BLUEBERRY YOGURT MORNING CAKE

Most recipes on C&L have been shot within the comforts of our own homes and inside our kitchens that we know like the back of our hands. (This one is no exception.) I can shoot a recipe in my kitchen without much thinking or planning — it’s become almost second nature. For that convenience, I’m thankful; it’s made creating content steady and consistent. But our comfort has caused us to reevaluate our work and decidedly push ourselves outside of our routines and what we know works. 

This may not be the last cake recipe you see, but it will be one of the last ones I shoot in my own kitchen. This year we’re choosing to get out of our own kitchens and back into the storytelling that we love. We want to spend more time telling the stories of other people’s recipes and fewer of our own. You’ll still hear from us, but this may mean more time spent shooting and planning and fewer recipes on the blog. (But we promise the ones we bring to you won’t skimp!)

In an effort to publish fresh content weekly on top of our full-time lives, the longer-form work we love most has become harder to come by and more infrequent. Stories like April’s bread, Cindy’s cookies, Brooke’s bagels, and Brie’s pies are among some of our favorites — we want C&L to foster more of this creativity and be a place for more stories like this to live. 

We’re still dreaming up ideas, posts and plans for the future, and we will keep you posted as we navigate our plans for the coming weeks. It may be a few weeks until we’re back with new stories — but in the mean time, here is a blueberry yogurt morning cake. It helped me through a rough week last week and reminded me of something I love doing when everything seemed harder than usual. Even in times of fogginess and loneliness, cooking brings me back in and makes me share with people I love. A story I hope to continue telling through others who are living and learning in the kitchen, just like me. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform pan, and line it with buttered parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs, yogurt, and almond extract. Mix well. 
3. Add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and mix by hand until combined. Be careful to not over mix.
4. Pour the batter into the springform. Toss the berries with the two tablespoons sugar, and then scatter them over the top of the batter. 
5. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. 
6. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cake plate or stand. 

WARM KALE & SWEET POTATO SALAD

I woke up two days ago and thought to myself, "My gosh, how is it already the middle of January?" That's why, I guess, I am writing about the new year well into it. Typically, the passing of one year to another immediately brings resolutions, fresh perspective, and hope for the year to come. For me, however, the passing of 2016 into 2017 took me back in time first. I spent the first 18 days of this year reflecting on all 365 of the previous. Admittedly, I have done some wallowing and a self-loathing (I’m a real pro at these activities). Existential crisis-inducing thoughts like “What exactly am I doing with my life?" and "Was that the best decision?” and “Dang, March was a tough month” have all barged into my brain, gotten cozy, and made their home. 

From the outside, you could, understandably, label this process as bad. We should all shake off the past and move forward, right? Totally, I agree, but I don’t think this mini journey backwards has been a bad brain exercise. For the first time, honestly, I took real time to see and experience the triumphs and the failures of the previous year with the perspective of being out of the moment. That process has given me hope for the year moving forward.  

I can feel a lot of change coming in 2017 (I’ll avoid a nod to tomorrows political shift, and stay focused on the positive) and I believe positive change begins with shouting out to the world what you wish were different. What better place to do just that than my own blog? 

So by now, you've probably guessed that all this doesn’t have a lot to do with kale or sweet potatoes, but this is truly the perfect recipe pairing for words about newness, change, and reflection. This recipe is different from what we typically share (i.e. take a look at our vegetable section, it's hilariously small compared to our sweets section in the archives – so, here's some change!) It’s also a recipe that comes from my past (reflection!). My old roommate in DC shared this with me years ago when I was learning more about healthy eating and realizing kale was not only used for blending with pineapple and blueberries in a smoothie. Every time I make it I’m taken back to our tiny basement apartment and the fall season in one of the prettiest cities I’ve ever lived. It is a good thing from my past that I will carry into every new year to come. 

