I love dried fruits and grated apple in mine with a variety of raw nuts and seeds...I never thought of grating apple before making this recipe, but it's so good and once the apple is mixed into the creamy oats the crunchiness, juiciness and tartness of the apple is just so good and refreshing. 

I find it's just the right amount of carbohydrates, fats, sugar and protein for breakfast...keeps me full for hours and gives me a good amount of energy to get my day going . Bircher Muesli was actually invented by a doctor in Switzerland named Maximilian Bircher-benner. He found that soaking oats was highly beneficial to your health,. By soaking oats the grain becomes more digestible and soft which aids the absorption of vitamins and minerals...what a smart man!

Bircher Muesli

1/2 cup old fashioned oats 

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

1/4 tsp cinnamon

sweetener of choice, i used truvia 

1 tbsp lemon juice 

pinch of sea salt

choice of dried fruits (I used raisins and a dried apricot)

1/2 an apple grated

handful of chopped nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut etc) 

Simply combine the oats, yogurt, milk, cinnamon, lemon and raisins, mix well and let in sit in fridge overnight. In the morning grate the apple in a food processor and mix into the oats. Top with nuts and seeds!
Enjoy ! :) 

I discovered this recipe for yogurt maple balls and decided to get a cheese cloth to make them. I made some changed to the recipe, but they turned out incredibly delicious. I was surprised with how the yogurt transformed after 3 days and became super thick, if you can even imagine a thicker Greek yogurt than usual...The yogurt tasted kinda like cream cheese or cream-on-top yogurt! Stained yogurt which is called Labneh is used in Mediterranean cooking, Labneh can served sweet with honey, fruit and nuts or savory with pita bread, za'atar or dukkah and olive oil, like this recipe. Anyway i enjoyed making them, and definitely will be experimenting more.

Sweet Labneh balls 

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (i used 0% Fage)

1 tbsp honey 

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

granola, cereal, nuts, chocolate, coconut to coat

Combine the yogurt, vanilla, cinnamon and the honey. Place onto the cheese cloth and gather together tightly with string. allow to suspend over a bowl to excrete the water for a few days. After a few days (2-4) the yogurt will be sort of dry and thick! Form into 4 balls with wet hands and coat in nuts and granola!

xo

citrus

 Blood orange ricotta pancakes with coconut and ginger (recipe here)

Homemade dried cara cara orange segments 

Hello! Happy Spring! I know, i know it's been quite a while, i kinda forgot about this little blog and life has been busy  ^_^ But i promise i'll try to post more regularly. I really enjoy posting and sharing my recipes and other things.

It's been so beautiful here in NY lately, although one day it will be 70 degrees and perfect out while the next day it will go down to 30 degrees and rain, like today it's so dreary and cold! Well, despite the beautiful weather lately i've been sick with a bad cold for almost a week now, so citrus fruits have been what i''ve been craving, so refreshing! Blood oranges, grapefruits, oranges, lemon water...

 The pancakes pictured above were pretty amazing. This was my first time making ricotta pancakes and i loved how fluffy they were compared to regular pancakes! The addition of the blood orange compote, ginger, coconut and salty/sweet sunflower seed butter all went perfectly!

What are some of your favorite recipes with citrus? 

xo Eliza 

just a little something

❤ Salted caramel and pistachio macarons  ❤

Hello, hello! This week so far has been super hectic…I don't know why i decided to make a blog at such a busy time in my life? ^_^ Hopefully later this week i'll have some free time. Although life is a bit stressful right now, i do feel very productive and like my life is starting to actually move forward!
Anyway i managed to stop off at a little french bakery in my town this afternoon to pick up some macarons! A little something to brighten this rainy and not so fun day.
xo

some favorites

Yesterday I started classes, i am taking a few psychology courses and one history class which is called psychohistory, it's a history credit but it's the psychology of history, seems like a really cool class so far! The professor seems really good too, plus he is quite cute. ;) Also the meditation thing is going great, if anyone was wondering. Before i went to bed the other night i followed this article and it was so calming and actually helped me sleep. 

Anyway, above i have some of my recent favorite things! Apartamento magazine, which is Maya's - it's amazing and full of amazing articles and designs. The sweater pictured was a Christmas present from a dear friend. The sweater is from Uniqlo, if anyone isn't familiar with Uniqlo, it's a Japanese casual wear store, with really great and affordable high quality items.  My new favorite snack pictured on the bottom are Thunderbird Energetica bars. I recently discovered these bars at my local health food store and they are without a doubt the best tasting and most unique product I've ever came across, and I've tried A LOT over these past years, so trust me they are good. Not only is the packaging awesome and the flavors are exquisite, but the ingredients are highly nutritious and pure. I've tried all of the flavors, but i think my two favorites are the Cherry Walnut Crunch and the Cocao Hemp Walnut. If you can't find these near you, i highly suggest ordering them, because they are worth it! 

My favorite recipe is socca. A socca is a flat bread made from garbanzo bean flour (or besan at an Indian market). It's fantastic as a base for pretty much anything, a pizza crust, an appetizer, or as a sandwich (as i had above). Ever since i came across this recipe about a year ago, I've been making socca multiple times a week for lunch or dinner. The recipe is unbelievably simple, and today i made a great sandwich. I had some fennel sitting in the fridge so i roasted that with some red onion and bell pepper, wilted some baby spinach and adding that along with fresh avocado, sliced turkey and goat cheese.

