Caipirinha Cupcakes with Cachaça Buttercream (a.k.a “The World Cupcakes”)

Caipirinha Cupcakes with Cachaça Buttercream (a.k.a “The World Cupcakes”)

With the World Cup in full swing, the city has come alive with closet soccer fans, and I’m loving every second of it. People who have seemingly never even seen a game before are calling out international players by name, gasping at missed opportunities as if they were as exciting as a ball in the back of the net, and coming out in masses to cheer on the US as they advanced to the knock out rounds. It’s as if they finally understand why soccer/football/fútbol, whatever you call it, is the most exciting game in the world.  Continue reading

Kohlrabi and Summer Squash Fritters with Yogurt-Dill Sauce

Kohlrabi and Summer Squash Fritters with Yogurt Dill Sauce

Kohlrabi and Summer Squash Fritters with Yogurt Dill Sauce

I have made it my mission to cook as many healthy, locally sourced and seasonal recipes as possible this summer.  Not just because it’s summer and I have to be seen in a bathing suit in a week (eek!), but  mostly because when I eat well, I feel well, and that is really the most important thing to me when it comes to my diet eating habits. I hate using the word diet because I really don’t believe in them.  I feel that by restricting the foods I eat I often crave them more, leading to binge eating which is never, ever a good look.  I am quite petite, so I do have to eat less than other non-vertically challenged people, but watching what I eat is far different from restricting what I eat.  As you can see on this here blog, I do have a pretty strong sweet tooth, which I used to always try to deny.  But I found when I didn’t have that cookie, I’d wind up eating 10 later in the week, and that just wasn’t working.  When I allow myself to eat smaller portions of things I like, and truly enjoy them without feeling the guilt, then the cravings disappear and it turns into a lifestyle of conscience eating, rather than endless weeks of diets that fall short.  Continue reading

Kale Salad with Ricotta Salata and Creamy Avocado Dressing

Kale Salad with Ricotta Salata and Creamy Avocado Dressing

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend, Jordan, and I took a much needed long weekend away from the city. I love everything about living in NYC… the energy, the skyline, the food (obviously), the endless list of things to do at any given hour of the day… but let me tell you, it can get to be a lot. The noise, the crowds, the inconvenience of having to be anywhere on time, it can be unbearable sometimes.  If you live in NYC you will absolutely know what I’m talking about.  If you don’t then it’s hard to put into words…it can sort of feel like this.  Especially after this wretched winter, when everyone was surly and miserable because the weather was so incredibly oppressing, we were just over it and needed a weekend away. So we booked a long weekend at a small lake house in the Berkshires.  Just Jordan, our dog Brody and myself.  Continue reading

Rhubarb Coffee Crumb Cake

Rhubarb Coffee Crumb Cake

I used to think that there was nothing better than store-bought Entenmann’s Coffee Crumb Cake.   The outrageous ratio of crumb to cake always seemed like confectionary perfection, and on the rare occassion that my parents would buy it as a treat for Sunday morning I would experience both utter excitement, and then utter regret at having eaten way more than a suggested serving size.  Continue reading