Over the last year, Wolf has been on a mission to get back in shape and now he's been doing various half marathons and triathalons. As his diet shifted from calorie restricted to training, one of the most surprising transformations is that his palate seems to have changed as well. I used to be the only java junkie in the house, the one who fangirled over Blue Bottle coffee and sought out Stumptown Stubbies in the summer. And now, I’m not alone.
Sometimes you just need things to be easy and uncomplicated. To cap off a long week, you want something familiar. Something simple and delicious. That’s what this chocolate pudding is, just simple. No parfait treatments or graham cracker crusts or whipped cream dollops here -- just good ol' pudding. Where the box variety suggests chocolate flavor, this pudding doesn’t skimp. It's sweet, simple, and seriously chocolatey without being too rich.
While I’ve been waiting for stone fruit to really come in full force, I’ve been baking cookies. It started with some gluten-free peanut butter oat cookies from this month’s mailer from PCC, our local market. Then, the Spice Cookies from Jerusalem. Now, Cowboy Cookies…oats, pecans, chocolate chips, a little coconut. This time, with olive oil instead of butter. There are worse ways to pass the time.Rhubarb is perpetually stuck in the Friend Zone, like that friend you’ve known your whole life, but you just didn’t see him that way. Every spring, rhubarb kicks off farmers market season in the Pacific Northwest, but all you have eyes for are the asparagus and peas. Last week at the market, I snapped a few photos of rhubarb but otherwise passed it by. Then, with a nudge from Hannah’s rhubarb cranachan (think oaty rhubarb jam parfait) over at Blue Kale Road, I put this crazy red celery-looking fruit on the shopping list.
After spending a long winter in the deep freeze, it’s about time to dust off the ol’ Zoku popsicle maker. If like me, you’re not quite ready to go blending up those beautiful strawberries for a taste of spring, there is another flavor that can put you in mind of sunshine and take you right out to the desert. Dates. And in this case, we’re talkin’ about a Banana Date Shake Zoku pop.
I’m half Japanese, so tofu has been part of my diet from the get-go. But it was walled off in savory recipes – stir fries, doused with shoyu and green onions, bobbing around in miso soup. Never in sweets. Never. When tofu ice creams came on the scene, I wrinkled my nose. I could eat dairy no problem, why would I eat tofu ice cream? Fast forward to this past November, when I went in for a blood test and came out with slightly elevated cholesterol levels. I wasn’t in the danger zone, but it sure gets you thinking about what you’re eating, especially when you thought you were doing pretty well. It’s gotten me to consider things I never would have before, like this lemon pudding with coconut oat crumble.