Socca (serves 1)

1/3 cup garbanzo bean flour 

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. dried or fresh rosemary

salt and black pepper to taste

 olive oil cooking spray

*preheat oven to 420º and combine all the ingredients and mix very well. Spray a cast iron pan with cooking spray and pour socca batter into the hot pan. let cook for 15-20 minutes! 

Raw cocoa nibs. favorite way to get my daily dose of chocolate. 

This is seriously the best almond butter on earth. It contains raw sprouted almonds, coconut and lacuma fruit and cardamom. The flavor is so exotic and sweet from the coconut and lacuma, while the texture is "silky-smooth" unlike your normal almond butter. I usually have a spoonful in my oatmeal or spread on a banana for a snack...but it's probably good on anything! :)

a few new favorite recipes

Hello! Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post! It's nice to know you all are happy i am back to blogging! :) 

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, maybe too much considering i haven't been able to sleep past 4-5 am, which is really annoying...I think this is due to my mind running crazy with stress about all sorts of things. I've been applying to a bunch of schools to transfer to for the fall, so that's been very stressful, but I'm almost done and when I'm all done i hope my mind can relax and start to feel more at ease.

This week i really want to start meditating before bed and listen to some relaxation tapes that my mom gave me. I need to learn to let my mind relax and trust that life will take care of itself...easier said than done, right? But so many people keep telling me that i need to meditate! Does anyone practice meditation, do you find it helpful or have any advice for me? 

Anyway, this avocado kale pesto i made the other day for lunch was so delicious! I've been obsessed with kale lately as well as nutritional yeast! Nutritional yeast is like my favorite thing, it's seriously so good, i may even like it more than cheese ^_^ and it's full of protein and complex B-vitamins. The recipe for the pesto i came up with is very simple! I had it on sprouted grain sesame bread with a cracked egg, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted tomato and roasted onion.

Avocado kale pesto (1-2 servings) 

1 cup chopped & steamed kale

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 small avocado

1/4 cup fresh basil 

1/4 tsp. ground tumeric 

1 tsp crushed garlic

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

  * steam the kale, then pulse all the ingredients in a food processor until well combined, and serve with anything you'd like.                        

Overnight buckwheat breakfast bowl (serves 1) 

1/4 cup buckwheat groats soaked over night in 1/2 cup water

3/4 cup vanilla almond milk

2 tbsp chia seeds

1/2 tsp. cinnamon 
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 ripe banana

+ toppings of choice (nuts, nut butter, shredded coconut, chocolate, dried fruit...)  

Oatmeal can become old and as some of you know from my previous blog, i am a self proclaimed "oatmeal addict" though oatmeal is just so versatile and something i actually don't get tired of. However, it's always nice to experiment and switch things up! So, the other morning i made overnight buckwheat from this recipe!

This was my first time trying buckwheat groats, i loved the crunchy texture and nutty flavor of these little groats and they kinda have a "pop" to them...definitely a new favorite grain! Buckwheat groats are naturally gluten free too, and contain a great amount of protein and interestingly enough they are a fruit seed related to rhubarb!? 

I can't wait to make this again later in the week, and perfectly convenient for mornings when i am out the door early for a class.

~ Now, to prepare this recipe the night before i let 1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats soak in 1/2 cup water. Then in a separate bowl i made a chia pudding in 3/4 cup almond milk with 2 tbsp chia seeds, half a ripe banana mixed in, a splash of vanilla extract and a few dashes of cinnamon, i gave that a good stir and put both covered in the fridge until the morning.

In the morning the water will be absorbed from the buckwheat and will be expanded in size and the chia pudding will be thick. Next i rinsed the buckwheat and put that in the oven on 250º spread out on a baking sheet, i let that toast up until the buckwheat was dry and toasty! (about 20 minutes or so)

Once the buckwheat is done combine with the chia pudding!

~ To my bowl I added some dried raw mulberries mixed in, raw almond butter and chopped pistachios-mixed it all up! So many nice textures and ingredients going on in this breakfast. very energizing as well + packed with great nutrients. 

~ Oooh and when i get my food dehydrator that i ordered later on this week, i will be making some of these raw recipes! --- buckwheat cereal and raw granola, kale chips, raw crackers, crispies, and dehydrated fruits! ha ha, should be quite the adventure! :) 

xo

hello there!

The other day while out shopping at Whole foods, Maya (my twin sister) bought this raw cashew milk for me as a surprise, how nice right!? This stuff is about 12 dollars for a 16 oz bottle, so it's quite the splurge, but totally worth it! The flavors of cinnamon and vanilla are sweet yet subtle, and very refreshing...also i just love the packaging! I poured some over my oatmeal for breakfast yesterday with banana and orange zest cooked in and topped with raw cashews and coconut flakes. I also made a chia pudding for a snack by letting 1 tbsp chia seeds soak for a few hours in 1/2 cup of  the nut milk, then i topped it with some crumbled GoRaw gingersnap super cookies, which are my favorite nibbly thing to have on hand :) the chia pudding turned out so creamy and good, i've been loving making chia puddings lately, it's like magic!

Finally while running around getting things done for the upcoming spring semester of classes I drank the rest of this great stuff! This week I'm thinking of making my own cashew milk, which would be fun, we shall see though, i've been unusually busy lately which is both good and bad.
Gotta say, I'm pretty excited that i FINALLY made a blog, I've been contemplating this for a long time now! I'm always coming up with such delicious recipes and trying out new foods that deserve to be shared, so why not make a blog?
Well, I can't wait to see where this blog goes! :)