Cucumber Lime Slush with Thai Basil

Cucumber Lime Slush with Thai Basil

On Saturday I spent the day doing pre-production for some fun photography projects I’m working on. I can’t wait to share them with you! I really love pre-production days – shopping for groceries and props is great, and I love seeing  a shoot come together. It’s even nicer when I’m sans kids and can concentrate better on what I’m doing. I must have gone to seven or eight different places, and I stopped at World […]

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Thai Cauliflower Rice Salad

The other day I was walking through Trader Joe’s and as I passed by the produce section, I could smell summer. You know that smell? The ripe berries and peaches? Herbs and veggies? I have missed that scent of summer so much. It had me craving a fresh salad with lime dressing – what else? I’ve been all over cauliflower rice the past little while. I don’t know what took me so long to try […]

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Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Avocados

It’s been a little while since I posted a quinoa salad recipe. But that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped making and enjoying them! Sometimes I think if you’ve tasted one quinoa salad, you’ve tasted them all. BUT. This one is really good and not the same as others I’ve made previously. It’s a totally power lunch with all the protein and healthy fats from chickpeas, avocados, coconut, and pepitas. It was a moment of inspiration as […]

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Braised Lentils and Vegetables

This post and recipe are sponsored by Pacific Foods. Thank you for supporting our sponsors so we can bring you great recipes. All opinions expressed are 100% my own. It’s no secret that I am a lover of lentils in all forms. You’ll find many lentil recipes on Cafe Johnsonia. I’m going to add another one – Braised Lentils and Vegetables. I was asked to develop a recipe using new Simply Stock from Pacific Foods. […]

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Tropical Granola

Man, I love homemade granola. Sometimes I forget how much. These days I usually start my day with a green smoothie or juice rather than a bowl of cereal. But honestly, by mid-morning I’m in need of a snack and this tropical granola kind of hits the spot in a way nothing else can. I’ve been making my own for several years now and I love doing it because I am able to control what […]

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Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

A flavorful, veggie-filled vegetarian shepherd’s pie topped with garlic herb mashed potatoes. Gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. Have I already told you how much I love the month of March? I know there are some who aren’t big fans. The weather is a little bipolar – windy and cold one day, warm and sunny the next. The grass starts to turn green, the it snows and there’s a blanket of white. But I still love it. […]

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Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce with Fennel

I really relied on my slow cooker to get me through the winter. I use it almost every day to cook beans and other things. It’s easy for me to accidentally forget to make dinner for my family when I’m working like crazy. Isn’t that ironic? So much food around all the time for various photo and recipe development projects and I still forget to make food for my family. Ha! Well, this slow cooker […]

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Vegan Risotto with Lemon and Asparagus

Whip up a healthy dinner – this vegan risotto with lemon and asparagus is flavorful and easy to make. Last week I learned how to make asparagus risotto. I have made risotto before, but I was never quite sure I was doing it correctly. Watching cooking shows and reading cookbooks helped, but not as much as seeing Chef Aaron from Harmons Grocery making it and then trying it out for myself. This is my version […]

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Slow Cooker Red Lentil Dal Recipe

It’s no secret among people who know me that my very favorite cuisine in the world is Indian, with Thai being a close second, and Mexican coming in third. I will always and forever love Indian food. I could pretty much eat it every day (I almost do in some form or another) and never tire of it. My dream is to one day travel to India and stay for a few weeks or months […]

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Acai Bowl Recipe with Kale and Berries

A few years ago I fell in love with acai bowls. I had never heard of an “acai bowl,” but I was definitely acquainted with acai. We had previously had it in sorbet mixed with chocolate or blueberries, or in powder form. I went to a smoothie bar and tried my first acai bowl. A typcial acai bowl is made with acai puree, bananas, some kind of liquid (usually soy milk), and maybe some other […]

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