Journal — Edible Living

GRILLED CORN, TOMATO AND AVOCADO PASTA SALAD

We didn’t eat a lot of pasta growing up. We were a straight up meat and potatoes family, but come summer, my mom would make cold pasta salad—usually corkscrew pasta with halved cherry tomatoes, cubed mozzarella, and basil— that accompanied us to the pool for evening swims, to neighborhood potlucks and to our best friend’s annual Fourth of July party, where it would mingle with grilled burgers, magic bars and root beer.

I loved this salad, and yet, I have never had it since. I have also never made it for my kids, even though my kids LOVE pasta. So this week I gave it a go, with a quick toss up with slightly elevated ingredients from the garden, plus creamy California Avocados, a cheekier noodle (ditalini) and some Parmesan on top.

RECIPESSarah CopelandJuly 2, 2020Recipes, soup, healthy eating, plant-forward

BACON, EGG AND AVOCADO TOAST WITH TURMERIC DRIZZLE

Welp, my kids both told me this week that they’re becoming Pescatarian. It’s not surprising, really—fish is our family’s common ground. It’s the only animal protein my husband eats (after 20 + years as a strict vegetarian), and therefore what I make, mostly. Except bacon. My kids LOVE bacon and come summer, I like an occasional piece, too.

If it were going to be my last piece of bacon for a while, this toast is a good way to go out.

STRACCIATELLA PAVLOVA WITH SUMMER BERRIES

This time last year, we were planning for a summer trip to Rome, and all I could think about was piles of stracciatella gelato nudged up with seedy strawberry sorbetto on long thin, narrow cones. Stracciatella was one of the first words I learned in Italian, during my first trip to Italy 20 years ago. The gelato of the same name is made up of a milky base with irregular shavings of chocolate that results in a quick melt on the tongue. It’s heaven.

BAKE SHOP, RECIPESSarah CopelandJune 20, 2020PAVLOVA, CHOCOLATERECIPES

BLACK WOMEN MATTER

I have been thinking a lot the last few days especially about Black women--both about how much strength is required to be a Black woman in this world (historically, and still today), and also about how much I have learned from the Black women in my own world. How much I have been loved by them. How much sisterhood I’ve been granted, whether I deserved it, or not. And though many of these women know of their importance to me personally, I’ve also been thinking about why I haven’t spoken more about them in the spaces I control--how without intending to, I may have silenced their part of my own story. Today, that changes.

SOCIAL JUSTICESarah CopelandJune 19, 2020black lives matter, social justice, be the change

AVOCADO HUMMUS PLATTER

We have been big on dip meals the last few weeks, mostly because we need easy right now, and within the confines of the few people we can actually share food with, the sense of community and revelry feels extra good.

This is a new favorite—avocado hummus, creamier and more forgiving than standard hummus (which we try to love, but my kids are actually so-so on). It starts with a perfectly ripe California avocado (just in time for California avocado month!) and the secret ingredient—a tablespoon or two of sour cream. Put it on a platter and garnish with all the toppings —cherry tomatoes, feta, fancy radishes, herbs if you have them--plus homemade or store bought pita chips for scooping.

RECIPESSarah CopelandJune 18, 2020Recipes, soup, healthy eating, plant-forward

BLACK LIVES MATTER

In this house and on this site, we believe that Black Lives Matter. That all colors are beautiful. And that all people are born equal. We believe we can not stay silent about things that matter. And we believe that it is our responsibility to speak with our words, our actions, our dollars and our vote.

SOCIAL JUSTICESarah CopelandJune 18, 2020black lives matter, social justice, be the change

BLACKBERRY-BANANA-SMASH ICE CREAM

The world is a challenging place right now. There is a lot of sorrow, but also a lot of momentum and love and support for Black Life Matters. Hearts are opening. Minds are changing. Love is growing.

Maybe it doesn’t seem like it, perhaps, because there is a lot of turmoil too. A lot of sad stories being shared. A lot of violence. A lot that is hard to understand, for little people, certainly, but for big people, too. But still, love is growing.

So what does that have to do with ice cream? Well….

READ ON FOR THE RECIPE

3 BRIGHT SUMMER REFRESHERS

TODAY feels like a good time to cool our jets on the manic bread/cookie/cake baking, and bring back something easy and light—something that gives my kitchen and our bodies a much needed refresh. Enter: cooling drinks. Smoothies. Shrubs. Refreshers, if you will.

ENTERTAINING, HANDMADE, RECIPESSarah CopelandMay 16, 2020Gluten Free, smoothies, popsicles

GREEN CURRY WITH SPRING VEGETABLES AND AVOCADO

I love a top-it-your-way bowl, it could be rice or noodles, dal or curry--anything that invites you to bring it in the topping department. There’s been a lot of that going on here this spring, since it’s always up in the air what we can get our hands on, and a blooming bunch of broccolini or a handful of fresh radishes can be a visual game changer.

There’s one thing I almost always want on my bowl meal--any time of year: a ripe avocado. The rest is open for interpretation, but for me, it’s this satisfying creamy finish that makes me feel full.

RECIPESSarah CopelandMay 8, 2020Recipes, soup, healthy eating, plant-forward

SAVE THE DAY SPINACH PIE

I don’t know why, but I just keep buying spinach. Every single time the notice from our local farm comes into my inbox “Spinach, back in stock” I click—a knee-jerk reaction to the constant fear of running out of fresh foods.

Greens, especially are a lifeblood for me—my daily green juice, big green salads, stewed greens in coconut milk—I crave them all, especially now, 8 weeks into quarantine when I’ve long since filled my cup on baking projects (all the breads, cookies and skillet cakes have been made—and consumed, at rapid speed).