Okay, back to shouting out the change I want to see in myself this year. I want to:

• Say I’m sorry more when I mean it & less when I don’t  
• See the positive things in the worst parts of my day & week
• Compare myself to myself and stop comparing myself to others
• Listen to people who I would often rather tune out 

There are other smaller resolutions like getting on Instagram less, reading more, and exercising often but those are the big ones. I know many of us are afraid for 2017 and beyond. I know many of us don’t know how or where to begin to create change. I’m only guessing, but I believe it all begins by looking in the rear-view mirror and recognizing how we’ve grown, for better or worse. 

1. Preheat oven to 450 and drizzle sweet potatoes and onion with the olive oil. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper, parsley (you can use other herbs like red pepper if you like heat or sage!) then bake for 25 minutes, turning once halfway through.
2. Grab a small bowl and whisk the honey, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt & pepper until well incorporated, set aside.
3. Blanche the kale very quickly (1 min or less) and drain with cold water.
4. To assemble, drizzle a couple of teaspoons of dressing over the kale, add in the sweet potato and onion mixture and more dressing until well coated, then garnish with goat cheese and cranberries and serve warm or room temperature. (I also added toasted pumpkin seeds for a little crunch!) 

CRANBERRY ORANGE OATMEAL MUFFINS

As I was packing up my car to head home after spending Thanksgiving with my family, my mom asked if I wanted to take Louise’s old stand mixer back with me.  I was floored.  Unbeknownst to me, my grandmother’s vintage, yellow Sunbeam Mixmaster from the 70’s had been sitting in our garage for many years collecting dust. Even after a couple years of cooking under my belt, I’ve never taken the plunge to buy a Kitchen Aid stand mixer — now the holding out seems worth it. 

Now a little piece of Louise’s old kitchen sits inside mine. It’s not a fancy appliance by any means. An old mixer that is somehow still in good enough shape to help me make cakes and muffins. What I love the most is not the mixer itself but the nostalgia I feel about having a small heirloom of Louise’s in my kitchen.  Since I was never old enough to learn how to cook from her while she was alive, having her recipes and tools are some of my favorite parts of my kitchen.  

Not much about my kitchen or the tools inside of it are flashy — similar to the recipes we make and post.  I use what I have, what I’m given, and what’s in front of me.  I love cooking with this mentality as well.  I made these muffins because I was only short one ingredient from having a full recipe. 

I hope you have some oats and cranberries close by and can make these hearty muffins one morning this Christmas season.  You don’t have to have any fancy ingredients or kitchen tools.  Just start with some oats and a spoon and follow along until you’ve got something you can share with friends and family. They won’t care what you mixed the ingredients with or how gracefully everything came together — I just hope you'll spend some time in the kitchen making recipes you love this holiday season. We will be doing the same. So stay tuned until you’ll hear from us again on January 12th! 

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, buttermilk, orange juice, and the orange zest, mix well then set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, rinse your cranberries and pulse a few times in your food processor.
3. Place the chopped cranberries into a small mixing bowl and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. of sugar, mix and set aside.
4. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
5. In your mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar — mix lightly.
6. Slowly add and combine the wet oat and buttermilk mixture.
7. Add the eggs and oil and mix until combined.
8. Gently stir in the cranberries until incorporated.
9. Evenly fill your greased muffin tins with the batter (I like using an ice cream scoop!) about 3/4 full.
10. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown and until a tooth pick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.
11. Remove from the oven and let sit in tins for 5 minutes, then move the muffins to a rack to continue cooling.

* To freeze muffins: cool completely and store in a freezer friendly plastic bag or container. If taken directly out of the freezer, heat in the microwave for 15 seconds to defrost and warm.

FRESH LINGUINI PASTA

I know many of you are rolling your eyes at me this week. Don't worry, I get you and I don't hold it against you. I know that I seem like a crazy person suggesting you make homemade pasta in the midst of all the holiday chaos. Trust me, I am well aware of the reality of how crazy the holiday season is making us, but just hear me out. What I am actually suggesting is an activity that is 1.) way cheaper and 2.) way more fun than seeing a movie with your family. (And it tastes FAR better than over-salted movie theatre popcorn!) 

