Strawberry Lemonade Pancakes

What I mean to say is English lemon curd, topped with a fresh strawberry honey reduction.  Breakfast win!

And a perfect topping for my Healthy Spiced Pancakes from yesterday!

Start with the pancakes of your choice.

This recipe is all about the toppings!

I visited my friend, (who I've known since the 6th grade!) Kendra, (#famous: check out her book! Vivien Leigh: An Intimate Portrait ) in London a few months ago, and at THE Harrods department store I picked up some amazing lemon curd.  My favorite!

And, guess what??  Harrods has a website where you can buy it, and other delicious amazing thing, online!

Check it out!  Harrods Lemon Curd

So, take your freshly flipped pancakes, spread them with a layer of the lemon curd, then top them with a fresh strawberry and honey reduction! Perfection.

For the strawberry sauce:

1 cup water

1 cup sliced strawberries

1-2 Tbsp honey

Place all ingredients in small sauce pan over high heat until water boils.

Turn heat down to medium or medium-high, and cook (at a gentle boil) until reduced and softened, stirring a few times.

Healthy Spiced Pancakes with Chia, Flax, and Almonds

You know what Saturday mornings call for.  More pancakes!

And, bonus!, these fluffy, delicious pancakes are full of healthy things like:

Almond meal: Protein, fiber, vitamin E and magnesium

Ground Flaxseed: Omega-3s, fiber, antioxidants

Chia seeds: Omega-3s, protein, fiber, calcium, manganese, phosphorus, aids in blood sugar regulation, increases good cholesterol

Coconut oil: Healthy fatty acids, energy boosting, anti-bacterial properties, increases good cholesterol

Plus, honey, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice, which make them taste amazing!

Also, the addition of apple cider vinegar (which has healthful anti-bacterial benefits, too!) and baking soda mixed together, fizz up to make these pancakes really light and fluffy.

So, let's get to it!

Ingredients

(Serves 2 - Makes 4 pancakes)

1/8 cup chia seeds

1/8 cup ground flaxseed

1/8 cup almond meal (finely ground almonds/almond flour)

1 cup water (or milk: dairy or almond)

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

1/8 cup whole wheat flour

1 egg

1 Tbsp melted (not hot) coconut oil.

1 Tbsp honey (or any sweetener - maple syrup, agave, white sugar, brown sugar)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 - 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (depending on how strong you like the flavor)

pinch of salt

Recipe

Mix the chia seeds, ground flax, and almond meal in a medium bowl.  Add water, and stir well.

Let sit 15 minutes, until thickened. 

The flax and chia seeds will absorb all the water and the mixture will turn gelatinous, with almost an egg white consistency.  (Either can be used as an actual egg replacement in baking!  I keep the egg in this recipe, for added protein and vitamins.  You could omit.)

Then, add the vinegar and baking soda, mixing gently, as they fizz up.

Next, add the flour, egg, and oil, and mix until incorporated.

Lastly, add honey, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, and stir gently.

Heat a griddle or large pan to medium-low heat, and grease lightly with coconut oil.

Scoop about 1/8 cup of the batter for each pancake onto the griddle, and cook until golden.

Enjoy this delicious and healthful start to your morning!

Must-Have Items to Pack for Coachella

I am heading out to the desert for my first Coachella festival this weekend (woot!), so I thought I’d share a few items I‘m packing!
...in addition to the floppy hat, flower crown, high-waisted shorts, and crop tops, I mean.   Duh.

Festival Goods:

Clockwise, from top left.

Shoes - These cute little booties were cheap at Charlotte Russe, so if they get stepped on and dirty, I won’t be sad.  It will be hot, but I am opting for closed toe shoes, to minimize little piggies getting stepped on and covered in dirt. Break in your new shoes a couple days before, so you don't get insta-blisters Day 1.

Phone Charger -  There are charging stations there, but I thought something battery powered might be good to have on hand.  Those phone cases that are a built in battery charger are like $99, but Walmart had these portable, battery operated USB port phone chargers for $22! Win!

Water Bottle - There are filtered water fountain stations as per Coachella.com, so I got this snazzy little water bottle that folds up flat, and then stands up when filled with water. You can bring in empty, reusable water bottles, just not your own water. Boom.  Done!

