Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope your day involves chocolate ;)

Lentil Carrot Soup

Several weeks ago my mom sent me a recipe for lentil carrot soup that is so incredibly simple, easy and delicious that it has become a staple of our Winter diet. With only a few ingredients and hardly any prep time, I find myself returning to this soup whenever I need a warm, nourishing, pick-me-up. Since I'm fighting off a cold, I made a batch today, and decided to share it here:

4 large coarsely grated carrots (I use the grater blade on my food processor and it does the job in seconds).
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
2-1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 pound of dried red lentils, rinsed and drained
3 quarts water
Juice of one lemon
1/2 Tbsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. salt (perhaps more to taste)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Saute carrot, onion, and garlic in oil, until veggies are soft (around 5 minutes).
Stir in lentils, saute 1 minute.
Add water, bring to boil, reduce to simmer.
Cook uncovered over medium heat until lentils are very soft & soup has thickened, about 45 minutes.
Stir in lemon juice, thyme, salt & pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste.

This is especially good served with a wedge of lemon for an additional kick of flavor. Pair with a nice mixed green salad and some homemade cornbread. Total yum.

Breakfast Yum

Photo via Taste of the Test Kitchen

I ran across a great article on inventive, healthy, hot breakfast cereals in the January 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living. There were several great recipes featured, but so far I haven't been able to move past the first one I tried -- it's so good I had it for breakfast every day last week!

The recipe that I'm hooked on is so simple, hearty, and deeeeelicious: Steel cut oats topped with pomegranate seeds, pepitas, orange sections, milk (I use almond milk), and maple syrup.

And on a related note, thanks to a tip from a twitter friend, I now know how to quickly and easily open a pomegranate!

Awesomesauce.

Gingerbread Yogis

Freaking genius.

Buy the cookie cutters here.

Found here.

Let Them Smoosh Cake

Because, seriously, that is the best part:

And here's a little pic of the birthday cake

before the delicious destruction began:

The recipe is here, and the inspiration for the mini-bunting is here.

The perfect ending to a fun and loving day of celebration!

Thanks to everyone for all the sweet birthday comments :)

Love. This. Photo.

By Ditte Isager, via Solid Frog.

Anarchy In a Jar

Besides having perhaps the best brand name ever, Anarchy In a Jar looks like a freaking delicious product. Made in Brooklyn, these jams, jellies, preserves, and chutneys are made with mostly local, handpicked, organic fruit and artisanal methods. Check out their amazing flavor combos:

Grapefruit Marmalade with Smoked Salt
Grapefruit, smoked salt, sugar, all natural pectin

Bitter Blue Blueberry Marmalade
Blueberries, maple syrup, sugar, whole lemon slices

Ginger Pear Jam
Bartlett pears, ginger, lemon juice, sugar, all natural pectin

Hot Fireman’s Pear Jam
Bartlett pears, cinnamon, chipotle, lemon juice, sugar, all natural pectin

Strawberry Balsamic Jam
Organic strawberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, all natural pectin

3’s Company Triple Berry Jam
Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, lemon juice, sugar, all natural pectin

Easy Like Sunday Morning Blueberry Jam
Blueberries, maple syrup, sugar, lemon juice, all natural pectin

Photos via Anarchy In a Jar

Lunch Yum

Today, J and W and I got of the house relatively early and decided to spend our day in a whole other part of town. We hopped on the train and headed downtown, eventually wandering over to the East Village. Hungry, we decided to eat at Angelica Kitchen. J was super-exited about partaking of their Soba Sensation dish, which he has been craving. Just look at that happily expectant face, above!

J snapped this one of me and the snoozing W...

...And here is the boy, chowing down! Yum. He actually stopped shoveling the noodles in long enough to pronounce this food to be on his short list of favorite foods, right after mammo and french fries with ketchup :)

Afterwards, we walked a couple of blocks to Momofuku Milk Bar, where we tried their famous Cereal Milk soft serve ice cream, which was as intense as it sounds!

I hope you had a delicious Monday!

"Potted" Chocolate Pudding

Isn't this the cutest idea for a whimsical springtime party treat? Via Martha, of course. My mom suggested that this would be easily adaptable to a healthier version (she would make a raw chocolate pudding out of coconut, and the "dirt" would be made from a mixture of cacao nibs and brazil nuts). I just love the presentation!

Raspberry Yum

Is there anything more fun than eating raspberries off of one's fingers, a la opening montage of Amelie? I think not.

