homemade almond milk, four ways.

Let’s talk about almond milk!

As you may or may not know, I don’t particularly care for plain milk. My tummy doesn’t particularly care for plain milk, either. Some people call it lactose intolerance, but I prefer the term “milk poisoning.”

Oh, you better believe I consume my fair share of dairy products. Butter? By the ton! Ice cream and milkshakes? All of them, in my mouth, immediately, if not sooner. But if I don’t want to succumb to the awfulness that is milk poisoning, I have to take these magic little pills before I dive face-first into an ice cream sundae. Milk pills, as I call them, are truly a miracle of modern science. But I don’t want to take them every day!

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almond joy coconut macaroons.

Are you in the market for a simple Passover dessert that actually tastes good?

I remember every Seder we went to when I was little served those ultra-dry, hard as a rock macaroons that come in a can. Those things are dry, lifeless and basically a total bummer. The adults at the table would always dunk them in coffee and proceed to chase each bite with even more coffee. Dessert shouldn’t ever be something that requires liquid courage and a chaser, friends.

The coconut macaroons we’d enjoy the rest of the year were always so much better. Crisp on the outside, light and chewy inside. Our family’s macaroon recipe is nothing short of perfect. They are everything a coconut macaroon should be. Unfortunately, they contain flour, which isn’t exactly kosher for Passover.

This year, I decided to try and make a batch of Passover macaroons that people might actually want to eat.

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wedding wednesday: the rehearsal dinner!

It’s been nearly four (!) months since my favorite boy and I got hitched. I’ve gotten an overwhelming request to share all the intimate details from our wedding, so I’m launching a new series today: Wedding Wednesdays!

Why a series? Great question!

1. There’s a lot of of details to talk about! We incorporated DIY touches into nearly every aspect of our wedding, so naturally, there’s a lot I want to show you everything!

2. There are a TON of photos. Like, a ridiculous amount of amazing, sweet, gorgeous, hilarious photos. I’ve been dying to share them with you, and it’s gonna happen. I might overshare, who knows?

3. I spent two years planning our dream wedding and countless hours making it a reality. It would really be a shame not to give our wedding the proper write-up I think it deserves!

Each Wednesday, I’ll be sharing a piece of our wedding with you, beginning with the rehearsal dinner the evening before, and all the way until the last dance. It’s going to be a little bit epic.

And when I’m done with wedding recaps, the next series will be all about our amazing European honeymoon! Now you have plenty of exciting things to look forward to, right?

Okay, let’s get this show on the road!

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naturally dyed easter eggs.

Easter eggs!

I honestly don’t even want to write any words for this post, because these eggs are so gorgeous. They speak for themselves, really.

They are beautiful, unique, and 100% all-natural. No scary dyes or chemicals with polysyllabic names you can’t pronounce.

I thought dyeing Easter eggs was fun as a kid. Now, I’m completely obsessed with them!

I grew up kind of, sort of celebrating Easter. In North Dakota, I was the only Jewish kid in my entire school. My parents never wanted me to feel left out, so Bunny Day was born.

Bunny Day was a celebration of a certain spring bunny with a penchant for giving children baskets of treats and hiding plastic eggs full of candy on the lawn. Sounds eerily similar to another springtime celebration, no? That’s what my parents were going for; they wanted me to have the fun of the holiday with the other kids, and I always appreciated that. It felt nice to not be left out of holiday parties and celebrations in school.

Dyeing eggs was always one of my favorite things to do as a kid. Since Passover typically falls around the same time as Easter, we usually had a bright pink or purple egg on our Seder plate. What can I say, I like to bring a little whimsy to the High Holy Days.

Since Ryan and I are turning into hippies trying to move towards living more natural, sustainable and healthy lives, we tend to shy away from chemicals and artificial dyes and such. So for us, experimenting with different teas, fruits, vegetables and spices to dye Easter eggs was ridiculously fun. We were like two nerds in love in a science lab! Or something.

Honestly, I think dyeing eggs naturally would be crazy fun for kids to do. You really never know what you’re going to end up with, in terms of color, hue, saturation and pattern, so I think this process would part science experiment, part awesome magic trick for kids. So much fun!

Seriously, look at some of these eggs! Some are speckled, some have circular striations. The ones we dyed in red wine are SPARKLY. No joke! Did someone throw a handful of glitter in that jar when I wasn’t looking?

So hard boil a few dozen eggs, gather the family up and head in the kitchen for a naturally dyed Easter egg party! Half the fun is concocting the dyes, and the other half is the big reveal a few hours or a day later, when you find out what color each egg has taken on! You can really let your imagination run wild here in terms of ingredients, so go crazy!

Happy Bunny Day!

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

Ingredients:

For Dried Herbs, Spices, Teas & Coffee

2 tablespoons dried herb/spice/tea/coffee
2 cups water
1 tablespoon white vinegar

For Raw Vegetables and Fruits

2 cups raw vegetable or fruit, chopped finely
3 cups water
1 tablespoon white vinegar

For Fruit or Vegetable Juices or Other Liquids

1 cup fruit/vegetable juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions:

Procedure for Dyeing Eggs

Regardless of whether you're using a spice, a fruit juice or a raw vegetable, the process for dyeing all eggs is the same.

Combine the spice/juice/vegetable with water, and place over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat and give it a stir.

Allow the mixture to steep and cool for anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on the color you're trying to achieve. Raw fruits and vegetables take the longest to steep, while herbs, coffee, teas and juices are the quickest and require the shortest steeping time.

After steeping, strain the liquid into a clean glass jar, such as a mason jar. Add the vinegar and carefully drop in an egg. Place the lid on the jar and place in the fridge.

You can let the egg sit in the jar for anywhere from an hour to two days, depending on how deep of a color you'd like to achieve. Gently rotate the jar at least once a day, turning it in case of any settling.

When the desired color has been achieved, remove the egg from the jar and rinse it quickly under cold water. Some fruits or juices will leave a film on the egg, which is gross but just needs to be wiped away using your fingers or a damp paper towel.

Allow the egg to dry on an egg carton and enjoy!

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bbq pulled pork cinnamon rolls.

Yes. You read that title correctly.

No, this is not some sort of belated April fool’s joke I’m playing on you.

These are the real deal. The goodness of pulled pork and sweet, tangy bbq sauce meets a warm, yeasty cinnamon roll.

It might sound a little wrong, but I can assure you that these BBQ Pulled Pork Cinnamon Rolls are everything that’s right with the world.

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