Whole Wheat Maple-Vanilla Waffles.

how we waffle.

Whole Wheat Maple-Vanilla Waffles

+

45 Hours in Detroit.

syrup IN the waffles.

It's a beautiful city, Detroit.

One that feels like it's just coming back to life. 

Full of characters and character. 

I fell, rather unexpectedly, in love with it.

A quick run-down of the things I did in my all-too-brief time there--

Sat in a restaurant and ate a vegan sandwich a mere 45 minutes after arrival. 

A new personal best.

Slept on, and watched the most spectacular sunset from, the 58th floor of a hotel with floor to ceiling windows.

Had some vegan soul food.

Saw some local hip hop.

Met some interesting people. 

Gazed at some stunning architecture.

Drank beers around a fire pit in the back alley of a bar.

Giddily wandered around Eastern Market on a beautiful Saturday morning- 

had to restrain myself from buying everything.

Ate two vegan hot dogs.

MacGyver-ed my party dress together with a travel kit needle and thread 

like a proper grown-up.

Watched my friends get married in the Diego Rivera mural room at the 

Detroit Institute of Art (WHAT?).

Drank my body weight in dirty martinis, IN A MUSEUM.

Danced A LOT.

Photobooth-ed (it's a verb now).

Rode on a post-wedding party bus to a bar that also served pie.

Stayed up until 4.

Slept for an hour.

Went to the airport.

Boarded the plane home still a *little bit*  drunk from the night before.

Was sad to leave.

I also returned home with a bag of Michigan-milled whole wheat pastry flour.

Not a weird thing to bring home in your checked baggage, right?

Forget snowglobes; foodstuffs are the best souvenir.

I've been saving it for something special.

These waffles are it.

best souvenir.

Whole Wheat Maple-Vanilla Waffles

(serves 2-4)

1Tbsp ground flax seeds + 3Tbsp boiling water

2c whole wheat pastry flour

2tsp baking powder

1/2tsp ground sea salt

1/3c coconut oil, melted

1 1/2c non dairy milk (i prefer walnut or coconut)

2tsp apple cider vinegar

1Tbsp vanilla

2Tbsp maple syrup

"Thank You, Summer" Ratatouille + 36 Hours in Midcoast Maine.

good times, (metaphorical) noodle salad.

"Thank You, Summer" Ratatouille

+

36 Hours in Midcoast Maine.

summer kicks ass.

When I originally posted this recipe just about a year ago my folks were packing up the last of their boxes and getting ready to make the permanent move from Virginia to Maine and I wasn't handling it particularly well. It's hard to let go of a place where so many of your firsts happened. First steps, first words, first kiss, first love, first heartbreak...you know the drill. At the time it felt like the end of an unbearably large number of things; I pulled out of the driveway for the last time
and cried all the way across the blue ridge mountains. 

Melodramatic, I know, but that's how it went down. 

And that's probably why I gave this recipe such a depressing name the first time around. Summer's End Ratatouille?? Sheesh. Shoulda just called it "we all die" vegetable medley... Over the past year I've come to realize that home is where your people are, that past is past, present is present, and memories are yours regardless of where your parents live. I've also come to realize that (as a tidy little bonus) coastal Maine is a pretty kick-ass place for said people to be, especially in the summertime. 

So, in the spirit of newfound emotional maturity,
I'm re-branding this recipe "thank you, summer" ratatouille. 

No melodrama, no sad-sackery. 

Just an unabashed appreciation of the season, while it lasts. 

Knowing full well it'll be back around again soon enough.
Nothing but good times and noodle salad (bonus points if you get that reference).

every little bit of it.

"Thank You, Summer" Ratatouille
now with even less melodrama

(serves 4-6) 

3Tbsp olive oil

2-3Tbsp red wine 

1 large onion (yellow or red), thinly sliced

1 full head of garlic, cloves finely minced

two bell peppers, green red or yellow, sliced thin

Diced eggplant (any variety), about 3-4 cups

1-2 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into thin slices

3-4 medium-sized tomatoes, diced (about 2c)

salt and black pepper to taste

1/2c shredded fresh basil leaves

full recipe here.