On the other end of the baking spectrum is project baking—something a bit slower, with a result that lasts. This spinach pie is perfect for that.

BAKE SHOP, RECIPESSarah CopelandMay 8, 2020SPINACH, PHYLLO, EASYSPINACHRECIPES, QUARANTINERECIPES

ROSEWATER AND RHUBARB PAVLOVA

Spring has been slow here, arriving in fits and spurts— a burst of quince flowers, magnolias, the tiniest peek of pea shoots—and then nothing, rain and cold nights and a garden that seems to creep along slower than any year before—this year, when we need it most. It feels almost as if the weather is matching the human heart, explosive with optimism, then crushed to a near still, then hope and sunshine again. Is it just me?

Sarah CopelandApril 26, 2020

SPRING ONION + FENNEL FLATBREAD

In many states, governors just announced that school will be closed for the rest of the year. Our district is stil saying mid-May, for now, but I think we all know what’s coming.

There are a few ways to get through this, but the best path forward I know is optimism, and lots of baking. Yes, more baking. It keeps little hands busy and hungry mouths fed. Baked goods are easy to make, bake and share (from front stoop to front stoop) or donate to those on the frontlines, who are risking their lives daily at at the very least, need fed something warm, soothing and a bit inspiring.

AVOCADO CAESAR SALAD WITH CRISPY CHICKPEAS

My sister, Jenny, lives on an avocado grove outside of San Diego, and when we visit her, breakfasts look something like this: a just-picked ripe avocado with a dash of lime juice, a soft tortilla and a few slices of her oranges from the trees around back. I’m not going to lie, quarantine in Upstate New York isn’t terrible, but I’m pretty sure Californians have it best right now…

RECIPESSarah CopelandApril 15, 2020Recipes, soup, healthy eating, plant-forward

LEMON POLENTA SHEET CAKE

If your pantry stash of flour is getting a good work out, as ours is, it might be time for a little detour. As exciting as warm buttered rolls, homemade sourdough and pillowy focaccia have been for the last four weeks, I woke up this morning craving something different.

Polenta, or cornmeal—is my favorite pantry staple—one that delivers on toothsome satisfaction. It’s a headliner in this lemony and bright cake, which is easy to make, store and serve up in that stretch between lunch and dinner when the kids are asking for snacks, again. Polenta cakes have an understated loveliness. They are tender, delicately hearty, and such a great canvas for flavor….

SEMOLINA ALMOND LEMON CAKE

Just about everyone I know loves a bright, lemony sweet for spring. Though the deep, puckery lemon finish of, say, a lemon bar, can’t be ignored, they’re a bit fussy for me these days.

This cake, on the other hand, which I adapted from dessert queen Maida Heatter, delivers the same overtly lemony flavor but without the cloying sweetness, and with much less work. It’s also beautiful, but that kind of easy beautiful I love most.

Here I mix gluten-free or regular all-purpose flour with almond flour and fine cornmeal or semolina for a texture that’s irresistibly tender. Make sure to brush on the glaze while the cake is still warm, which helps it absorb. You can serve this cake unadorned—it’s delicious all on its own—but if you have the time, add on the shingled lemons for a spectacular finish.

A MENU FOR EASTER

I’m more of a Christmas than an Easter person. Living in New York City since my early twenties—800 miles from my parents—meant rarely being able to be with family on this day. I’m always late on egg-painting with my kids, and big platters of succulent spiral-cut ham are wasted on my vegetarian husband. Furthermore, tales of a giant pink bunny who hides eggs was always a little too far-fetched for me.

But as a person of great faith, Easter (and Passover, if that’s what you celebrate) is one of the most pivotal days for the human heart. Both are stories of great redemption, of deep and lasting love, of hope. And hope is what we need in these times, is it not?

VEGAN PEANUT-BUTTER-MAPLE COOKIES (GLUTEN-FREE)

I bought a jar of Jiff peanut butter yesterday. If you’re here, you probably already know I’m not exactly the Jiff kind of mom. My kids have been raised on freshly ground, natural (read: not sugar, no additives) peanut butter, and even that as a sometimes treat.

But I was a 1980’s Jiff kid, through and through—Jiff on white Wonder bread, with Smucker’s grape jelly. Honestly, what is better?

TAGLIATELLE WITH SPICY TOMATOES, SHRIMP AND AGED FETA

One thing is for sure, the quarantine has brought my kids’ pasta-with-red-sauce dreams to fruition. We are embracing all the carbs. Every last one.

They’re fine with spaghetti and marinara on repeat, but I need a little something more to keep things bright and inspired. Last week I made a quickie pasta dinner that we’re sticking to—a riff on Shrimp Saganaki, my favorite shrimp dish from Greece, but made simple and so beautiful with a pile of chewy noodles, like a fat bucatini or tagliatelle.

RECIPES, QUICK + EASYSarah CopelandApril 4, 2020pantry meals, shrimp, italian food, pasta, easy recipes

THE FAMILY WAFFLE // (LIGHT-AS-AIR, GLUTEN-FREE CHIA WAFFLES)

Growing up, waffles were a special-occasion treat, the kind of breakfast that made my mom sigh (waffle iron, batter spills, over-sugared kids) and my dad smile with glee (strawberries, whipped cream, truly living). In this way, my marriage is similar: I am for a simpler, saner, healthier morning. András is for waffles. Always for waffles.

CHOCOLATE CHIP BUCKWHEAT BANANA PANCAKES (GLUTEN-FREE)

If you saw my dissertation on bananas as rations, you know that I likely still have several bananas hanging around, brown and fragrant and ready for —you guessed it—more panckes!

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