We’re almost ready to take off on vacation for two weeks in the Mediterranean. But first I wanted to leave you with one of the handful of recipes I made with my friend Lauren when she was in town. We baked our hearts out and this cake was one of two.

Now before you gag at the thought of white beans in a cake, let me tell you how they were prepared. First you puree cooked white beans until smooth. Then you mix it into the batter. You might think it will taste bean-y, judging by the first lick of the batter spoon, as did I. But once you bake this beauty you’ll be surprised at how beans and this cake could possibly be in the same name. It’s dense and sweet and given added flavor from freshly toasted coconut.  This is a cake I would keep on a regular rotation in our house.

Give it a shot. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I’ll try my best to get a recipe or two on here while we’re away. In the meantime I will be on my Instagram  and Facebook if you want to follow me on my travels.

This recipe was adapted from Joy the Baker via Everyday Food

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One of my dearest friends from the West Coast came to visit us with her husband this weekend. We shopped, we baked, we laughed, we cried, then laughed some more. And then we made chapstick. Life couldn’t be sweeter than having a friend you can do all of this with. It’s good for the soul.

Each flavor makes 5 sticks of chapstick. I bought my chapstick containers here. And found these pretty stickers here. Any labeling sticker works.

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Don’t ask me why it has taken over a year to get this drink on here. When new friends come over, we convince them that they have to, have to try this drink before they leave. Because of our pushy ways, we’ve converted hoards of friends onto Palomas. It has finessed and established itself in our household as our go-to weekend (*cough*…weekday) drink. Let’s just say this modest drink is ridiculously good.

Like good you can’t stop drinking good.

So good it’s refreshing good.

It’s life changing, all with its mere less than a handful of ingredients.

Consider yourself forewarned.

I liken it to a margarita, but with more spritz and pizazz, and not as sweet. Mark came up with this after trying a drink out of a can, called a Paloma, from a Hispanic grocery store in town. He reverse-engineered it to perfection.

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Our house has been filled to the gills with fresh asparagus. I’ve been pickling them, sauteing them, baking them and now topping pizza with them. I might have a slight addiction. I made a flat bread pizza because I like my pizza as thin and crispy as possible. The flat bread I used was the new Flat Out Thin Crust flat bread. It’s perfect for thin-crust-pizza lover’s out there, like moi. To make this a party in my mouth I made sure to thinly shave the asparagus so it was as equally paper-thin as the prosciutto was. I wanted the two competing ingredients to equally shine. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

Flat Out is having a giveaway for a 2-night trip for two to Chicago to experience the food festival, Taste of Chicago 2013. Details to enter into the giveaway are below.
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Our house has been absolutely pitiful. Pitiful for the past few days with a nasty stomach bug, starting with our little guy first, then creeping its way to me, then the hubsters. Knocking us down, one. by. one. It’s one of those sicknesses you feel that you’ll never re-coop from, but you do, and then you feel great the next day. That’s me today, but I’m staying cautious. As I nurse my family back to good health, I thought an uber-green brothy soup would be the ticket to help us back onto our feet again.

Inspired by the Super Natural Cooking Cookbook

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We’re planning a trip to Europe this May for our five year anniversary. We’re excited and terrified at the same time. Excited to go and explore and relax and soak up another culture. And terrified because we’ll be bringing our 1 1/2 year old with us. Talk about an adventure, right? We might be crazy, but we’re doing it anyway – we’re a wild bunch. I’m sure I’ll have quite a few stories for you once we get back.

But in the meantime, let’s eat bread together.

Baguettes will always and forever make me think of picnics that we took on our honeymoon in Europe, eating one with a big hunk of cheese and gazing up at the clouds. It’s a simplistic and sweet feeling that rushes through me and reminds me to slow down and enjoy life.

More importantly, enjoy life with this bread. Along with some cheese, and quite possibly a smear of jelly too. Is it that much to ask for?

 This bread is none other than outstanding. I honestly was impressed by it. It is at it’s best flavor on the day it’s baked. With my leftover bread I made homemade croûtons. A nice strata would also be terrific here.

