Get on the list and let’s become friends. Join our community of like minded women, and get all my latest recipes, finds and personal stories. I’m so happy you’re here.
It’s been a rough start to March here in Connecticut. We’ve had two really bad storms in a row roll through our community. This last one has left a lot of us without power, and with the all the kids home from school for THREE DAYS!! It’s been enough stress for one week to make me want to eat this whole pan of vegan chocolate brownies.
We are expecting another snow storm here in Connecticut tomorrow, and the only thing on my to do list is curling up on the couch with a bowl of this warm and hearty roasted tomatillo and white bean chili.
If you’ve been following along with G in the C for a while, you may know my obsession with big bowls of love, especially if that bowl of love can be enjoyed while sitting on a couch wearing sweatpants.
This smashed chickpea salad sandwich makes a quick and easy lunch, that is not only healthy and nutritious, but oh so satisfying and delicious. The perfect sandwich to sink your teeth into, without any of the guilt.
Now I am a huge lover of soups and salads for lunch, but there is just something so satisfying about biting into the perfectly stacked sandwich. The crunch of the bread, the creamy fillings, and of course the toppings oozing out the side; there is just nothing that compares to the first bite of a great sandwich.
Oh I am so excited for this one. I have been itching to get this recipe out to all of you. This spaghetti alla chitarra with roasted wild mushrooms is probably my personal favorite recipe that I have shared with you yet.
You see one of the true “loves” of my life is Italian food (ok, so let’s be honest, I pretty much love anything Italian). I think deep down I have a fantasy that JonPaul and I will leave our life in Connecticut behind, and buy a vineyard in Tuscany. We’d make our own olive oil. I’d make fresh pasta, and the kids would frolic in the countryside as the sun set over the Tuscan hills (who am I kidding…my kids have never frolicked anywhere). At least a girl can dream.
Ok, back to reality and this ridiculous pasta dish…
As much as I can, I try to eat seasonally. Now I’ll be honest, that doesn’t always happen, but I try and make a conscious effort. I notice that my body feels better, and responds by naturally craving fruits and vegetables in season. Luckily, each season provides a bounty of beautiful produce that shines, and winter is no different.
I have so many favorite winter foods, but a few of my favorites are deep earthy greens, like radicchio and bright citrus fruits, like blood oranges. Here, I tried to create a salad that highlighted both of these, and showcase how flavorful winter’s bounty can be. This salad is hearty and earthy, while still being fresh and bright. 
One of the ways I make eating healthy and delicious easier, is by having some of my favorite ingredients ready at my finger tips. That means keeping some of my most used items prepared and ready to go in fridge. For me, that includes pickled vegetables, like these quick and easy pickled kumquats. Read More
When we were growing up my mom used to make us chocolate chip cookies every day after school. I know, right? She was pretty great (and still is pretty awesome). I’m almost positive the recipe was from the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip bag, but I’m not kidding when I tell you that all the kids in our neighborhood drooled over them. They were the talk of our school bus.
Fast forward to 30 some years later and I still love a good chocolate chip cookie. However, I am not the best at baking (as we’ve discussed). So when it comes to all things sweet, I turn to the experts.
Thankfully (for you and me), I stumbled across Rebecca from Displaced Housewife who makes pretty much the world’s best cookies (sorry mom). These dark chocolate olive oil cookies are divine.And let me tell you why; they’re made with olive oil, filled with chunks of rich dark chocolate and then sprinkled with large flakes of sea salt. I mean, need I say more. Well played, Rebecca. Well played.
This recipe, for butternut squash soup, was from an older post I wrote last spring when I was just starting to put Grace in the Crumbs together. It was one of my favorite soups then, and it still is now. However, it wasn’t one of my favorite posts.
I remember when I was just starting to put this blog together someone gave me great advice.
But being the Type-A kind of girl that I am, this was the last thing I wanted to hear.
It was hard for me to understand how it could be done, if it wasn’t perfect. I had spent my whole life tying my hardest to make everything I did my very best. To make things perfect. Why would this blog be any different?
From my friends point of view, she felt that no matter how much time I spent humming and hawing over every last detail, I would most likely change a lot of my work after a year. And you know what, she was absolutely right.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of things I’ve created over the year that I’m still so proud of and wouldn’t change. However, there are a lot of details I spent hours trying to perfect, that now looking back on, I just want to scrap. But I guess that’s just the creative process. You build something, step back in hopes to admire your work, only to have a desire to take it all apart and start over
Taking photos for the blog has been something I’ve been trying to “perfect” over the year. I spent hours when I first started, trying to find the perfect lighting, lens angle and props…only to end up kind of hating all of my old photos. Fast forward to today and I’m getting a little more comfortable behind the camera, but more importantly don’t worry as much about making them “perfect”. It’s been so fun looking back at the progression of my photos, and wish I would have taken my friends advice a year ago. It turns out done was better than perfect all this time.
As much as I miss Chicago, and I do, there are certainly things about the east coast that are really growing on me. In fact, don’t tell JonPaul I said this, but a part of me is starting to really feel at home here on the east coast. I feel connected with our community, the kids are happy, we have some great friends, and then of course one of my favorite things about being an east coast girl….NYC.
You see, I may drive a minivan around the suburbs all day, filled with four little kids, wearing yoga pants smeared with PB&J – but deep down, waaaay down deep, there is a city girl just waiting to be freed.
Luckily, JonPaul loves being in the city as much as I do and we both make it a priority to sneak away from the kids and have our time together exploring the vibrant city as much as possible It’s one of my favorite things to do with him. We’re blessed with family who comes in from out of town and can help watch the kids (and drive my minivan around the suburbs) to make it possible.
There are so many things I love about NYC, but at the top of the list has to be the food. So much great food on every street corner. It would be impossible to pick a favorite restaurant.
However, there are a few that I keep finding myself returning to, and one of those is a a little bistro in the West Village, Jack’s Wife Freda. Have you been?? It’s so great. You really feel like you’re home when you’re there. The vibe is eclectic, casual, but more than anything welcoming and inviting. You feel like you belong.
During these cold winter months I seem to always be craving comfort food. There’s just something about a pot simmering away on the stove that makes me oh so happy. Especially if that warm and hearty something can be sopped up with a great piece of bread.
