Maple-Pumpkin Parfaits

Ezra just turned 3 and is in preschool! We pack lunches every night for him and I'm always looking for cute new ideas for something I know he'll actually eat. I've partnered up with Clover Sonoma to use their Organic Cream on Top Maple Whole Milk Yogurt in a fall-inspired parfait. It's just 5 ingredients layered in a mini mason jar: yogurt, pumpkin purée, cinnamon, maple syrup, and pumpkin seeds. I used unsweetened canned organic pumpkin purée, but you could bake a pumpkin, kabocha squash, or butternut and use some mash from that. 

I've been eating Clover dairy products my whole life since they are from Sonoma County, where I grew up. I really trust them! They are a certified B Corporation which means they adhere to rigorous environmental, social and sustainability standards. They treat their animals well and deliver a very clean (and delicious!) product.

This is fun to pack for lunch, and would also be perfect for an after-dinner treat. It could also be made in small ramekins if enjoying at home.

MAPLE-PUMPKIN PARFAITS

serves 1

3 oz Organic Cream on Top Maple Whole Milk Yogurt

2 T canned unsweetened pumpkin purée (or mashed baked pumpkin, kabocha or butternut squash)

1 t maple syrup

2 t pumpkin seeds

pinch of cinnamon

Starting with the yogurt, layer all ingredients in a 4-oz mason jar. Sprinkle some syrup and cinnamon on top and close with a lid. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

A little note for his lunch bag.

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Now this is fun: Clover is doing a giveaway! For a chance to win a back-to-school prize package valued at over $200, share a photo of your child's school lunch with the hashtag #ItMatters and tag @cloversonoma on Facebook/Twitter or @clover.sonoma on Instagram.

This post was done in partnership with Clover Sonoma, a brand I have been using, loving and trusting for years. Thanks for supporting the brands that help keep The Forest Feast going!

A (Pumpkin) Bun in the Oven

I'm excited to share some fun news....we are expecting another baby BOY! Ezra is excited to have a little brother. I am due in early January...can't believe I am already 6+ months along.

I was similarly pregnant with Ez when my first book came out, so it's been fun to make some maternity dresses again using my artwork, like I did for my first book tour. For my first book, I wore a dress with my orange tree photo printed on it to the launch party at Anthropologie in NYC, and I had the endpages from my book printed on another dress for a book party in Oakland. For my new book, The Forest Feast Gatherings, I made some dresses out of photos I took of bougainvillea flowers on a recent trip to Santa Barbara. I had the photos printed on fabric at Spoonflower and then had them made into dresses (Spoonflower actually sewed the dress below on the left!). See me wearing one at an event in NYC, here. For more on my pregancy style check out this  story Mother Mag did on me when I was expecting Ezra.

With Fall upon us, I am enjoying everything pumpkin and baking more than usual. Going to be popping a batch of these buns in the oven soon:

Happy Baking!

Rosh Hashana Recipes

The Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashana starts this Sunday and the baking at our house begun! It's traditional to eat dishes made with apples and honey to "sweeten the new year", plus other harvest-time foods like pomegranates and figs. I always make round challah and honey cake. Here are a few of my favorites from the archives. Shana Tova!

HONEY CAKE

APPLE & HONEY GALETTE

POMEGRANATE ROUND CHALLAH

STUFFED BAKED APPLES

WARM BRIE WITH FIGS & PISTACHIOS

Fall Recipes from My New Book

My new cookbook, The Forest Feast Gatherings, was released TODAY! I couldn't be happier or more excited about how it turned out. It's got 100 simple vegetarian recipes geared for entertaining, and set up in menus for all different types of occasions, from a brunch, to a wine & cheese party, to seasonal dinner party menus. Plus it's loaded with even more of my photos and watercolor illustrations and several DIY ideas for hosting.

I wanted to share a couple recipes from one of my favorite menus, the Fall Feast. Each menu starts with a page like this:

Testing was fun. Friends and family actually hosted gatherings for all the menus in the book, making all the recipes to serve in one setting and then sent invaluable feedback on how much time it took to make everything, how it tasted, if there were leftovers, etc. Here are a couple favorite recipes from the Fall dinner party menu: 

Thank you so much to everyone who pre-ordered! Your free gifts should be arriving soon. And thanks to everyone who came out to my launch events in NYC last week. Thank you to Powerhouse and Paper Source for hosting. We had such a fun time! More photos in my newsletter, here.

For anyone in the CA Bay Area, hope you can come to the west coast launch party this Saturday from 5-7pm in Woodside. More info here. Drinks and snacks from the book will be served (free event)!

Cheers and Happy hosting!

Summer Stone Fruit Recipes

My weekly farm box is exploding right now with some of the juiciest, most amazing peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums. Delicious! So I thought I’d do a little round-up of some of my favorite stone fruit recipes from my blog and books. 

Happy summer cooking and baking!

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-Peach-Burrata Caprese Salad

-Plum Tartlets from The Forest Feast for Kids

-Broiled Stone Fruit with Cinnamon Cream

-Nectarine Tomato Salad from The Forest Feast