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes

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I’ve been nose deep in The Little Paris Kitchen cookbook I had been eagerly waiting to receive last week. The pictures are stunning and the recipes sound equally amazing. Once I thumbed over to the page where it read, Fromage Frais (Fresh cheese in French) I knew it was something I had to make – now. I was amazed at how simple the process was and how few ingredients it called for. Milk, lemon juice and yogurt. Once I made my first batch, ideas began to flood my brain. Ideas of mixing this with fresh herbs, like basil, thyme, oregano. You can take this cheese anywhere – savory or sweet. I really loved it as it was shown in the book, simply drizzled with honey on bread.

If I had to compare this cheese to another, I would say it tastes most similar to mozzarella cheese, with texture of ricotta.

Make this for an appetizer to go along with sliced bread or crackers at your next dinner party, or do it like me, just for the heck of making fresh cheese!

Bon appetit!

Boil milk, yogurt and lemon juice together until curds and whey begin to separate.

It will look similar to cottage cheese right before it is ready to strain.

Place a fine sieve over a large bowl and then line the sieve with cheese cloth (I tripled layered my cheese cloth).

Pour curds and whey into the cheese cloth lined sieve, letting all of the liquid drain off into the bowl.

Twist ball of cheese to help remove any excess liquid from the cheese. Carefully discard hot liquid.

Tie cheese cloth onto a wooden spoon and let hang over a bowl, without it touching the bottom so that any remainder liquid can drip off. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight.

Peel off cheese cloth and you’re left with one big hunky ball of cheese. But WAIT! it’s not ready yet. You need to season it with some salt. Trust me, you don’t want to skip this part…

Break cheese ball up in a bowl using a fork or clean hands. Pour in two tablespoons of heavy cream and salt and give it a good stir until well combined. Spoon onto toast or fresh warm bread.

Then taste-test it. If it needs it, add more salt or cream.

Spoon it on some fresh bread and add a heavy drizzle of honey and fresh berries. When in season, fresh figs would be killer with this.

Its heavenly…

This recipe was adapted from The Little Paris Kitchen cookbook.

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My friend Monica came up with this DIY. It’s pretty awesome and I’m hooked on it. I made a few Easter-themed bowls and a plate and now I can think of 1,001 other ideas and themes for these bowls. I found each glass bowl and plate for under $2 and I have a bin full of fabric so this is the kind of  project that’s easy on the wallet.

Something like this would make a great housewarming gift, tailored to the persons favorite colors and style.  Or!… I just thought of this – it could also make for a great “adult-style” Easter basket  (since it’s made out of glass). Just some ideas for ya!

Find your favorite fabric (patterns are best) and glue it to the bottom of a clear glass bowl or plate. It’s great to use for snacks at parties or to hold jewelry, if you’re using a smaller dish.

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Growing up we celebrated Easter by getting new dresses for church and an Easter basket full of dyed hard-boiled eggs, malt balls, and Raisinets. After church our Grandmother would take my sister, cousin and myself downtown to see the play “Simon Peter.” Those were sweet childhood memories for us. It was fun and it was our tradition as youngsters. Once we became ornery, rebelling teenagers, going to see a play wasn’t considered “fun” anymore. So the tradition ended at about age 15-16.

Now that all of us “youngsters” have families of our own I wanted to create a new family tradition – an Easter egg hunt.

The idea was inspired by my best friend Joy’s family. She has 7 siblings, including herself and every Easter her parents throw a BIG Easter egg hunt. The eggs are filled with money to make it exciting for everyone to join in. They have one gold egg stuffed with a big prize. That puppy typically has a twenty dollar bill, sometimes a fifty hidden inside. The golden egg is always what really fuels the hunt. Everyone wants to get their paws on it.

Since my family typically has different things going on Easter day, I thought it’d be nice to host an Easter Egg Hunt Brunch Party the Sunday before. It’s a good excuse to get the family together for some fun. Most of the eggs had candy in it and some had change like quarters, dimes and nickels. Then I found a large gold egg and put a dollar bill in it for the “big prize.” Each year I may make it a bigger prize ($$), but our kids are young enough now that it makes for a good starting point.

For the adults we had brunch, pot-luck style, with endless glasses of mimosas and a build-your-own-crepe station. The kids had a blast. Our family and friends had a blast. I think this has officially become a new family tradition. :)

Our build-your-own-crepe station had a good selection of toppings that consisted of cinnamon & sugar, Nutella, lemon curd, cookie butter, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, whipped cream and ham & swiss for a savory crepe. It was delish, to say the least. To wash it all down endless glasses of mimosas were served….and guzzled.

