Blackberry Shrub Mocktail

During the past few years (and three kids later!), I have been experimenting more and more with mocktails. I love the way a mocktail can make happy hour or aperitif hour still feel special without the alcohol. Perfect during pregnancy, dry January, or really any time you want to leave out the alcohol. This one uses blackberries although you could easily sub in a different kind of fruit to change it up. Cheers!

BLACKBERRY SHRUB MOCKTAIL

(*makes a pitcher that serves 4-6, but see note below)

1 c fresh blackberries

6 sprigs fresh mint

1 liter seltzer

several drops bitter

1/3 c blackberry-flavored shrub (a non-alcoholic “drinking vinegar” often mixed into drinks. Here’s a suggested brand.)

ice

Finely chop leaves from 2 mint sprigs and combine in a small bowl with 1/2 c blackberries. Mash the berries and mint together until a jam forms.

Add 1/2 c water to the jam bowl and stir. Pour the mixture over a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher, pressing the remaining pulp with a spoon to remove as much moisture as possible. Add the the bitters and shrub to the pitcher and lastly the seltzer.

Stir with ice and serve in glasses garnished with the remaining mint leaves and berries. Use agave to sweeten, if desired.

***

*Since we aren’t really gathering these days, you can make this ahead for yourself (minus the seltzer) and keep it in the fridge for a couple days. Add a couple spoonfuls of the jam/shrub/bitters mixture to your glass then top off with seltzer, ice and garnish just before enjoying.

Peanut Butter-Avocado Shake

It’s the New Year (Happy 2020!) so I thought I would share some lighter ideas for those who are looking for clean, fresh, and healthy recipes. This avocado shake from my first book is filling and delicious and it is really quick to make for mornings when you need to head out the door!

Peanut Butter-Avocado Shake

PEANUT BUTTER-AVOCADO SHAKE

recipe from The Forest Feast

1/2 ripe avocado

1 1/4 c (300 ml almond milk or your milk of choice)

2 frozen bananas (peel & cut in chunks before freezing)

1 T peanut butter (or any nut butter)

3 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth!

Serves 2.

* * *

For more light recipes, check out:

Pumpkin Smoothies

Kale Tacos

Cheers to the New Year!

xx

Erin

Cacio e Pepe Spaghetti Squash...

For those of you looking for gluten free ideas for Thanksgiving, try this Spaghetti squash dish from The Forest Feast Mediterranean, inspired by our time in Italy. Buon appetito!

Cacio e Pepe Spaghetti Squash

Cacio e pepe (which translates to cheese and pepper in Italian) is a very simple pasta dish I have adapted by substituting spaghetti squash for the pasta. This dish calls for a good amount of freshly ground black pepper and finely grated Parmesan cheese.

CACIO E PEPE SPAGHETTI SQUASH

recipe from The Forest Feast Mediterranean

1 c (50 g) finely grated Parmesan

2 T olive oil

1 T butter

lots of black pepper

salt

Cut a medium (approx. 2 lb/910-g) spaghetti squash in half lengthwise & remove all the seeds and strings. Place on a baking sheet cut-side up & sprinkle with olive oil & salt.

Bake at 375° F (190°C) for 1 hour. You’ll know it’s done when you scrape a fork on the flesh & it separates easily into spaghetti-like “noodles.” If not, cook for 10 more min. When ready, using a towel to hold the hot squash, scrape all the “noodles” into a mixing bowl.

While hot, mix in the remaining ingredients (cheese, olive oil, butter, pepper, salt). Enjoy hot!

For more veggie side ideas for your Thanksgiving menu, check out this story from Mother mag posted yesterday.

And for more squash ideas…

Yellow Squash Ribbon Quiche (vegetarian)

Roasted Acorn Squash with Sage Butter (gluten free)

Coconut-Curry Butternut Soup (vegan)

Honey-Balsamic Green Beans

Every year we go to Santa Barbara to my aunt and uncle’s dreamy beach house for Thanksgiving but this year, we are heading to Sonoma County. I’m making a few sides to bring including these green beans from my new Forest Feast Mediterranean cookbook inspired by our time in Sicily.

Honey-Balsamic Green Beans

recipe from The Forest Feast Mediterranean

4 c green beans

2 cloves minced garlic, trimmed & diagonally sliced

1/4 c (35 grams) pomegranate seeds

1/4 cup (30 grams) pistachio seeds, roasted & chopped

Saute on medium heat with 1 T olive oil, plus salt and pepper, for 3-5 minutes or until the beans are bright green. Then add 1 T balsamic vinegar and 1 T honey to the pan and toss until all the beans are glazed. (about 1 min).

Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and the pomegranate seeds and roasted & chopped pistachio seeds.

Max and me in Cefalu, Sicily in 2017 while shooting The Forest Feast Mediterranean cookbook

The rural area of Sicily we visited is known for its honey and pistachio production and these ingredients are used frequently in sweet and savory dishes from the region. I love the added crunch from the pistachios. We visited the snowy volcano peak in the morning and ended the very same day with a sunset walk along the coast in the village of Santa Maria La Scala.

Ezra making a snowball near the top of Mt. Etna, Sicily, 2017

Happy Thanksgiving!

For more vegetarian sides, try my Persimmon Cranberry Sauce, Butternut Hummus & Deviled Eggs , or Nutty Cauliflower Rice Pilaf.

P.S. The Forest Feast Mediterranean is on sale now and makes a great host gift!

Forest Feast Fashion: Floral Dress + Floral Rolls

I’ve got another Forest Feast Fashion pairing for you! Wouldn’t you love to nosh on some Floral Summer Rolls while wearing this lovely floral dress by Sonnet James? I would (ha!)

These rolls are one of my favorite things to eat. (So much in fact that my family has been known to make them for me on my birthday!) They are in my entertaining cookbook, The Forest Feast Gatherings. I can usually find the rice paper wraps at my local grocery store in the “international” aisle. As for edible flowers, I like to grow nasturtium seeds (they are really easy), but you can also find edible flowers at the farmers market and even at the grocery store. (I asked my local grocery store produce department to order them and they arrived next day!) If you can’t find any, you can always decorate the rolls inside with basil leaves, mint leaves, rings of red onion, carrot strips, red bell pepper slices or chopped purple cabbage.

TO MAKE THE ROLLS:

More instructions are on the image below but simply soak the rice paper rounds in water for a minute, lay out on a cutting board, then fill with thinly sliced salad ingredients in the middle of the round. Musts for me are lettuce (crunch!), avocado, red onion and fresh mint. But you can add anything that’s cut up small enough. Fold the ends in and roll up like a burrito!

I recently spent a weekend on a retreat with Whitney, the founder of the dress company Sonnet James. In honor of Mother's Day, I thought I'd share her inspiring story. She started her company on her own as a newly single mother with 2 very young boys.  After they'd go to bed at night, she read business books and taught herself to make patterns and sew. Later, she went door-to-door at factories in San Francisco until she found a place that could ethically produce the dresses for her. Her goal was to make play dresses for moms, and that's just what she does! She started with some Kickstarter money and then a blog post by Design Mom ignited initial orders, but after a recent appearance on Shark Tank, she now works with the investor Sara Blakely of Spanx (another super-inspiring biz-mom!) and her business is thriving. Can't wait to see what's next, Whitney...and I love my new dress, thank you for sending it to me.

Read more about Whitney here.

*Amazon Affiliate links are used in this post and if you purchase via these links, The Forest Feast will earn a small profit.