Brunch!

Hi There! I thought I'd share a couple pics from a brunch I catered last weekend.  

Beautiful photographs by Shea McGuier

Maple Pecan Granola and Straus Yogurt in Jars

Green Bean Bundles and Herb Aioli

Eggs Baked in a Bread Bowl

Maple Pecan Granola (w/ Quinoa Crispy!)

yuuuuuum

I discovered quinoa crispy cereal! Woah I know...exciting right?! They are like rice crispy cereal, only made from quiona.  1 ingredient: organic quinoa!

Happy Day 7... To A New You!

We did it!
I hope you are feeling a little healthier and fabulous this Sunday... I know I am.
To sum up the week:

 When you are feeling happy, healthy and fabulous you will thrive in every area of your life! 

You will be a better mom, lover, friend, and your business/career will thrive when you feel great! 

Happy:  

The most beautiful woman in the room is the happiest woman in the room

  

It is about being content in the moment and appreciating life.  Not taking yourself too seriously.  Surrounding yourself with the people who make you shine, and the people who see you as a star.  Enjoy the sun daily.  Make love and fall in love.

Healthy: 

Your body is a temple

Take care of yourself.  Treat your body well and with kindness.  Eat healthy foods, mainly from the earth.  Sleep at least 7 hours a night.  Wear SPF daily, even in the winter.  Relax, breath and practice your A to ZEN list.  Exercise and move your body every day.

Fabulous:  
When you take care of your appearance you 
feel beautiful and fabulous

When you exercise and eat well you will feel great about yourself.  Not to mention doing the girl things helps with felling beautiful too.  I get my nails done for myself, but because I smile when I look down and see my hands sparkling.  Spend time and $$$ on making yourself feel and look fabulous.  I think it is so funny when people say, "Italian women and French women are so beautiful."  That's because they take care of themselves... in a classy, subtle, chic way.  

Here's how, and I did it all this week too:  Put yourself together daily (that means no lulu lemon unless you're at the gym).  Get your hair professionally done, I'm obsessed with Stephanie at Festoon.  Get your eyebrows done, I love Julie at Lashfully.  Wear your scent, Miss Dior is my current favorite.  Get your nails done, Shelllac is amazing.  

Happy Day 6... To A New You!

What a beautiful day is SF!
I hope everyone else got to enjoy the sunshine!

After a wonderful afternoon spent in the park with a few of my best friends (since middle school!) I realized I don't do this nearly enough.
It is so easy to get caught up in our crazy hectic lives and forget to stop, relax, take a "time out" and breeeeeath.

Today's Tip:
How to find your zen... everyday

Happy Day 5... To A New You!

Remember how I said I ended up going out to dinner at 9:30pm with the Italians i met at MeetUp...? Well, I didn't mention that EACH one of them ordered their OWN pizza!
Anyway, it struck me that every single person sitting at the table was fit and definitely not over weight.
How is this possible?
And that's today's healthy living tip...
How to eat like an Italian and not get fat!
It's simple really and here's how:

Happy Day 4... To A New You!

Today was a whorl wind and it's only getting windier... I just got home from my client's house at 9pm having to write this post (scratch that) wanting to write this post and my camera is acting up... Anyway, today was a perfect example of the inspiration for todays topic...

How to have healthy food in your fridge all the time, that you only have to prep on Sunday, or whatever day works for you.  Making it super easy for you to just grab and reheat a healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner.
So, I had 3 hours between coming home from teaching classes at the gym and going to Marin to cook for clients in their home, to create, cook and photograph the 3 meals.

Not to mention I'm on 4 hours of sleep!  That Italian meetup happy hour I went to last night was a blast!  After 3 hours and 3 glasses of wine my Italian was flowin like a native and I ended up at an Italian restaurant in North Beach with 8 bello Italian men :) So far I'm  LOVIN meetup!

Buckwheat Pancakes with Honey Rum Pecan Sauce

These little guys are somewhere between crepes and pancakes.  The recipe is for crepes though they didn't spread and thin out like crepes should.  So I kept them tiny like little pancakes.

