Kale Pesto Roasted Cauliflower

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Kale Pesto Roasted Cauliflower

I've never really loved pesto.  I think I'm kind of sensitive to garlic, so it always tastes so strong to me.  Alas, I had to make pesto as part of my preschool duties this month, so I prepared a mild version using only baby kale and spinach, toasted pine nuts, olive oil and sea salt.  The result is really very delicious, almost creamy despite being vegan.  It would work for a spread on toasted bread, or as a sauce for gnocchi, but today's recipe has it coated onto cauliflower florets and roasted in the oven.  Roasting vegetables gives them a tender, nutty flavor, and adding pesto to the mix only bolsters that quality... 

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Tiny Sculptural Art

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Tiny Sculptural Art

When we lived in Oakland our house backed up to a rocky, eucalyptus dotted hill, and when we would eat our breakfast we were often greeted by a family of deer.  It's one of the things I miss most about living where we did.  Despite the fact that we were in a big Bay Area city, we were confronted by nature every day.  I was staring at a newly purchased block of air dry clay, thinking... and decided to make my own young buck, a piece of tiny art, to remind me of that time.  I'm no Jonathan Adler, but it's pretty cute.  Displayed with a cluster of other weird plant-life including the gilded coral makes a little flora and fauna statement.  Here's my tutorial with handwritten instructions, because it's hard to take pictures of yourself working with clay... 

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Finger Food

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Finger Food

A while back, shortly after ALT, Blurb asked me if they could use my book as a marketing piece for their brand, because they really liked what I made, and I of course said yes. So I was pretty excited when they contacted me again, this time because they have decided to throw a party to showcase some of their favorite food books, and they want me to cook for some folks, and maybe even shoot a little video. Yes, I'm pretty excited.  I had to pick something from the book, which only has a small food section, and because it makes a great finger food, and it's pretty fun to look at I chose the sushi hand-balls AKA temarazushi from this post.  I'm working on making them a little more visually interesting for the table so it's what's for dinner around here right now.  Here' a freshened up tutorial. 

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No Kid Hungry

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No Kid Hungry

I'm going to put down my scissors and take a break from all the quinoa and paper lanterns today, because I want to share some important information with you about the No Kid Hungry Campaign. September is a call to action month for childhood hunger. I didn't know this until very recently, but 1 in 5 children in United States is food insecure. 20 percent. It kind of blows my mind to think that is even possible in the United States. Here's a short video about why there are so many hungry kids, with information on what you can do to really help remedy this problem. It's not about donating money. I watched the video and then I signed a pledge to take reasonable, targeted action to change things.

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