comment icon 65 more comments So, Seattle! Have you been there? I just spent the last 40-some hours exploring the beauty of downtown Seattle and the waterfront in the fall. Whiiiich more or less involved ordering pizza (s? maybe) to our hotel room and rehearsing again, just one more time, to make sure our presentation for this weekend’s conference was just right. But same difference. Seattle is awesome. Bjork and I were in Seattle this weekend for an IACP conference where we presented for two hours at a time, facilitating sessions on things like self publishing ebooks and effective practices for developing your blog income....

Have you ever eaten raw cookie dough? The real raw kind (above) with eggs Not the Raw Vegan Cookie Dough (below) kind which is egg-free Do you think beans are the Musical Fruit? Spicy Baked Black Beans with Mixed Vegetables may have had that effect in our house. If a friend asked you if you thought her outfit made her look fat, would you tell her your honest thoughts?...

Sneaking veggies into desserts is the oldest trick in the book, especially when you want extra moist and delicious cakes! If this is a trend you appreciate, don’t miss my Carrot Muffins, Zucchini Bread, or Carrot Cake. What I LOVE About this Zucchini Cake: No fuss: Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a time and a place for fancy, layered cakes (like German Chocolate or Chocolate Raspberry Cake), but there’s nothing quite like the ease of a cake made in a 9×13” pan....

Everyone together now! Basket or cart today? Here, let me hold your iced coffee while you grab one of EVERYTHANG in the dollar section. Okay, some context. A few months ago, I posted about my new switch over to a capsule wardrobe. It wasn’t totally in line with normal Pinch of Yum content (ummm, hello, food? does this involve food? will this lead to a saucy recipe at the end?...

So today let’s dust off the crockpots slash slow cookers slash whatever you want to call them and get them to magically make us something delicious (and easy – always, always easy) for dinner. Magic + delicious + easy: this is how we roll around here. Let’s just address this right off the bat – there is absolutely a certain amount of food-fancy-ism in the cooking world related to use of the slow cooker....

If you’re craving some lighter and fresher this summer season but are tired of eating the same chicken dishes over and over again, you’ve got to make this grilled salmon recipe with tangy chimichurri sauce! Salmon filets are brushed with homemade chimichurri sauce, then grilled to flaky perfection. The beauty of grilling salmon is that it takes just 10 minutes to cook — less time on the grill means less room for error....

If you’re in need of a fast and easy 20-minute chicken dinner, this comforting chicken with Dijon mustard sauce will become a new family favorite that’s sure to go into your dinner rotation. My favorite kinds of recipes are the ones made in one skillet, like this one, which is awesome because there are less dishes to do later. This chicken is pan-seared on the stovetop and is so tender, juicy, rich, and buttery....

comment icon 153 more comments It’s like Reese’s peanut butter cups left us, and then went and got cleaned up, and then came back to propose to us again just in time for Sugar Free January. Raise your hand if you want to eat these right now? Your hand should be raised. Raise your hand if you just ate one of these and maybe still have a little chocolate on your mouth?...

Apple Carrot Bread Recipe This is carrot cake that’s been infused with apples and baked as a loaf. So it’s not cake anymore. It’s bread. Therefore you can have more and definitely can have it for breakfast. Baking with both carrots and apples not only adds chewy texture and natural sweetness, but they also add so much moisture that it’s impossible to have a dry loaf. I adapted the basic ratios from my Cream Cheese-Filled Pumpkin Bread, a personal and fan favorite, to make way for grated carrots and apples....

After running amongst the plants, I came in and ate some. Dressed with Vegan Creamy Lemon & Herb Dressing Did you notice that salad collage picture? That’s my idea of artwork. I made it using Lightroom 3. Major thanks (again) to Kath’s post about how she created collages using Lightroom because I was able to create one, too. I get excited about these things now. Skylar made me some artwork, too....

