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African Peanut Stew

October 15, 2015 • 26 Comments

The last time I made this stew was in my mama’s kitchen about three years ago.

Don’t ask me why I haven’t made it since then, because I don’t have a good enough reason for you. There is no reason why I’ve waited so long to make this African Peanut Stew again … other than the fact that I am a food blogger and food bloggers hardly ever make the same thing twice. It’s just how the gig works.

Now that you know I rarely make the same thing twice, you can bet when I do make something more than once it has to be extra delicious.

I first heard about this African Peanut Stew recipe through my mama’s friend, and at the mention of peanut butter and sweet potatoes I was all in. I’ll never forget the day my mama came home from the office telling me about this recipe back in 2012. On and on she went about this amazing stew: how good and different it was, how she’d already bought the ingredients, and how we would be making it the next day.

Let me tell you — the soup lived up to its reputation. It did not disappoint. Then again, when has anything with peanut butter in it failed to be delicious? This is not to mention the other healthy ingredients this stew is loaded with like spinach, tomatoes, carrots and edamame. Packed in every bowl is a rainbow of nutrients that make you feel good from the inside out, as all food should.

The other day my dear neighbor and friend Traci asked if we could make dinner together, when suddenly this recipe popped into my mind. I don’t know if it was because we were talking about stew and I was eating a spoonful of peanut butter for a snack, but whatever the case I am happy that this stew has made its way back into my life. Hopefully it will find its way into yours as well.

Kisses, Tissues + Adventures: Reflections From Our First Year of Marriage

October 13, 2015 • 17 Comments

This past weekend Alex and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

Our actual anniversary wasn’t until yesterday, Oct. 12, but we figured we’d make a weekend out of it and celebrate a few days early just because. Amid our weekend getaway there was an outdoor adventure. There was wine (an old fashioned for him). There was a couple’s massage. There was a two-foot-tall Lindt chocolate bar. There were plenty of kisses. But there were also lots of tears and tissues.

My man had reserved a room on the top floor of the Ivy Hotel in Minneapolis in celebration of our special day. The room had everything a girl could ever want: complimentary chocolate, plush pillows, cozy slippers, huge bath robes, a spacious master bath and a stunning view of the city. Everything was perfect — until suddenly it wasn’t. Around 10 p.m. on Saturday night I started to feel sick, and I ended up spending the rest of the night tossing and turning from stomach issues.

Needless to say I was not the most pleasant person come sunrise the next morning. But I wasn’t just unpleasant. I was frustrated with the entire situation. After laying in bed for two hours waiting for Alex to get up, I reached for a handful of nuts to soothe my grumbling stomach until we could go get breakfast.

“Why are you eating? We are going to go get breakfast soon,” Alex stirred as I opened the bag of cashews.

I don’t know if it was the lack of sleep or the hunger, but at the sound of his voice something snapped within me.

“Excuse me? I’ve been up for two hours waiting for you so we could go eat breakfast. I’m starving. I didn’t sleep at all last night and I haven’t been sleeping well over the last several days. I also feel nauseous like I’m going to throw up and my stomach is bloated and irritated. Don’t you care about me at all?” I yelled and started to cry. I was upset because I felt like I had ruined our special weekend. I was upset because the past month had been a whirlwind of change and stress for us. And I was also upset because even though my husband had planned this amazing surprise for me, I wasn’t enjoying myself anymore.

My anger turned to deep sadness as I turned to look into my husband’s eyes. The expression on his face was like a knife to my gut, and I instantly felt ashamed and sorry for what I had said.

“How can you say I don’t care about you?” he said, tears welling in his eyes. “This whole weekend … it was all for you. Everything I do … it’s all for you. I love you!”

Have you ever said something you wish you could take back? I sure have. Too many times to count, and unfortunately more times than I’d like to admit to my husband. What I’ve learned from our first year of marriage is that when you mess up, it’s important to take immediate responsibility, apologize and ask for forgiveness.

I ran over to Alex, apologized and asked him to forgive me. By this point we were both crying — huddled together on the floor surrounded by a bunch of wadded up tissues.

“I’m sorry. I guess I just feel like with my fibromyalgia and all of my other health issues, sometimes I’m more of a burden than a joy to be around. I feel like I’m always ruining things,” I explained.

“You don’t ruin things, my love. And you’re worth all this and so much more to me,” he said, pointing to the surrounding room.

Looking back on our weekend celebration, I’m amazed at how closely it resembles our first year of marriage — a beautiful time marked by kisses, tissues and adventures. A time full of learning and growing together.Read More

Avocado + Tomato Sandwich with Sweet Potato Hummus

October 12, 2015 • 31 Comments

Where are my sandwich lovers? Raise your hand high if you’re out there!

