I would like you to meet someone. Her name is Morgan and she’s pretty much my best friend. (Hi Morgan!) We met for the first time at Joey’s family vacation last summer in Indiana and became the best of buds right away. She’s energetic, adorable, smart and loves salad. Seriously. This past fall we met up with Morgan and her family in Minnesota to watch Joey’s brother play football. I arrived at the hotel late on Friday night, went swimming … Read More
Asian-Sesame Fried Rice
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
Vegetarian Sausage and Egg Strata
Happy Monday, everyone! I’m beginning to think that no matter how many days of vacation I take, there will always be that feeling that it was just one day too short. After looking at my piles of laundry, some clean and some not, I feel like I could use one additional day to sort, clean and lay around in my pajamas. Anyone with me? But back to work I go, and to start off the new year and work week … 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
Autumn Chopped Salad
Photo Courtesy of Richard Swearinger, BHG Food Editor Extraordinaire If you’re stopping by from Pinterest, welcome! I’m happy you took the time to visit Espresso and Cream and hope you’ll stay a while. For more information about me and this site, swing by the About Me page at the top. -Madison I love my job. Honestly, if I didn’t there would be something seriously wrong with me. To be surrounded by delicious food and stimulating people day after day is … Read More
Back to Basics: Eggplant (Baba Ganoush)
A few weeks back, I issued a challenge to J. – each week pick out one vegetable you’ve never cooked before and learn how to cook it. I promised to guide him through the process, thinking it would be a less-intimidating way to approach cooking and learning new skills. While I helped him cook asparagus over the phone, I decided I could use a bit of my own advice. Typically, unless I have a specific recipe in mind, I tend … 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
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