I’m not a very good sick person. In fact, when I get sick I get hit really hard and usually spend the entire time in bed. This week I have been fighting a nasty cold that came on quickly and has refused to leave. And while Jason has been sweet enough to come home each night with take-out…the last thing I feel like doing is cooking for myself in the daytime while he’s at work. Honestly, is there anything worse than standing over a hot stove when your head is pounding?
My solution…get out the blender. It takes hardly any time to whip up a quick smoothie for myself before crawling back into bed.
Two of my favorite quick smoothies to make are Spinach and Strawberry and a fun play on PB&J. Do you have any quick and healthy smoothie recipes to share?
Photos by Leah Bergman
Strawberry Spinach Smoothie
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 small handful of fresh spinach
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 frozen banana
2 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
PB&J Smoothie
1 cups frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana
2 tsp almond butter or unsalted peanut butter
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
Directions:
1. In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until desired consistency is reached. Add more liquid if too thick or a few ice cubes if too thin.
Thank you Ball for the beautiful set of blue Ball® Heritage Collection pint jars. They just so happen to be the perfect smoothie glass.
I love mustard, ketchup, hot sauce, Sriracha, pretty much all condiments and sauces to be honest. You should see how I dress my hot dogs…would you like some hot dog with that mustard, Leah? So, naturally I was pretty excited to take the Mustard, Sriracha and More Workshop at Poketo in Downtown, LA.
Poketo is now offering a variety of amazingly creative classes in store all aimed to enhance a creative lifestyle from flower arranging, to food and craft classes. In fact the condiment class I took was in such high demand that Poketo is offering a second class in June.
I was delighted to see my friend and fellow blogger Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen at the class. Taking cooking classes with a friend is so much more fun, am I right?
Zach Negin our instructor encouraged us to get creative making our mustards and supplied us with all sorts of vinegars, spices, sugars, you name it. We sampled, tasted, mixed and blended until we each had very different and unique versions of our homemade mustards. Mine turned out to be a Spicy-Honey-Whiskey-Garlic-Mustard concoction. Entirely strange but surprisingly delicious. read more…
Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more refreshing and thirst quenching on a hot day than a big glass of Watermelon Lemonade over ice. Our local market always sells the most delicious selections of ice-cold lemonade from strawberry to watermelon and each week I look forward to ordering a glass. So why shouldn’t I make my favorite warm weather thirst quencher at home? It seems like the perfect sweet and refreshing beverage to have on hand when the heat waves hit. Do you ever make flavored lemonades at home? What is your favorite?
Illustration by Ann Shen for Freutcake
Watermelon Lemonade
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
4 cups cubed watermelon
3 cups cold water
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
6 cups ice cubes
Garnish with fresh rosemary or mint (optional)
Directions:
1. Place the watermelon into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.
2. Bring sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in 3 cups of cold water and the lemon juice.
4. Divide the ice into 12 glasses, and scoop 2 to 3 tablespoons of watermelon puree over the ice, then top with the lemonade. Gently stir before serving.
Variation: For Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade…add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary to step three in order to infuse the simple syrup with rosemary flavor. Remove sprigs before continuing to step 3.
Yesterday was 97 degree outside, 111 degrees in my car, and quite possibly hotter in my studio. Friends with pools BE WARNED. I’m slathering on sunscreen and ringing door bells because this weather calls for a day at the pool and a round of popsicles for all.
1| Synchronized Swim iPhone case 2| J.Crew, Polka dot top & bottom 3| Beach towel 4| Kate Spade, Popsicle Coin Purse 5| Fishnet Tumbler 6| Beach Ball 7| Kate Spade, Mayan Riviera Bag
Cinco de Mayo was last weekend and by now I should have clearly had my fill of margaritas but it turns out I haven’t. Feast your eyes on the Coconut Creamsicle Margarita by How Sweet It Is….everyone take a moment. Alright, enough of your “ooh-ing and ah-ing” go make one this weekend and let me know what you think! It might be a fun way to stir up your Mother’s Day celebration. Happy Mother’s Day!
Note: Freutcake will not be held responsible for Mothers experiencing flashbacks to college Cabo trips while drinking this beverage.
Coconut Creamsicle Margarita- photo & recipe via How Sweet It Is
2 ounces grand marnier
2 ounces orange juice
1 1/2 ounces silver tequila
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce coconut water
1 ounce canned light coconut milk
1 ounce simple syrup
unsweetened shredded + toasted coconut for glass rims
orange + lime slices for serving
Directions:
1. To rim glasses, fill a plate with coconut. Rub honey on the rim then place on the plate to coat with coconut. Fill glass with ice.
2. Combine all grand marnier, orange juice, tequila, lime juice, coconut water, coconut milk and simple syrup in a shaker and shake well for 30 seconds.
3. Pour over ice and garnish with wedges of orange and limes. Enjoy!
What are your Mother’s Day gift giving plans? How about a making jars of homemade rose & lavender body scrubs to gift to the mothers in your life? Last Sunday I had the honor of hosting a Mother’s Day floral craft event at the Pasadena Anthropologie. What did we make? Homemade Sea Salt Floral Body Scrubs of course!
Let me start by saying that stepping into Anthropologie is pretty darn inspiring, let alone spending the afternoon crafting in store with a great group of ladies.
The tables were set with heaping bowls of dried flowers that we served up in latte bowls, essentials oils, small nosegays of roses and ranunculus and ribbon galore. It was a sensory overload of all things floral and let me tell you, these craft tables smelled heavenly.
Laura Hooper Calligraphy graciously made our crafters the most gorgeous rose gold-foiled “Happy Mother’s Day” tags to tie onto the scrub jars gifted to us by Weck. If you’ve ever used Weck jars, you will know just how beautiful they are and perfect for filling with homemade scrubs, jams, or any other homemade treats!
