Blood oranges are in season right now, and I can’t resist the sweet, ruby-red fruit. It’s reminiscent of a large clementine (in flavor) or tangello – slightly less acidic than a normal orange with a sweeter edge to it. I assisted my food stylist friend Jackie last weekend and volunteered to make a nice breakfast pastry to bring in, so I figured some scones would fit the bill.

And oh me oh my, these are honestly the best scones I have ever had. They aren’t the dense, hard scones you find in your local chain coffee shop. Fragrant and light with the taste of blood oranges plus moist and airy from the use of buttermilk and plumped currants, they really are perfection. Be sure to use sparkling or raw sugar to get that good crunchy crust on top – it makes them extra extra divine.

Currants, pre-plump.

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Some may call this lazy, others (like myself) call it genius.

I saw this on The Kitchn a few days ago, and could not wait to try it. 2-ingredient ice cream you could make and eat within a few hours? Sign me up! All you have to do is chop, freeze, and blend a banana. The natural texture and fat within the fruit lets it blend into a thick, smooth consistency instead of getting crumbly. Stir in some honey roasted peanut butter (ohh, my dearest friend) and you’ve got 2-ingredient ‘ice cream.’

The consistency straight from the blending is like thick soft serve, but you can also freeze it and eat it like normal ice cream too. You can really go nuts with accompaniments (Nutella, chocolate chips, walnuts, etc, spring to mind) so just have fun with it. Plus it can be allergy/lactose/vegan friendly!

Icy bananas.

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Fennel is one of those odd, underused vegetables in an everyday kitchen. It looks like celery, tastes like black licorice, and changes like a chameleon depending on how it’s cooked. But it’s a wonderfully versatile and healthy thing to work with – you just have to give it some time and love.

Incredibly high in vitamin C and fiber, fennel can be served crunchy raw, boiled, braised, baked, and everything in between. The cool thing is, once you bake it, the flavor can change dramatically from pungent and bitter, to sweet and aromatic. If you’re one of the many out there who dislikes its natural black licorice flavor, blanching and baking it is your road to fennel happiness, which you can follow below.

I saw this side dish of baked fennel with parmesan in the latest issue of Everyday Food, and immediately decided to make it. As I wandered around my grocery store trying to come up with something to serve it with, the idea of fennel = fennel seeds = sausage popped into my head. Since Italian sausage traditionally has fennel seeds in it, why not take a plain or non-Italian chicken sausage and bake it with this yummy fennel side dish to get that flavor profile, but in a much more elegant, muted way? Tender and velvety fennel with the rich and robust sausage, the dish is all-season friendly. Plus, the whole thing comes together in under 45 minutes, using only 2 pans, and could easily be served for a hearty lunch or light dinner.

Words cannot describe how much I love this stuff.

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I love Valentine’s Day. As my friend Beth put it the other day, “I don’t care what my romantic situation ever looks like, I will forever get 4th-grade decorate-a-shoebox-for-your-valentines excited for Valentines Day,” and I have to agree. Cards and flowers and chocolate and everything in special boxes and packaging… to me, Valentine’s Day is about love – not romance. It’s a day set aside to appreciate those you love most, regardless if they’re your best friend, spouse, significant other, relative, etc. It’s just an opportunity to show you care, if you want to.

I send cards to those closest to me, give out flowers, and of course, make special treats. Originally I wanted to attempt strawberry macarons for this holiday, but since I’m moving at the end of the month (full oven! fridge! dishwasher in my new place! – HOORAY!) with a better oven in the future, I decided to postpone. These popped up in my daily cookie newsletter from Martha Stewart and sounded delish. Plus I had an entire container of malt powder sans one tablespoon begging to be used.

I had fun renaming these with a little  dry humor knowing a lot of my friends and peers roll their eyes at Valentine’s Day and the entire stigma of it, but it really does fit. The cookies are rich and dark, with such a great added pungent flavor from the malt, and the filling is just so divine. Like drinking a chocolate malt, only in frosting form. How can you eat that and not feel the love?

<3

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-adjusts sword on my belt-

A challenge has been presented! And when a challenge is presented, I shall answer.

My friend Casey recently complimented my blog, but also lamented the lack of vegan-friendly recipes on my site. I’m not one to lie – I don’t eat vegan and rarely cook that way. If there are any vegan recipes on here, it’s purely coincidental. Until now. I promised Casey I would bake vegan, and now I face the gauntlet with this!

I didn’t want to cop out by saying grilled fruit with soy ice cream or coconut milk based pudding or something easy like that. I also didn’t want something that required a list of weird,  hard-to-find substitute ingredients.  I wanted to find something delicious to bake and have the treat just happen to be vegan. And here it is. It’s like a fig newton cookie or toaster strudel on crack. A chewy oatmeal crust with a thick and rich filling of dried figs and dates, sweetened with pure maple syrup. Topped with a super easy vanilla glaze, these are the perfect treat to follow dinner, or even start your day with a good cup of coffee. So here’s to you, Casey! I hope you like them.

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