A Whole New Toad In A Hole

Since I was a little kiddo my favorite breakfast has been Toad In A Hole.

It's simply an egg cooked inside a piece of bread and not only is it as cute as can be, but you have your toast right there, ready to soak up the yolkness!

Oh, Honey!

Amaretto and Honey Grilled Bananas

 Amaretto is an Italian, sweet, smooth, almond liquor.  It is wonderful in cookies, and cakes or even savory dishes like lamb.  My dad is a retired Italian man, which mean the 3 liquors always on hand are: grappa, limoncello and amaretto.  A couple other kitchen staples of my parent's are bananas and plain Greek yogurt.  One morning I was staying at my parent's house and decide to throw these flavors together for breakfast.  This is shaping up to be a deliciously spiked Sunday....

The Amaretto and honey are so delicious together! Beware though, I kept making more and before I knew it I had the munchies :o)

Strawberry Sunday

There are few things in life better than waking up on a Sunday with absolutely no obligations and plans.

To have the whole day to do whatever makes you happy... How often does this happen, really!?

I love a culinary challenge and any opportunity to get creative in the kitchen.  I thought, "Well, I have a big carton of strawberries, why not make every meal today involve strawberries somehow!?"

And that's what I did: created, cooked and indulged in 3 meals plus dessert!

Breakfast:

Baked Strawberry Oatmeal Crumble

Lunch:

Melting Cambozola, Strawberry and Thyme Crostini

Dinner:

Seared Ahi Tuna with Strawberry Salsa

Dessert:

Chocolate Lava Cake with Strawberry Coulis

What a delicious Sunday!

I'll write down my recipes before I forget, and post soon.

Marinated Feta and Roasted Asparagus on Crostini

Oh my gosh, talk about a party in my mouth! This was inspired by the pound of asparagus lingering in my fridge and my latest obsession with marinated feta.  Well, not to mention, I had an hour to think about what to have for breakfast as I was waiting for my car tire to be patched (I'm always driving over nails!)
Oh I just thought of something great! How delicious would a poached egg be on top? So the order would be: toast, asparagus, egg, crumbled feta.
Ah, I cant wait to try it! can't it be tomorrow morning already!?

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding

 This delicious bread pudding was inspired by my mom's famous french toast.  She would soak cinnamon raisin bread in eggs, vanilla and milk overnight to really allow the flavors to come together and the bread to get nice and soft.  I have many memories of waking up to the smell of sweet cinnamon aromas coming from the kitchen

Savory Breakfast Cake

I'm a firm believer that Brunch is not complete without eggs

Berry Parfait with Homemade Granola

Easy Peasy...

How to Host a Brunch (and still Sleep In and go for a Run)!

The key to hosting a stress free brunch is serving dishes that can be prepared the night before.
Friends were asked to arrive at 9 and we had planned to take off for 3 mile run by 9:30.
This gave us just the right amount of time to throw things in the oven before heading out, and 30 minutes later be greeted by the welcoming aromas coming from the kitchen as we run through the front door.

Comfy Cozy Breakfast for the "wait, what, it rained last night!?" kind of morning

Raisin Bread Pudding

This breakfast was inspired by nothing other than the neglected Raisin Bread waiting untouched and unloved for a month in my freezer :(

Granola

This is so delicious over plain Greek yogurt

and topped with fresh berries

Ok, this is as healthy and low fat as Granola can get

I used apple sauce as the sweetener, along with vanilla extract and a tad bit of honey.

I added cinnamon, flax seeds and raw nuts too for flavor and nutritional and medicinal purposes.

Studies show that cinnamon helps to stabilize blood sugar and especially good to have first thing in the morning, while flax seeds provide omegas (healthy fats) and are high in protein and fiber.

Baked Eggs

Ah I love this breakfast!

Not only is it adorable, it is also delicious and super easy to make

Breakfast Fit for A Queen

Oatmeal in a Squash Bowl

Have I mentioned I'm in love with squash?

I dread the day they are no longer in season... :o(