Major Yum

This week, my friend Liz introduced me to the heaven that is Liberté Méditerranée Yogurt. So far I've tried Vanilla, Wild Blackberry, Coconut, and Lemon and each flavor has been more delicious than the last. I am talking major yum, here.

Serious. Craveability.

Just wanted to let you know.

Just My Cup of Tea

I love tea almost as much as I love fashion, so I think this clothes-hanger tea might have been made especially with me in mind. Via The Morale Agency.

Lunch Yum

Today I was in need of something hot and nourishing, so I made some miso soup with kale and shiitake mushrooms, inspired by this recipe. It was quick, easy, and refreshingly delicious.

What is your favorite homemade soup for cold winter days?

Lunch Yum

I recently hit on a delicious combo of salad ingredients: a bowl full of mixed greens, thinly sliced red onion, one juicy-sweet navel orange (peeled and cut into chunks), a hand full of chopped-up black and green olives, a drizzle of olive oil, and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

The result is tangy and sweet, with a nice little kick thanks to the onion. What are your go-to salad ingredients?

Photos by yours truly :)

White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake

By popular demand, I present you with the recipe for White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake that my mom prepared during her recent raw food demo. Thanks for the link, mom!

My Mom's Raw Food Demo

One of my mother's many passions is the Raw Food Lifestyle. In the last few years she has become quite the Raw gourmand! These photos are from a recent event she hosted in her home in Jackson, Mississippi (that's her in the bright yellow apron). She gave a "cooking" demonstration, and then sat down with her guests to feast on what they had prepared. Here's the menu (doesn't it sound yummy?):

Fresh squeezed juice to start

Zucchini “Pasta” with truffled Alfredo Sauce

Mixed Greens with Caesar Dressing

White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake

I hope to get my very own demo when we go to Mississippi for Christmas next week!

Blah Humbug

Today it's cold gray and rainy here, and I have a case of the blahs. We went to bed too late last night, woke a few too many times during the night, and the kiddos and I have been sluggish and cranky all day. Things are actually starting to look up, since both of the boys are napping now (finally!) and I'm having a little moment to myself.

To relax, I'm going to finish off my current DVD episode of Mad Men, season 2, and munch on an organic chocolate bar with almonds, yum! What do you do to shake off the blahs?

Photo via Weheartit.

Yum

So, my sister shows up and thinks it's ok to feed me her magical fresh baked Oatmeal Cranberry Toffee cookies.

But I was trying to avoid birthing a 15 pound baby!

Help!

When a Pregnant, Breastfeeding Mama Goes to the Farmer's Market...

...she comes home with blueberries, peaches, mint, cilantro, tomatoes, apples, okra, carrots, red and yellow onions, garlic, basil, walnut raisin bread, a baguette, corn on the cob, local cheese (sheep's ricotta, gouda, and goat cheese), ice cream (butter pecan, coconut), eggs, black currant apple juice, free-range local turkey burgers, a sunflower, a zinnia, and two purple gladiolas.

Perhaps she will concoct some of these yummy and simple summer recipes.

Our Celebration

Last night Taro surprised me for our anniversary by taking me to dine at this magical establishment located under the Brooklyn Bridge, called the River Cafe (that's the restaurant in the photo above, actually floating in the East River with the magnificent span of the bridge flying overhead!). We had never been there before, but Taro had really done his research, so it proved to be one of the most perfect, romantic settings that we've ever dined in.  This was the view from our table (we watched the sun set over Manhattan):
For dessert they brought us their signature confection, a delicious cake adorned with a miniature chocolate model of the Brooklyn Bridge...

When we returned home, our friend and babysitter, Naudia, kindly took the following family photos to commemorate the occasion.  Since yesterday marked my 32nd week of pregnancy, these two pics can also serve as this week's belly shot:

Note:  For our date Taro wore the very same custom-made suit he wore for our wedding, and I wore one of my new Butter By Nadia dresses.

When we got home we followed our yearly tradition of repeating our wedding vows to one another.  I will leave you with those vows that we wrote six years ago, words which continue to shape our marriage every day:

 I vow to be faithful to you in mind, heart, and body.

I vow to be honest and share my true self with you. 

I vow to be a good communicator, to have patience, 

to listen to and be supportive of your dreams, 

and share my dreams with you.

I vow to be open minded and open hearted.

I vow to forgive your imperfections and to be able to ask forgiveness for mine.

I vow to be your teacher and your student.

I vow to be humorous and playful.  

I vow to be unselfish, to put our relationship first.

I vow to be the best parent that I can to our children. 

I vow to value your love and not take you for granted.  

These are my joyful vows.