Valentine's Day Menu

Happy Valentine’s Day! In case you’re planning to spend a cozy night in cooking with your sweety (or with friends!), here is a menu idea:

To start: a Pomegranate Cocktail aperitif and Bacon & Basil Wrapped Dates

First Course: Red Valentine Chopped Salad

2nd Course: Red Roasted Carrots

Main Course: Beet, Onion & Eggplant Stack with Pesto (which is great alongside any meat entree´ if you want something a little more filling!). It’s also good with big round slices of fresh bufala mozzarella mixed into the stack.

For Dessert: Spiced Apricots dipped in dark chocolate with chili powder

Cheers!

Holiday Recipe Ideas

Happy Holidays, everyone! Wishing you a fun-filled holiday break with good food and warm drinks! Here are a few ideas:

Easy Party Appetizers:
Cucumber Caprese Bites
Mozzarella Stuffed Pesto Puffs
Lemon Ricotta Crostini

Holiday Drinks:
Hot Chai-Nog
Spiced Pomegranate-Apple Cider
Cranberry Old Fashioned

XO,

Erin

Red Roasted Carrots

Combine a couple pinches (or a quarter teaspoon each) of cinnamon, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder and sea salt. Mix spices well in a bowl with about 6 diagonally (oval) cut carrots plus 1T olive oil and 1t sesame oil. Roast at 400 for 20 minutes on a baking sheet until the edges are crispy brown. Enjoy warm!

Passover Seder in the Woods

Spring has sprung in the woods! Passover is this week and to kick it off, we hosted a first-night Seder.  We spent 2 days cooking all the traditional Jewish dishes: Matzah ball soup, Haroset (a paste of dried fruit and nuts), Farfel (quiche-like squares), Tzimmes (a sweet potato carrot dish), plus a roasted chicken with rosemary and lemon. The seder plate has items that represent different parts of the meal and the Passover story of slavery and freedom, including a hard boiled egg, horseradish, parsley, matzah, a shank bone and the modern addition of an orange. In this story of Exodus, when the Jews fled Egypt, they didn’t have time for their bread to rise, so this week we eat matzah instead of bread as a reminder that there are still people today who seek freedom. Chag Sameach and Happy Passover!

Photos and illustration by Erin Gleeson

Happy Easter!