One of the greatest things about blogging is being inspired by other bloggers. I will not wax poetic about how much I love food blogging and social media (which I’m prone to doing), I will simply share with you the recipes and posts that really caught my eye this week.
1) I’m sort of on a health kick right now, so I was immediately drawn to this Raw Chocolate Milk from Tracy at Shutterbean. Even people who are trying to eat right still want things a little bit naughty and a little bit nice. This chocolate milk is made from raw cashews, water, cocoa nibs, vanilla, agave syrup & extra virgin coconut oil. I love all those things separately so the idea of whizzing them all into a drink sounds delightful.
2) Everyone knows I’ve got a soft spot for all things British. I’ve also got a soft spot for Angharad at Eating for England who happens to be lovely, British and a wonderful cook. This week I was taken with her Victoria Sponge Cake with Lemon Curd. We’ve run our own recipe for Andy’s Nanny’s Victoria Sponge (a classic that I will make forever and ever) and I even made them into cupcakes in a guest post on My Baking Addiction. But I love the idea of putting lemon curd in the middle instead of jam. Soft, sweet cake with tart, zesty curd in the middle? Yes, that will definitely work.
3) I took one look at this Roasted Eggplant Salad with Smoked Almonds and Goat Cheese by Faith on TheKitchn and knew I had found the eggplant dish of my dreams. I tweeted with her about my excitement and she said, “In my opinion, there just isn’t enough roasted eggplant in the world.” Amen, sister. Amen. I’m cooking mainly vegetarian these days, so this will be a great addition to my weeknight repertoire and the popular side dish I bring to a potluck that’s gone before everything else.
4) When you need reliable, delicious recipes (that also happen to be healthy), you can always count on Heidi at 101 Cookbooks. I regularly browse her archives for dinner ideas and this week I stumbled upon an oldie but a goodie, this Broccoli-Basil Mac and Cheese. What I love about this recipe is what I love about Heidi’s blog: recipes that are healthy, yes, but not spartan or dutiful. This is not a slightly new spin on the tired and traditional, this is mac and cheese with flare! Butternut squash, broccoli, basil, gruyere and a handful cherry tomatoes for good measure. If you like this sort of thing, you should also check our her new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day.
5) Oh Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce, more than any other recipe I saw this week, you had me at hello. Thank you Jen (of Use Real Butter) for sharing this heavenly dish with the rest of the world. I love the flavor combination and the bright, vibrant color, I love the simple ingredients that still manage to produce this five star final product. I’ll be making this on Saturday night when Andy comes home from Switzerland. This will be our dinner, his first home-cooked meal in ten days. And he will love it. Clearly Jen is a phenomenal food photographer, but you must check out the landscapes on her photo blog. They’re breathtaking! I get lost browsing in there for ages.
Side note: If you love butternut squash and sage as much as I do, check out this Butternut Squash Lasagna Bake with Ricotta and Sage I made last year.
6) Last but not least, you know I love a good cause. So when I started seeing ads all over our blogs for Rock the Red Pump I decided to check it out. These amazing women are raising awareness about the plight of Women and Girls living with HIV/AIDS by signing up 2500 people in the next 50 days to blog about the issue. They’re hoping to paint the blogosphere red when posts go up on March 10. I’m definitely joining in to help them. Maybe you’d like to as well?
Because yes, all this great food nourishes our bodies, but giving back nourishes our souls.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
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