THIS crazy kid is coming to visit me in less than 12 hours. And although I can’t wait until the days that we no longer have to visit one another, there is something exciting about the anticipation of the weekend. Cleaning the house, putting makeup on and getting ready for him to arrive makes each and every weekend feel special. I love dating my fiancé, and I’m looking forward to dating my husband, too. And until he arrives, I’ll … Read More
Zucchini Spaghetti and a Winner
Happy Monday, everyone! First things first, let me say how much I loved hearing you all talk about what you’re thankful for. Each and every time I read one of your comments it brought a smile to my face and made me think a little more about being thankful in my own life. I really do have the world’s best readers. Secondly, a big congrats is due to Courtney Hughes, the winner of the Trader Joe’s Peanut Flour giveaway! … Read More
Quick Spinach Manicotti
If you are anything like me, you’re a little crunched for time. Whether you’re a mom trying to meal-plan for the week, a student preparing for finals or an editor planning a wedding – time is tight. During the weeknight, after a trip to the gym and a shower, I rely on meals like this. It’s enough to feed a family one night or a couple people for multiple nights. Me? I ate my way through this over the course … Read More
Back to Basics: Roasted Potato Chips
Most of the cooking that goes on in my own kitchen is so simple it’s embarrassing. Sure, there’s always cooking involved and hardly ever any takeout, but simplicity is the name of the game. So with that notion in mind, Espresso and Cream is going back to basics for the next few weeks. I’ll be sharing with you my favorite ways to prepare veggies, simple soups, and other recipes that will make life in the kitchen easier. If you’re someone … Read More
Quinoa with Spicy Tomato Peanut Sauce
I’ve been on a bit of a roll with quinoa lately. I’m not entirely sure why, though I do think it might have something to do with the fact that I’m trying to cut back on the number of dollars spent at the grocery store and use the ingredients I actually have at home instead. When I moved into my apartment 8 months ago my parents took me to Costco to stock up on the basics and get me on … Read More
Greek Salad Pizza
J and I approach food in two completely different ways. It’s almost comical sometimes; the food editor who muses about all things culinary and savors every morsel and the former football player who has spent the last eight years of his life eating for fuel, wolfing down thousands of calories without much of a second thought about the actual taste of his food. I’m working on him, going to places off his beaten path, encouraging him to slow down and … Read More
Rigatoni with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Wednesday night a craving for pumpkin hit me hard. It had been creeping up slowly, after weeks of seeing recipes for pumpkin french toast and pumpkin oatmeal pop up on some of my favorite blogs. And then there was the incessant talk about the return of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte that rang throughout the Twitter universe. Seems like I wasn’t the only one who had pumpkin on the brain. So when Wednesday’s pumpkin craving hit me like a Mack truck, … Read More
Southwestern Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
Wow, thank you all so much for making the one-year anniversary of Espresso and Cream better than I could have imagined. I loved hearing about your favorite desserts and gaining a little insight into who you all are. Day to day I think about what recipes I want to share with the readers on this site without really knowing who those readers really are. Every time you post, comment, or e-mail it gives me a little bit better picture of … Read More
Caramelized Onion, Spinach, and Shiitake Mushroom Pasta
I love weekends. I eat them up, every second of them. And though I can’t say this is anything new, being in a long distance relationship has most certainly caused my weekend love to grow. Last weekend I ventured out to Illinois on a mission to spruce up J.’s apartment and make it feel a little bit more like home before he started life as a working man. For someone who loves to take photos of food, I do a … Read More
Black Bean Veggie Burgers
A few months ago I did something I never thought possible, something a little crazy, a tad unusual, and something that made J’s dad, a cattle farmer, scratch his head in bewilderment. I became a vegetarian. It started over dinner at a Mexican restaurant near my apartment while eating with a good friend. She introduced me to a website of a family living and eating vegan. That means no meat, cheese, milk, yogurt, eggs – basically anything that comes from … Read More
Veggie-Lovers Pesto Pizza
Looking back at my childhood and thinking about the food my mom put on the table each night continually blows me away. Not because the food required complicated cooking methods or multiple-step preparation, but because it was real. Biscuits didn’t come from a can, but from a mixingbowl, beef stew not in a can but from the magical process of stewing beef, potatoes, and carrots. And pizza could be found in the oven in imperfect shapes and layered with homemade … Read More
Super Simple Carrot Soup
This post is going to have to be short and sweet. You see, I’m going away for the weekend. Flying away to be exact. To Colorado for a long weekend of skiing with family and friends. I’ve been skiing since I was very little, but my last ski trip (to Vermont) was more than memorable. It involved a family road trip, a lost driver’s license, and three days of skiing with four Floridians (my sisters, step-mom, and dad) – two … Read More