My little one found it more fun to collect rocks and twigs than  actual Easter eggs. *sigh*

I found this egg in our apple tree the morning after. I wonder how many other loose eggs are around the yard?

Make sure you count the eggs in your basket (hehe) before you hide them. Not knowing how many eggs you hid and how many were found can lead to finding eggs randomly throughout the year.

We counted ours before and after, but we must have missed a couple…

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Springtime always makes me think of brunches and being outside. I’m throwing an Easter egg hunt party this weekend with family and friends and brunch will be served along with some well deserved mimosas. Mimosas are the other thing I think of when its Spring.  I’m making traditional mimosas but also some with a few twists. This one being a blood orange mimosa. It’s pretty to look at and delicious going down. Just like your traditional mimosas but with a color boost from the juice of blood oranges. It makes for a beautiful drink that’s totally drink worthy.

It got me thinking of other ways I could tweak a mimosa. Maybe a Meyer lemon mimosa… grapefruit mimosa…orange-ginger mimosa…strawberry-orange mimosa…*drool*

I think a build-your-own-mimosa bar will be in order for my party on Sunday while the kids hunt for their eggs. Just saying.

Now all this talk of mimosas is making me thirsty.

Do you know what the best thing about making, photographing and writing about a blood orange mimosa is?

Drinking it in the end.

Cheers to that.

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After our house renovation this past summer some of our old rooms got put on the back burner. One major room that got neglected and used for storage more than an actual room was Mark’s old office which is now a guest room (cough…junk collector). It needed a little TLC. I’ve already been a big fan of Target’s home decorating line, Threshold, so when I got the opportunity to makeover one of my rooms I jumped at the chance. This change has been a long time coming.

We painted the room blue a couple of years ago and had no desire to repaint it when it became our guest room. The color is a muted blue and most colors go well with it so it was a good palette to start with. I’ve always loved blues and reds together so I aimed for that color combination. I found the perfect hue of red-coral in a duvet cover and pillow case set and a few throw pillows to tie it all in. Then for good measure I added a mirror to hang above the bed frame (also to hide that sad hole in the wall). The headboard was a project I did a few weeks ago. I will be sharing it in a DIY post in the next coming weeks.

Our guestroom BEFORE the makeover. It was a little boring and uninspired. It needed some help.

And here’s the guest room AFTER the makeover. I love the bright colors and how it exudes the feeling of Spring. The throw pillows tie in the duvet comforter beautifully.

Now I just need some house guests! (Pegah, Lauren, Joy, Kelsey…I’m talking to you!)

Adding this funky mirror dolled up the wall above the headboard perfectly.

I love this sweet little ceramic bird as an accent on the nightstand.

I love our new guest bedroom look – it’s bright and inviting and perfect for Spring.

This inspires me to makeover some other rooms in our house.

This can turn into trouble…fast.

It’s the right mix of classic and modern. An effortless elegance. Beautiful, yet affordable. Designed for a lifetime of housewarmings. It’s everything you’ll love about your home.

“Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Target via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Target”

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With Easter quickly approaching I figured I’d better get as many treats in as I can. I made this for a party I hosted last week. I’m crazy about butterscotch so this was right up my alley. Only three ingredients needed to make one super easy and festive treat.

This recipe got me thinking about how glorious peanut butter chips would taste in with this and chocolate eggs on top. Or even Reese’s peanut butter chocolate eggs on top? YES, please!! I mean I don’t think you can go wrong with either of these combos, they’re just too cute and too good to pass up.

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I absolutely adore this. Are you looking for a fun new way to decorate your Easter eggs this year? It doesn’t get any cuter than this. Simple hard-boiled eggs dyed like you normally would, then decorated with eyes, beaks and bunny ears for a festive Easter Basket.

