date balls, get in my mouth

If the voice in your head didn’t scream THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID when you read this post title, well you must be one classy lady (or man). Now that we’ve got that out of the way, on to the date balls (hehe).  These suckers are so sweet and tasty, you may even trick yourself into thinking you’re eating some cookie ball or super dense donut. I swear, it happened to me. And to make matters better, they are so quick, easy and cheap to make that you’ll probably want to send me a thank you batch.  {please, resist- I’ve eaten too many this week already}

the what:

2 cups of dried merjool dates, de-seeded

1 tablespoon of almond butter (substitute peanut butter if you’d like)

2 tablespoons of water

shredded coconut 

the how:

slice each date in half and pull out the seeds. put dates, almond butter and water in food processor and pulse until it has become a thick, sticky paste.  wet fingers and scoop roughly one tablespoon of paste out of food processor.  form it into a little ball and roll in a plate of dried, shredded coconut. refrigerate to firm them up and then eat them as snacks, dessert or breakfast (my choice). enjoy! 

eeeeeee!

we got a sneak peek of our wedding photos last night. max put together a very special viewing experience for us and we sat in front of his computer, wordless, just weeping as we looked through them. i’m not being dramatic, this is a true story. snot may or may not have flown out of one of us. amazing!  this is the only one i’m going to share until they’re all ready (and we may hold out for our video too). you don’t know how much this will torture me, i promise you it will take every bit of self restraint i have. every little bit. eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

photo by max

woah now romanesco!

i have never seen a crazier looking vegetable than this one. so i ignored romanesco for awhile, i dismissed it as a veggie trend with all of it’s neon coloring and psychedelic shapes- too fancy for this girl. but yesterday, i broke. i bought a head. it was sitting next to some purple cabbage and i had some oprah aha moment where i pictured it mixed into a stir fry all colorful-like.  and i knew, we’re going to be friends, this bizarre vegetable and I.  and so we are. it’s delicious, and funky and has a great texture. i’m a fan, romanesco, i’ll stick with you even when neon isn’t cool anymore.

the what:

1 head of romanesco broccoli, chopped

1 cup (dry) forbidden rice

1/2 of medium/large purple cabbage, sliced

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 tablespoons of ginger, peeled and finely chopped 

1 tablespoon of dark toasted sesame oil

3 tablespoons shoyu (or substitute a little less soy sauce)

juice of one lime

2 green onions, sliced for garnish

siracha (optional)

the how:

prepare forbidden rice (i rinse thoroughly and then cook 1 cup of dry rice with 1 1/2 cups of water in our rice cooker).  this can be done in advance or be cooking while you’re prepping the veggies.

heat sesame oil in a wok over medium heat. add onion, ginger and garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes minutes. the onion should be softening.

add romanesco broccoli, one tablespoon of shoyu and the juice of 1/2 of the lime. mix it all up, cover and cook for 2 more minutes.

add cabbage, one tablespoon of shoyu and second half of lime. cook until the cabbage and romanesco are to your liking (I prefer a little crunch, but cook longer if you like a softer stir fry). When veggies are almost to your preference, add forbidden rice and one final tablespoon of shoyu (taste first and omit if you prefer it with less shoyu).  I also add a few squeezes of siracha for some heat!

garnish with green onions. serve to amazed friends and family & enjoy!