Hand Wipes & Tissues -  I'll be throwing a travel pack of tissues and wet wipes into my bag, for sure.  Porta-Potties, bring it on! ;)

Scarf / Thin Blanket - A thicker material, wide width scarf, or pashmina, can double as both a wrap when it gets cold later, or as a blanket to sit on. And it folds up way smaller than a towel or real blanket, or you can even tie it onto your bag or belt loop. Win.

Bag - I wanted a bigger crossbody bag for daytime so I can keep a water bottle, sweater, and such, without having an overstuffed smaller bag or fanny pack. This one from Target was cute, cheap, lightweight, and fit the bill!

All right, Coachella.  Let's DO THIS!!!

I leave you with some tunes!

Wine Tasting In Your Very Own Neighborhood at Total Wine!

Have you guys ever shopped at Total Wine & More?  They have every wine and liquor ever, plus more beer varieties than you'd ever believe!

But, they also offer free ($0.10 charity donation) wine tastings on Fridays - Sundays!

AND, they host wine tasting and beer tasting classes each month! ($20 per person)
Wine tasting in your very own neighborhood!

My friend and I were invited to attend a wine tasting class last week, which was so much fun!

I (and a +1) was invited to attend a class for free, in exchange for this blog post and other social media mentions

Each class has a theme - this was wines from Oregon and Washington.

There are an abundance of snacks - cheeses, meat, crackers, bread, fruit, and chocolate! (What more can one want with wine?!) Bottles of water (and an intermission/bathroom break!) are also provided, which were ideal, haha.

The class is held in a special room of the store, and your host shares history and fun facts about the wines in a slide show presentation as you get to taste many regional wines (like 10, actually! - don't forget to eat something! ;) ) Well worth the $20 fee!  Many of the cheese and chocolates went particularly well with certain wines, and we learned a lot about food/wine pairings, as well as the history of how the wines are made.

The class is two hours, with a short break halfway though.
Our host, Kirk, at the Laguna Hills location, was a sommelier, and shared a lot of great information, along with the wine.

The wineries and the store provided us with a big packet of information, including a price and detail list of each wine we tried.  This came in handy, as we marked which ones we liked as we went along, so we remembered which were our favorites to buy at the end!

We also were provided with a flavor wheel. This was a fun way to figure out what we were tasting in each wine, whether it be cocoa, berries, oak, or vanilla.  Ehem, SOME items on the wheel are less than pleasant, and you don't want to know if the grapes were grown in or near those items, so we just pretended those didn't exist. Ew. Moving on!!

When the tasting class is over, you can buy any of the wines featured in the class for 10% off!

My favorites were the Kudos Pinot Noir ($24) and the Radius Chardonnay (a bargain $9!)

Plus, once you are inside this huge, amazing store, you can't help but wander the aisles, pointing out interesting and humorous craft beer labels, every single flavor ever of flavored vodka in every brand, mini-bar sized bottles of all the hard alcohol, as well, including a baby Patron bottle! Haha, so cute!, and more wines that you could imagine! It is so fun to just walk through the store! Bet you can't walk out without buying a few things to try!

This is such a fun girl's night out or date night, without even leaving town!

Check out Total Wine & More's complete listing of store locations, each which have their own wine tastings, and wine and beer classes, and make your way down to your local Total Wine store!

Calander of Classes by location and type

Also, be sure to follow Total Wine on Instagram,  Facebook, and Twitter !

Plus, if you are Local:
Total Wine - Laguna Hills
Total Wine - Tustin 
on Facebook, 

and:

Total Wine SoCal on Twitter

to keep up to date on local store events!!
Or, do a search for your local store on Facebook or Twitter, and follow along!

Thanks to Total Wine for this opportunity. I hope you check out these awesome classes and tastings!
Cheers!!

Luck of The Irish Green Velvet Whoopie Pies for St. Patrick's Day!

Top O' the mornin' to ya!
and Happy Friday!

My go to fave and festive St. Patrick's Day treat is still these red green velvet whoopie pies (read: cake-like sandwich cookie) I made a few years back!