When I set out to make homemade pasta I was sure it'd turn into a chore. Thinking I'd need special flour, super expensive machinery, and I would fail the first 5-10 times I tried. I was so wrong. Not only is making your own pasta really simple, it's also much easier and more fun to do with helping hands. Thus, being the perfect holiday activity. (See, not so crazy after all!) 

The first place to start is to buy a pasta machine. (Actually you could roll your own pasta by hand but I highly suggest buying the machine to save on time and effort!) Mine is from Amazon and I bought it because it was rated highly and under $50. (This would also make a cool Christmas gift to your foodie friends & family!) The next step is easy — mixing, kneading, and making the dough. All in all the process takes about and hour, and 30 minutes of that is spent waiting for your dough to rest. 

I mentioned above that having helpers for this process is ideal, but that doesn't mean you can't do it on your own. If you're using a hand cranking machine it takes a bit of time to get a system down of feeding your pasta through the machine while cranking but it's not at all impossible. 

There are a lot of ways to create the dough. I chose to photograph the "Italian Grandmother style" aka on the countertop with a fork. I'll admit this is mostly because it felt more nostalgic to photograph it that way but it's just as easy to mix your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, create a well, and then pour your eggs in the center. (More detailed instructions on this method are below!) Doing it that way makes cleanup much easier. You can also make the dough in the food processor, which cuts down on the knead-time. I made my pasta dough this way the first time and it worked perfectly. Just combine all the ingredients in the food processor, pulse to combine then run it continuously until a dough ball forms. Afterward knead the dough for a few minutes before letting it rest and continuing with the process.

• Whisk together the flour and salt with a fork in a medium mixing bowl. 
• Create a deep well in the middle of the flour and add your eggs. Whisk with the fork to combine, careful not to let too much of the flour fall into the center too quickly. 
• As you whisk the eggs, begin gradually pulling flour from the bottom and sides of the bowl. Don't rush this step! Once enough flour has been added, it will start forming a soft dough. 
• Turn the dough and any excess flour out onto a clean counter and begin gently folding the dough on itself. You may need to add more flour if the dough becomes sticky. Keep kneading for about 5-10 minutes. 
• Wrap the dough in plastic and set it aside to rest for at least 30 minutes. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let it come back to room temperature before rolling.)
• Divide the pasta dough into 6 equal sections. Sprinkle a baking sheet generously with flour and store your dough there with a clean dishtowel covering the dough while you work with one piece at a time. (NOTE: at this point it's most important to keep everything well floured so the pasta doesn't stick to itself or your roller as you work!)   
• To begin rolling, set your pasta machine to the thickest setting (on mine it's 6, but sometimes the thickets begins at 1). Flatten one piece of dough using your hands into a thick disk and feed it though the pasta roller. Repeat this once or twice 
• Next, fold the left side halfway toward the right, and the right side halfway toward the left (like a letter) With the pasta machine still on the thickest setting, feed the pasta between the rollers twice. 
• To thin the pasta, begin changing the setting on your roller to roll the pasta thinner and thinner. For example, I begin at 6 and feed my pasta through the roller twice on each number 6-1. It is important not to skip settings and to make sure you feed the pasta through at least twice. (If the pasta gets too long to work with just cut it in half.)
• To cut the dough, you could do this by hand, or if your pasta machine has a cutting attachment like mine does, you simply feed your pasta through the cutting attachment and crank. Toss the noodles with flour to keep them from sticking and gather them into a loose bundle and cover with a dishtowel while you work through all of your dough. 
• Cooking, drying, or freezing your pasta: To cook the pasta immediately, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta for about 4 minutes. The dry, lay the pasta over a drying rack (like this one!) and let air dry until completely brittle. Store in an airtight container for several weeks. To freeze, place the bundles of floured pasta on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for an hour. Gather into an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. Dried and frozen noodles will need an extra minute or two to cook.