Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and this year the holiday falls on a Sunday, so what better way to celebrate than with a cozy brunch at home with your loved one! I love the idea of making the brunch festive with some heart shaped pancakes! This is my favorite pancake recipe and it was so easy to make these heart shaped pancakes using a pancake mold like this one. You could also use a cookie cutter, just be careful that the cookie cutter will be hot when you lift it. 

Key lime pie is my absolute favorite dessert! I love the refreshing flavor of the tart but sweet custard combined with the graham cracker crust. It's a light dessert that I would eat everyday if I could. 

Growing up, I loved baking blueberry muffins. However, I usually made them from a pre-made box mix instead of from scratch because I did not have a good recipe for them. After recently craving blueberry muffins, I knew it was time to finally find a good from scratch recipe. I searched around reading reviews for a number of recipes and finally decided on this one with a couple tweaks. I added more blueberries for a burst of blueberry flavor and topped them with sugar to get a nice crispy muffin top. The resulting muffins were delicious and tender and better than any of the pre-made boxes I made as a kid. I've written out my tweaked recipe here.

Growing up my grandparents had a garden where they would grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. Every year they would always have an abundance of rhubarb and my grandma would make rhubarb jam. She would always give my family a couple jars. As a kid though, I did not like it and couldn't understand who could like something so bitter. I avoided rhubarb for years because of it. A few years ago, I finally tried it again and loved the sourness. Now every year I look forward to picking up some rhubarb to make some type of sweet from a classic strawberry rhubarb pie to a rhubarb cordial. I simply can't get enough of it!

I recently came across this recipe for rhubarb scones and quickly added them to my must bake list. They were easy to make with a handful of ingredients (I used regular sugar instead of the called for vanilla sugar) and the scones ended up with the perfect balance between sweet and sour. To take them one step further, when serving I topped them with clotted cream (cream cheese would also work) and strawberry jam. The result was the ideal breakfast or afternoon treat to pair with a cup of tea.

One of my favorite parts of Fall is the abundance of all things apple. From apple cider to apple pie, I love them all! Given my love for this fall fruit, I decided to change things up for breakfast and serve a fall inspired meal. For the main dish, I made my favorite pancakes, swapping the bananas for apple sauce, and served them with sautéed apples on top. To go along with the pancakes, I served pumpkin macarons (a la Trader Joes) and Harney & Sons Cinnamon Spice tea. It was the perfect breakfast for a crisp Fall weekend morning and makes me wish I could have it for breakfast everyday!

I have been trying to eat healthier as of late, so when I have a craving for sweets, I make this delicious peanut butter and banana smoothie. It’s based off a similar one I had at Juice Generation and is so easy to make with only a few ingredients. To make, blend together 1 frozen banana, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, and one cup almond milk. Then add ice cubes if you prefer icier smoothies, I normally add 3-4 ice cubes, and blend until smooth. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

During our trip to Italy in the Fall, I fell in love with the pairing of Parma Ham, a specific type of prosciutto, and buffalo mozzarella. Consequently, since this trip, every time I am in the neighborhood of Eataly, I can’t resist stopping in to get some of each. The last time I did this, I ended up buying too much parma ham, and chose to use the left overs for a brunch crostini. To make, I used toasted baguette slices and topped them with ricotta, the Parma Ham, sliced pears, a pinch of Maldon salt, and a drizzle of olive oil and honey. The result was a simple dish full of flavor and a perfect balance between savory and sweet. Next time, I will be buying extra Parma Ham on purpose.

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and if you are still looking for last minute gift ideas for friends and family, I recommend making these M&M cookies. They don’t take long to bake up and with the pink, red, and white M&Ms are a festive sweet treat. If you want take them a step further, you can put the cookies in treat bags with other Valentine’s candy for an even more special gift. I hope you all have a great weekend and a fantastic Valentine’s Day!

The last couple days have been full of lots of snow on the East Coast, so I have been spending my days inside staying warm and cozy. On Winter days like these, hot chocolate is one of my favorite things to have. This last time I made some, I decided to make the hot chocolate healthier by substituting almond milk for whole milk. Then to add a twist, I spiced the hot chocolate with chipotle and cinnamon to balance out the richness of the chocolate. The result was a healthier version of a favorite decadent and delicious treat!

When I was home over the holidays, my sister made this potato leek soup recipe for our family and it was a hit! For a twist from the original recipe, she topped the soup with pomegranate seeds and pancetta and it really elevated the flavors to another level. I have since made the soup back in New York and it’s the perfect dinner after a cold winter day.