Red velvet is just a chocolate buttermilk cake with a shit ton of food coloring, haha. So, changing the color won't change the flavor at all!
Food coloring isn't my favorite thing ever, but it does make things fun and festive!

Also, I'd definitely add some gold shimmer dust to the tops of these, a la my Oscars Party cupcakes with gold dust because, well, why not?!

Full Recipe Here: St. Patrick's Day Green Velvet Whoopie Pies

Hope you all have a glorious weekend in the sunshine!! (oh...or, if you aren't in California, I think you are hating life in the snow still right now...my apologies...just eat more whoopie pies!!)

I am off to Disneyland this weekend with the family! Woohoo!!

Academy Awards Party Snacks!

So. I am pretty obsessed with edible glitter dust. I discovered it in the cake decorating section of Michael's when I made these Oscars cupcakes for the first time a few years back, and have been hooked ever since.
I gifted some to a friend recently for her birthday, because, who doesn't need a little more shimmer in their life?!

Wilton Shimmer Pearl Dust

These adorable and festive mini cupcakes are pretty easy to decorate, although they don't all come out picture perfect.  But, they are delicious nonetheless, and the perfect treat during the Academy Awards show this weekend, and the most important part: the Red Carpet Arrivals!

Check out the recipe below, to make your own little star shaped stencil, and get to painting the roses, err, stars...gold.

Red Carpet/Academy Award themed mini red velvet cupcakes for your Oscar viewing party!

Enjoy!!

Veggie Quiche and The Best Pie Crust Ever

Guess what, guys?
I don't like pie crust. Nope. Never have. I have tried all different types. And don't get me wrong, I love pie!!!
I just usually leave about half of the crust (the soggy bottom part is decent), and eat the good stuff, aka the filling!
I just think pie crust is dry and boring...or, at least I used to!

Enter. Stater Bros. refrigerated pie crust.
Gotcha! It's not even a secret homemade recipe!
It's a dang pre-made crust, with zero healthy ingredients, but who cares, because it is so delicious!

We have my good friend Lauren (Check out her Blog: Imperfect and Fabulous!) to thank for that one!
I am so glad she made her quiche for me, and I discovered this Stater Bros. pie crust!

To start, take the crust out of the fridge about 15min before you are ready to bake, so it will roll out a bit easier, and not crack.
Preheat the oven to 400, and roll the pie crust into a pie pan.

Poke it with a fork in a few places, and bake for 5-8min.  This prevents the crust from becoming soggy later.
To be honest, I think part of the reason I have never liked pie crust, is I don't like a crisp, well done crust, so sometimes I skip this part, because I like a soggy crust! The egg mixture doesn't seep through, and it still turns out fine. Just very soft.  Yum.  I'm probably weird.

While your crust is par-baking (or sitting raw waiting for you on the counter!), mix up your filling.

Whisk 4 eggs until well beaten, then add 1 cup of half and half (skim milk works fine, too).
Add salt, pepper, and any other spices or herbs you like. A little garlic or onion powder are always good.

Mommy trick:  place veggies (shredded zucchini - water squeezed out, chopped spinach, pre-sauteed mushrooms, bacon, ham, any thing you'd like!) in the bottom of the pie crust.
Add 1 cup of grated cheese (jack, swiss, cheddar...) on top of the veggies into the pan. I really like goat cheese sometimes, too!

Pour the egg mixture into the pie pan over the top of the other stuff.
You can fill it about to the top, since it won't rise much as it bakes.

Mommy trick #2: Sprinkle the top with a dash of nutmeg.

Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.

Bake for about an hour, or until set.

Let cool before eating.
I like quiche warm, like you'd eat scrambled eggs, but it also is great cold, or at room temperature.
(I think I usually just eat it warm, because I am hungry and impatient!) 

Recipe:
Veggie Quiche
Adapted from Imperfect and Fabulous
as well as my  Momma's recipe

• 1 Pie Crust
• 4 eggs
• 1 c half and half, or milk
• 1/2c-1c shredded or diced veggies of choice 
• 1 c shredded cheese
• salt
• pepper
• pinch of garlic powder
• dash of nutmeg