Korean Corn Chip Esquites Nachos

You can thank my friend Rachael for this recipe. She first introduced me to these corn chips and I was instantly hooked. You’ve never had a corn chip like this before (unless of course, you’ve had these). They actually taste like fresh, sweet corn! That’s why I immediately wanted to use them in a fresh corn recipe.

Quinoa Cherry Bars

This recipe was originally meant as a post-Halloween recipe.  After all that candy, you want something that’s healthy but still tastes good.  Let’s call it a transition snack.  But wait, Halloween was almost a month ago?? 

Vegetable Marrow And Blue Cheese Dip

It’s a week until the Superbowl and as someone who doesn’t really follow the NFL I have chosen the Seahawks this year as my adopted team.  And boy was that ever a comeback last week!  That thing they did where they faked the kick and got the touchdown was craziness!  Plus I don’t think I’ve ever seen a football game go into overtime.  I was also relieved because last year I chose the Chargers and they lost in the semis (do they call them “semis” in football??).  

Brown Butter, Bourbon, And Butterscotch Banana Bread

I was honestly not going for the alliteration when I composed this recipe.  The truth is I was sitting on some very ripe bananas (not literally), leftover browned butter, and a mountain of butterscotch chips.  I googled brown butter banana bread and this recipe came up.  So I replaced the coconut with the butterscotch chips. 

Snack Attack: Citrus (Not Crème) Brûlée

I was considering calling this healthy crème brûlée, but I figured the sugar in the recipe and the lack of cream prevented that.  Despite that, this is good.

Queso Fundido

As you may have heard me mention before, the Superbowl is pretty much the only football game I watch all year, and “watch” is a term I use loosely.  This year though, I was a little more in the know, because I saw this hilarious ad about which team I should cheer for. 

Snack Attack: Instant Cheesecake

4-3-2-1 we’re having cheesecake!  This is an attack.

Spicy Maple Pecans

Spicy maple pecans are delicious. 

These guys will be going into several desserts that I am experimenting with.  They will also be going into my mouth.  I would like them to go into your mouths too.

Not Deep Fried Dill Pickles

I feel like fried pickles have been haunting me.  Everywhere we went seemed to have fried pickles on the menu.  I wanted those fried pickles.  And everywhere I was met with the dreaded words: “Sorry, we’re out”, “we just changed our menu and took those off”... etc.

Spicy Broad Beans (Baked or Fried)

When I was in Boston recently, I had the chance to meet up with my very first PhD mentor from the very first lab I worked in.  Back then I was scared, inexperienced, shy, and Catherine made it so easy to get started.  She made science cool, and no doubt is a big reason why I am still in science now.  Not only that, but she was instrumental in getting my first TWO peer reviewed publications.  And although I now realize that I did a lot of the repetitive work that she didn’t want to do, I will always appreciate every minute of it.  It shaped me as a person and as a scientist.

There are some memories that I will have forever from that time.  Our daily walk to Tim Horton’s in the morning.  Talking about yoga and sometimes demonstrating poses.  And eating spicy beans.  These things were brought by another co-worker, and they were dangerous.  We must have demolished at least one bag of spicy broad beans a day. 

So when I showed Catherine my food blog and she asked me to post some recipes for vegetarian snacks, I decided recreating the spicy broad beans was perfect.   

Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels

We all need to chill out.  Sometimes things get so wound up.  Sometimes, I realize that things that I started doing for fun are making me worry.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the little things that aren’t working out, that we forget to appreciate the things that are.  

Caramel S'mores or How to Deal With Rejection

Last Friday I had my heart broken.  Not by my husband (thank goodness), but by a much crueler mistress that is the scientific peer review process.  

Kale, Cucumber, and Kiwi Salad

My darling hubby Alex (see, trying to wean you off “hubby”) is gone for a whole week on business.  And without him here I feel like I revert back to all my “bachelor” habits.  Mostly, I have overwhelming urges to have a bag of chips for dinner.  It’s so easy, there’s no one here to see, no one will know... are some of my best excuses.  


It’s so good while it lasts, but almost invariably results in feelings of guilt.  Being someone who works hard to maintain her weight, I want to share with you some of the best advice I’ve read in a while about this type of situation.  So you ate chips... that’s FINE.  It’s one bag of chips.  Get out of the mindset that you’ve now ruined your day, week, diet, and get right back on the horse.  Don’t let one slip be your excuse to eat terrible things all day/week/life.   Therein lies the real problem. 

So let’s make salad!

Kale, Dragon Fruit, and Coconut Smoothie

I am training for a 10k race in May.  The race is in May, not the training.  The training is now.  Or at least it was until I got reinjured.  

Injuries are the worst.  I had the best intentions of sticking to my training schedule and now I can’t!  But of course I still feel guilty.  As if I was faking the injury just to get out of training.  It’s all so silly.  Runner’s guilt, who has felt this before?  

Kettle Corn

Thirteen hour work day behind me and I am exhausted!  Just totally pooped.  And there are still two more days of this to go... I need a snack, I need a pick-me-up, I need something with a little POP!  And I need it to be fast...


Ah kettle corn... that sweet and salty taste with the thin crunchy coating of sugar on each kernel.  I never would have believed that it is so easy to make your own.  And BONUS: you feel awesome cause you made it yourself.  You totally get bragging rights.  You totally shouldn’t feel bad for demolishing the whole bowl.  You can always make another to share...