Well, hi, friends! It’s the end of August (sob) and we meet again! ❤️ Today is a coffee date day, and since my life is almost all things baby right now, I think it makes sense for this to be an all-things-baby post. If you want to dive into that rabbit hole with me, you are in the right place. Drinks of choice? Lately I’ve been mildly obsessed with coconut water and MEGA obsessed with lemonade....

French Toast Breakfast Casserole…With Bagels! I’ve made my share of French toast. With Hawaiian bread, as French toast sticks, as muffins, with gingerbread, pumpkin, streusel topping, and peanut butter maple syrup. But using bagels is a first and it won’t be the last. This fast, easy, no-flipping, no-stovetop-babysitting, baked French toast casserole is soft, chewy, moist, and tender. It’s perfect for brunch or on a leisurely weekend. I made it over the weekend and wrapped up the leftovers in plastic wrap and had breakfasts ready for my daughter for the week....

This is one of my go-to kid-friendly dishes when I need something easy that I know everyone will love or when I need to take someone a meal. Other meals that fit this criteria include Cheese Enchiladas, Chicken Tacos, or Homemade Lasagna. My family never grows tired of this spaghetti pie. Think classic spaghetti, reinvented into a family-pleasing baked casserole. This is my mom’s recipe she made for our family all the time growing up....

Easy Baked Brie with Jam There’s a restaurant in San Diego that I was going to all the time over the spring and summer for their baked brie. I literally had to wean myself off it and take a brie break. I love brie so much and tried to break up with the restaurant version. I was doing okay until this way too easy, at-home baked brie appetizer recipe made its way into my life....

I’m in San Francisco for a little workshop called BlogShop. It’s a two-day workshop to try to help me learn Photoshop. Unfortunately for me, Photoshop is like algebra: it’s really hard, it’s not clicking without extreme mental effort, I wish I could cheat off someone else’s paper, and it will require me to just keep practice, practice, practicing it to get even a rudimentary grasp on it. For everyone who uses Photoshop, God Bless You....

It’s become a more than just a Friday thing. It’s an every day obsession. I’ve always loved oats. Not hard to do when your two favorite toppings are butter and brown sugar. But in all my oatmeal life I have never made an oatmeal variety like this bran oatmeal so. many. times. It started with days, and moved to weeks, and I’m now going on a month of this deliciously cozy breakfast....

I was craving something rich, buttery, and comforting but didn’t know exactly what to make. When I saw a half-used bag of dark brown sugar in the cupboard, I knew I had use it. Dark brown sugar imparts a richer and more complex sweetness than light brown sugar, thanks to the greater amount of molasses in it. Tis the season for dark and earthy molasses goodies, even if the molasses comes via dark brown sugar....

comment icon 65 more comments Today I don’t think I have much to say, except I LOVE THESE BUTTERFINGER MONSTER COOKIES. I literally just pulled these babies out of the oven (time difference, remember?) and as predicted, they are so warm and gooey and peanut butter-licious. I actually didn’t have to predict anything – I knew they would the best ever because I derived them from my all-time favorite cookie recipe which I’ve made one million times and they always turn out....

comment icon 123 more comments But don’t think I’m getting all crazy with the new because you know I like routine and familiar and predictability something fierce. As a result, today my new food things are being delivered to your mouth in the form of an old, predictably delicious favorite: JUMBO MUFFINS. Friends, I do not mess around with baby muffins. If you are a mini muffin baker, you win the Better Person with More Self Control and Cuteness award....

comment icon 49 more comments It tastes like takeout, really – garlic and ginger setting the tone, diced bits of vegetables and pieces of soft scrambled eggs bulking it up, soy sauce and sesame oil tying the whole thing together, chewy baked tofu for the crown jewel on top, and cauliflower “rice” just making it conveniently lower carb and more nutritious. This is not the first time cauliflower fried rice has shown its face around these parts, and it probably won’t be the last because #obsessed....