quinoa pancakes with caramelized apples + hazelnuts // gluten-free

For my first recipe of 2013, I hope you weren't expecting a salad or a smoothie. 

Now is probably a good time to tell you that I don't really do resolutions. Not to discourage the cleansers and the dieters - I'm proud of you, yay! - but I do believe that we should be making good decisions to eat healthier all year round, not just in January. 

I do feel it is important to take the time to reflect on the past year and think about what was good and what was maybe not so good and make slight life adjustments accordingly.

If I ate too many pieces of pie last year, maybe I try to not eat so much pie this year. 

If I didn't eat enough kale last year (not really possible), maybe I try to eat more kale this year. 

If I drank one too many glasses of champagne at a christmas party (that may have happened), maybe I try to drink one less next time. 

Cutting things out of your life that you enjoy are only going to make you want them twice as much, at least that is what happens to me. So, I prefer to make little changes in order to create more balance. 

Balance. 

That's what it is all about, isn't it?

Okay, onto pancakes. 

I've been on a bit of a pancake kick lately. More than normal. 

I guess I was feeling like I needed some more pancakes in my life ... you know, to balance things out. 

I made these pancakes with a mixture of quinoa flour and white rice flour, which turned out to be a pretty nice gluten-free blend. The only thing I would mention is that they do have a strong quinoa flavor .... so if you you want more of a subtle quinoa taste, feel free to lessen the ratio of quinoa flour. Say more like 3/4 cups of white rice flour and 1/4 cup of quinoa flour. 

If you did make resolutions, I hope that they are ones that you will benefit from all year and bring balance (and maybe some extra pancakes) to your life. 

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baked apples with pomegranates + pistachios

I just found out yesterday that I am cooking + hosting Thanksgiving this year. Despite the last minute notice (ahh .. panic!), I could not be more excited. 

For the past few years, we have gone out to eat for Thanksgiving with the whole family. It may sound weird, especially for someone who cooks for a living, but we loved it. We would get all dressed up and have an absolutely stunning meal, and after hours of feasting we could simply get up from the table and go home. No mess, no dishes, we would get all of the fun and none of the responsibility. It had become our new favorite family tradition.

But, to be honest, a small part of me missed cooking for Thanksgiving. It's obvious I love to cook, but Thanksgiving is the opportunity to cook one of the most special meals of the year. It's the chance for me to wake up super early to prep, to set a beautiful table, and go overboard on dessert. It's the excuse for me to cook way more food than we could ever eat and not feel like I overdid it.

So when Michael called me up yesterday to tell me that we could not get a reservation at the place we've been going to for the past three years, I got really excited. 

I really should be menu planning and shopping right now, but before I go off and do that I wanted to share these apples with you. I actually came up with this recipe for a weekly series I am doing for The Conversation, but I really wanted to share these here as well because I think these baked apples will definitely make an excellent (+ healthy) addition to the Thanksgiving dessert table ... in between all the pies and cookies, of course. 

To get the recipe for baked apples with pomegranates + pistachios ... click here.

vegan apple pear pie with a maple walnut crunch

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crispy brussels sprout salad with apples and walnuts

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fig & apple quinoa crisp

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