And now a few of my favorite Maine-based things:

Small Batch Spiny Gherkin Pickles & Doin' All The Things.

to old friends and new. 

Small Batch Spiny Gherkin Pickles

+

Doin' All The Things.

(also, i'm kinda famous now.)

garlicky brine is always the answer.

I stumbled across these Hmong Farms-grown maxixie cucumbers at the Brookline farmers' market last week. After excitedly staring at them for a good two minutes I picked out what looked like a good bunch (?) and brought them to the cashier. My gleeful confusion was not exactly mirrored by the guy who sold them to me, but I would not be deterred. I had no idea what they were or what to do with them but was absolutely certain that they needed to be mine. Find a strange, vaguely Seussian variety of gherkin while doing your weekly produce shopping? 

The only option is to pickle the hell out of it. 

Garlicky Small Batch Spiny Gherkin 

(Maxixie Cucumber) Pickles

(makes one quart or two pints)

1 bunch spiny gherkins (also know as maxixe cucumbers), about 8

1c apple cider vinegar

1/4c water

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1 large head of dried dill, or 2 teaspoons dill seed

1Tbsp kosher salt

1tsp unrefined sugar

1/2tsp brown mustard seeds

Add garlic, mustard seeds and dill seeds to a clean quart canning jar, 

or distribute evenly between two pint jars.

Wash and thoroughly scrub gherkins, then cut lengthwise into quarters or eighths, 

depending on your pickle thickness preference.

Whisk together vinegar, water, salt and sugar until dissolved.

Stuff cucumber slices into jars, pouring water and vinegar mix over top until covered.

Cover jar(s) tightly, give them a good shake, and refrigerate.

The longer they sit, the more the flavors will develop.

all the pickled things.

Fresh Corn & Basil Quinoa Fritters plus Scenes from the Weekend

frittered and rocked.
Fresh Corn, Basil & Sweet Onion Quinoa Fritters
+
 Produce, Punk and Pizza.

frittered.

Dusting off an old favorite for you guys today because...SUMMER. 

Get frittering.

Fresh Corn, Basil & Sweet Onion Quinoa Fritters

(makes about 8 medium fritters)

1c quinoa/ 2c water

1 cob of sweet corn, shucked and grated (approximately 1/3c)

1/2c whole wheat flour

1/3c minced sweet onion

1/2c minced basil

2Tbsp ground flax seeds

 6Tbsp boiling water

2Tbsp nutritional yeast

2tsp sea salt

1tsp black pepper

1tsp crushed red pepper

1tsp paprika

Oil for frying

Link to the original recipe here.

harvested.

grown.

Wild Blueberry & Nectarine Cobbler plus Scenes from the Weekend

hashtag BLUEBERRIES.
Wild Blueberry & Nectarine Cobbler 

+

Some Scenes from the Weekend.

the truest of true things.

In my world, summer and Maine are inextricably linked. Summer will always mean Maine, and Maine summers will always mean wild blueberries. In August they are EVERYWHERE. At markets, in parking lot fruit stands, for sale on the side of the road (every. single. road.) and they are perfect.
Summer also means fruit cobbler.
The more clever among you can probably see where I'm going with this...

oven bound.

Wild.

souvenirs. 

calm.

Wild Blueberry & Nectarine Cobbler

(serves 4-6)

1c whole wheat pastry flour

1/3c unrefined sugar

1c non dairy milk (I prefer coconut)

2tsp baking soda

2tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2tsp salt

1tsp vanilla

2c sliced nectarines

2c wild blueberries, washed and patted dry

1/4tsp cinnamon

1/4c unrefined coconut oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Melt coconut oil in an 8" square baking dish by placing it in the oven while heating.

Sift together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) 

in a medium mixing bowl.

Add milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir until combined.

Remove baking dish with melted coconut oil from the oven.

Gently pour 3/4 of the batter into the pan, spread fruit over top, 

then add remainder of batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Serve warm or cooled.

Scenes from the Weekend.

this is a thing that is happening now.

Scenes from the Weekend (and a little beyond).

rainy saturday at the egleston farmers market.

raw beets all summer long.