Cut out small diamond-shape beaks from orange construction paper and fold it in half. Position the beak where you want it and then place a small pin-drop size of crafting glue on the back to hold it together. For the eyes I used a mini-hole puncher and punched out a couple of sets using black construction paper. Same goes here using a pin-drop size of glue to attach the eyes. For the bunny ears I cut out petal shaped ears in white and a mini version in light pink. Glue the small pink one on the inside of the white one. Fold both ears at the bottom a half-inch in. Position ear where you want it and glue folded bottom onto egg. For the eyes, do the same as you did for the chicks. For the mouth, I used a black fine-point marker to draw on the nose and mouth.

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I’m knee deep making everything I can get my hands on from scratch. I am constantly amazed at how easy things are made when you actually look into how they are made. Right now I have two huge jars full of whole pickled cucumbers, cucumber spears and a variety of vegetables. And there’s exactly one more week before I can sink my teeth into one.

I can’t wait to put some of those pickled green beans in a bloody mary. Yeah, I went there.

This recipe fits into 4-half gallon mason jars. It really depends how tightly packed each jar is. If you have extra brine and vegetables left over make a smaller jar of pickled cucumber chips or veggies.

Recipe adapted from Homemade Pantry Cookbook

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I’m ecstatic about launching Eliza Domestica’s fresh new look. I enjoyed the entire creative process of the designing the new look and give mucho thanks to my amazing web designer who made it happen. There will be minor tweaks here and there to smooth out any rough spots.

I’ve changed up a few category names, but all of your favorite posts are still there, just categorized in a better fashion. There will be an option to “Print Recipe” on each post, a feature I’ve been wanting for a while.

I have new links to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr and Instagram.

At the bottom of each post there will be two thumbnail rows of “similar” posts for more recipes to explore.

If you haven’t noticed already, I removed the Mama & Baby from the category bar and replaced it with Mash Your Heart Out.

Mash Your Heart Out is a baby blog I started last year when my son started to eat solid foods. I loved it then and want to expand it more with a little TLC.  I transferred all of the old Mama & Baby posts over to Mash Your Heart Out. You’ll still be able to find DIY Finger Paints, Leg Warmers and Purées galore, and the very popular Baby Banana Bread (no sugar, no eggs) just like you did on Eliza Domestica.

In the next couple of weeks Mash Your Heart Out will eventually have the same look and feel of Eliza Domestica as far as aesthetics go.  You’ll find baby and kid friendly recipes, kid-crafts, party ideas, nursery themes, product/toy reviews and traveling tips. If you’re a new or seasoned parent, grandparent or parent-to-be, come on over. It’ll be a fun adventure and hopefully full of inspiration.

Because I’m so happy about the site’s new look I want to thank you for coming to my little neck-of-the-internet. With that I’m giving away a brand new Cuisinart Mini 3-cup Food Processor. It has been one of the most used appliances in my kitchen for the past 7 years. I make pesto, nut butter, compound butter, pico de gallo, and flours in it. A great tool (and time-saver) to have in the kitchen.

One lucky winner will get to pick the color of their choice (22 colors to choose from!). Details on how to enter below.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats, Colleen!!

All giveaways are sponsored by yours truly, unless otherwise stated.

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I’m thrilled to say that Eliza Domestica’s new website look will be launching, if all goes well, sometime next week. It’s a fresh change and I hope all of you love it as much as I do. In the meantime, here’s some killer brittle.

This brittle is made with honey, seeds, pistachios and makes a phenomenal road snack, afternoon munchies attack, or a crunchy after dinner sweet treat. This is something I would also categorize as a great traveling snack to keep stashed away on a plane or long road trip.

Seed & Nut Honey Brittle recipe notes – You can play around with your nuts and seeds here. I made a batch with pepitas that was lovely and a batch with sesame seeds that added a wonderful flavor. 

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This Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Skillet is truly the breakfast of champions. It also happens to be the lunch and dinner of champions too (that’s how we roll around here). I have a feeling I’ll be making more this week since a certain little picky eater can’t get enough of it. And I’m sure once I bake another big batch he’ll just push it away with disgust, because that’s how things work with this certain little picky-eating-toddler. But I’ll take my chances because I have a feeling the adults in the house will manage just fine polishing this off any time of the day.

Now back to my pile of dirty laundry, sticky floors and messy kitchen. (sigh)

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Spring is around the corner and for the first time I can totally believe it. 2013 has been a busy year so far. I’m loving the upbeat pace that’s going on and hope to keep the momentum up throughout the year.