Like you, I am a sandwich lover. I love how it feels to hold a sandwich. I love the smell of freshly toasted bread. I love the sight of one waiting to be devoured. But most of all, I love the layered flavors that come with each and every bite.

Like many Americans I was raised eating sandwiches for lunch. But unlike most, I had a mother who made me more than just the usual PB&J or turkey and swiss. Egg salad, chicken salad and BLTs were just a few of the yummy sandwiches in my lunchbox rotation.

It’s no wonder why as an adult I still eat sandwiches for lunch almost every single day. This gluten-free girl will never give up her sandwiches. They’re comforting, satisfying and with so many combinations out there they never get boring for me.Read More

Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza

October 8, 2015 • 37 Comments

I was a pretty picky pizza eater growing up.

And when I say picky, I mean in the literal sense. Like I would actually spend five minutes picking ingredients I didn’t like off of our family pizza. Mushrooms, onions, or heaven-forbid green peppers — they all had to go. These days however, while my stomach still doesn’t agree with green peppers, I’ll put just about anything on pizza. Figs, mushrooms, pears, arugula, broccoli, proscuitto, avocado, corn — there is no limit to what I’ll try.

Lately my favorite kinds of pizza have been ethnic pizzas. It all started one year ago, when my husband had a taco pizza on our honeymoon in the Caribbean. When the server brought out his food, I couldn’t believe what I saw. I tried to find a picture of it for you to share today, but my search was not a success so I’ll try describing it instead. Imagine beans, beef, peppers, onions, tomatoes and olives smothered in Mexican cheese and drizzled with a perfect spiral of avocado sauce and a spicy aioli. In the words of my husband, it’s arguably the best pizza he’s ever had.

I haven’t tried to re-create this taco pizza yet, but it’s on my kitchen to-do list. For now, I’ve been enjoying making Asian and Indian-inspired pizzas. Of all of the pizzas I’ve made in the last year, I’m not kidding when I say: GUYS. This Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza is seriously THE BEST PIZZA I’VE MADE.

Giving God Your All

October 7, 2015 • 19 Comments

I held my breath as my sister opened the doors to her bridal shower, feeling nervous and eager to see her response to the party I’d planned for her. With a minimal food and decorations budget, I was limited in what I could do, but I tried to do my best with what I had.

“Sis … this is so great! I love it!” she smiled and reached out to hug me.

“Really?” I sighed with relief.

“Yes! Really, you didn’t have to go to all of the trouble…” she said, touching the burlap banner I had made that read “Ashley & Korey.”

“Nonsense. It was no trouble at all,” I replied.

And it was true — the shower had been a lot of work, but it was no trouble at all because it was a labor of love. I wanted my sister to know how much she was loved, and how excited we all were for her. This drove me to work hard and create something wonderful for her — something that would warm her soul.

Though I wish I could say I approached every labor of love with this kind of devoted time, care and enthusiasm, the truth is I don’t always give everything my all. Of course I believe in doing things right, but I’m no perfectionist and I like to do things efficiently. I thrive off of being efficient. It’s one of the things that enables me to work quickly and go above and beyond my to-do list every week. (Lovers of efficiency, can I get an amen?!)

While there’s nothing wrong with being efficient in some areas of life, I fear that sometimes the desire to be efficient can leak into our faith lives as well. Maybe you can relate to this. Say you want to serve but you don’t feel like you have the time. You want to share your faith with someone at work but are worried about what that could mean for your career. You want to cultivate deeper relationships, but your schedule seems too booked for it.

Following Jesus isn’t always efficient or convenient — but it’s worth it!

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Let me share with you something that God has really been working on in me lately: Following Him isn’t always efficient or convenient — but it’s worth it!Read More

Gluten-Free Tabbouleh with Chickpeas

October 5, 2015 • 30 Comments

In one week my husband and I will celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

My how the time flies. You know those moments that you have to pinch yourself to see if you’re dreaming? The moments where time stands still and life feels almost perfect? The moments where all is as it should be and you feel alive and full of love?

That’s how our wedding day was. One amazing, beautiful day. Sure things went wrong and not according to plan. But I didn’t care because I was marrying my best friend, and that was all that mattered.

My husband, Alex, is more than just my best friend though. He’s also my taste tester, prop holder, picture selector and overall biggest supporter of this blog. And I couldn’t do life or this website without him.

One of the funnest things about being married to Alex has been introducing him to new foods. The other week, I mentioned that I would be making Gluten-Free Tabbouleh with Chickpeas for Snap Fitness and this was his response: “Tabbo-what?”