There was quite a bit of laughing…
Pouring and mixing…
…And snacking on scones with lemon jam, cream, berries and thumb print cookies.
We made lavender scrubs and rose scrubs both flecked with dried petals and infused with essential oils. Although most everyone gave in and added a bit of both flowers!
I absolutely loved meeting so many of you in person for the first time and seeing old friends as well.
In the end, it was a perfect way to spend a Sunday morning celebrating our Mom’s and mixing up such lovely and luxurious gifts for them.
Thank you to everyone who attended and made this event so special.
Including my own Mom (below) who just joined Instagram and was trying out her new skills at the event. Way to make your blogger daughter proud.
If you missed the event and would like to make these scrubs for yourself you can download my event handout right here. Also, I will be loading more photos from the event today on Facebook or you can check it out on Instagram under the hash tag #anthroevents.
Floral Body Scrub- recipe by Freutcake
1 Cup Sea salt
½ Cup Sweet Almond Oil
5-7 Drops Lavender or Rose Hip Seed Essential Oil
1 Tbsp. Dried Lavender or Rose
Weck Jars
Directions:
1. In a small bowl mix exfoliate, oil and essential oil until well combined.
2. Add dried flowers if desired and fold in.
3. Spoon into Weck jar or sealed container. Body scrub should last up to a few weeks in the bath.
Sources
LH Calligraphy, Mother’s Day Gift Tags – available on Etsy
Weck 900 Jars – we used the 1/5 L Mold Jar, also available at Sur la Table & Poketo
Now Solutions. Sweet Almond Oil- Whole Foods or Amazon
Now Solutions, Lavender Essential Oil – Whole Foods or Amazon
Now Solutions, Rose Hip Seed Essential Oil – Whole Foods or Amazon
San Francisco Salt Company, Dead Sea Salt
Culinary French Lavender – Amazon
Culinary Rosebuds & Petals – Amazon
Wearing
CloverLace Dress- Anthropologie
I have a love hate relationship with moving. I love the fact that moving causes me to organize my life, get rid of clutter, and thoroughly clean everything. But that’s the small part. The larger reality is that I have been living in a tiny studio crammed with boxes of stuff that just doesn’t have a place in our new space. To add to the craziness, it’s taken much longer than expected to unpack my kitchen and actually feel like it’s ready to be cooked in. Monday night however, I finally cooked a proper meal for Jason and myself. Poor guy has been eating out three meals a day!
photo by Leah Bergman for Freutcake
I thought we could use something homey and light so I made a pot of Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili with a big salad on the side. This chili is healthy, fresh, spicy and incredibly delicious when topped with avocado and sour cream. It feels good to start getting back into the rhythm of things! Next up…baking.
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili- adapted from Eating Well
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (spice to taste)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock to make this vegetarian)
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 14-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 4-ounce can green chilies
juice of one lime1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
garnish
fat-free sour cream
sliced avocado
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, cayenne and salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
3. Top with a dollop of fat-free sour cream and a sliced avocado.
It’s been hot around these parts lately. In fact some days feel like mother nature has entirely skipped spring and jumped right into summer. Not good when you’ve recently moved into a studio without central ac and no time to purchase a window ac unit! It’s high priority on the weekend to-do list. Meanwhile, I’m in need of a seriously cool and refreshing beverage to beat this heat. Say no more… Key Lime Mojitos sound just right!
Key Lime Mojito- Recipe/Photo via Essentially Lilly & Martha Stewart
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
3/4 cup fresh key lime juice
3/4 to 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 3/4 cups club soda
10 large sprigs fresh mint, about 4 to 6 leaves each
Crushed ice
Key lime wedges, for garnish
2. Place mint springs in each of 10 glasses. Using the back of a spoon, crush mint leaves.
3. Add crushed ice to glasses. Divide rum mixture between glasses. Garnish with lime wedges. Serve immediately.
I’m not head over heals in love with cinnamon but even I can’t resist the deliciousness of a freshly fried, rolled in cinnamon-sugar, and dipped in chocolate, crispy hot churro. Is your mouth watering? The good news is, these Mexican fried fritters are easy to make at home. Look who just stepped up their Cinco de Mayo party!
Illustration by Ann Shen for Freutcake
Easy Homemade Churros – via All Recipes
1 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 quarts oil for frying
1/2 cup white sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in flour until mixture forms a ball.
2. Heat oil for frying in deep-fryer or deep skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pipe strips of dough into hot oil using a pastry bag. Fry until golden; drain on paper towels.
3. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Roll drained churros in cinnamon and sugar mixture.
* Instructional video here.
Chocolate Dipping Sauce
3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
Directions:
1. Heat cream in a small sauce pan until small bubbles begin to form around edges of the pan. Do not boil.
2. In a bowl add chopped chocolate and pour hot cream over it to melt. Allow to sit a few minutes before stirring to combine.
Are you throwing a Cinco de Mayo party this year? As it turns out I will be hosting a DIY craft party at Anthropologie the morning of the fifth but I’m sure to have a margarita or two afterward! How will you be celebrating?
1| Anthropologie, Grandiflora Maxi Dress 2| NARS, Red Lizard 3| Big Garden Printed Rug 4| Recipe for Pomegranate Margaritas 5| Mason Jar Cocktail Shaker 6| Crocheted Outdoor Poof
Need a bit more inspiration? Here are a few ideas to make your Cinco de Mayo celebration sparkle: Roasted Jalepeno Blackberry Margaritas // Margarita Cupcakes // Avocado Mango Salsa // DIY Gilded Pinata // Easy Tissue Paper Garland