I’ve been working hard with a designer to create a new  look for Eliza Domestica (its been a long time coming). We’re almost done and I can’t wait to share the new look with you! There will be a few changes, but all good ones. I hope.

This month I’ve worked-out harder than I ever have since my son was born…um, 18 months ago (my waistline is proof of it, eek!!). Waking up at 5am every morning makes me appreciate the sunrises just a little bit more, when I would otherwise be in my cozy, warm, ooh so warm bed. I keep reminding myself it’s worth it.

I had some good laughs catching up with an old friend visiting from Chicago last week. We ate amazing food here and drank my new obsession, Pisco Sour, here. I never thought I would love a drink made of raw egg whites until this came along. A girlfriend introduced it to me a few weeks ago and I’ve had it on four separate occasions since then, and have plans for more this weekend. Its a Peruvian drink made of raw egg whites, Pisco (a style of brandy known in Peru), bitters and a couple of other ingredients. Everything is shaken vigorously until it forms a meringue-like top. So good, so good. If you haven’t tried one yet, you must. Live a little.

Got a sweet unexpected surprise from my hubby the day before V-Day. I’m a sucker for fresh flowers and he knows it.

Snuggled A LOT with this little snuggle-bunny over the weekend. He’s good at that, and so am I.

Then I thumbed through my favorite cookbook of the moment, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Deb Perelmen knows how to inspire and excite me back into cooking just when I begin to feel a little ho-hum about it all. Her recipes and pictures are truly drool-worthy. Thinking of making this yellow cake with berry frosting for my sister’s birthday this Wednesday.

Watched Silver Linings Playbook yesterday. Without a doubt my new favorite film of 2013. Or at least until The Great Gatsby opens. ;)

Because I loved that movie so much, and because I haven’t had a giveaway in a while, and because I wouldn’t be here without all of you, I’m giving away a $25 gift card to Fandango.

That way you can watch whatever tickles your fancy.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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I love this. It’s one of those things you want simmering in the background after a night of baking fish for dinner. It cleanses the air, if you will.

Or when you change your cat litter box.

Or your baby’s dirty diaper.

Its just nice to have something pleasant to smell once in a while, you know?

This is also something where most of you might even have all the ingredients for already in your home. We’re lucky enough to have two big rosemary bushes in our backyard so that took care of that. I typically have some sort of citrus lying around the kitchen too. The lemon/rosemary combination is definitely my favorite DIY home fragrance so far.

There are different methods to making home fragrances but I like the stove-top method best. The important part is to make sure you set a timer and check on it from time to time. If the water runs low you’ll want to add more to the pot. This can be re-heated for the next day, or until it stops smelling fresh.

Play around with herbs, spices and fruits you have. Citrus seems to hold up the best and release the most fragrance.

Pour two cups of water into a small simmering pan. Add a handful of rosemary, 1 sliced lemon, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Add more water as it cooks down. I keep a timer set for an hour and check on the water level. If it looks low, I add a cup of water to the pot.

Here’s a list of some pleasantly fragrant combinations -UPDATE: If using oranges/grapefruit, us only the rind as cooking it down tends to make the water a bit syrupy. You can prep each fragrance in advance and keep it in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. When I use an extract or essential oil, a teaspoon or a couple of drops works well.

1 sliced lemon, 2 springs of rosemary and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 sliced orange and a few drops of grapefruit essential oil

1 sliced grapefruit and a few drops of peppermint oil

1 sliced orange, 1 tablespoon sliced ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 sliced lemon and a few drops of peppermint oil

2 sliced limes and 3 springs of thyme

3 sliced lime, 1/3 cup cranberries and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 sliced lime, 1 sliced lemon and 1 sliced orange

A few springs of pine and 2 bay leaves with a whole nutmeg

1 sliced orange and 3 cinnamon sticks

adapted from The Yummy Life

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I always love making fun crafts with my nieces and son. It’s even more fun when its centered around a holiday. For these Valentine’s Day cards I bought a pack of blank cards for a $1 and some stickers at Michael’s. Trace around your child’s hand with a marker or a crayon and let them have fun with the rest by coloring and placing stickers all over it.

Maybe your kid is a little squirmy during your hand tracing, and that’s okay. It’s all about creating memories and keepsakes.

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