Gift Guide

Still searching for the perfect gift for someone in your life? Here's a collection of some of my favorite things that I think just about anyone would be happy to receive.

Ember Travel Mug- The Ember Travel Mug allows you to set your preferred drinking temperature, then maintains it, so your coffee or tea tastes perfect from first sip to last drop.

Ember Travel Mug $149.95

Phoozy Thermal Capsule- The Phoozy Thermal Capsule prevents smartphones from overheating in the heat and sun while also protecting it from freezing in extreme cold. I HATE when my phone dies during my mountain adventures, so this is my favorite method of preserving battery life. 

Phoozy Thermal Capsule $29.99

Stasher Bags- These reusable bags have nearly eliminated our household usage of plastic bags. They come in 1/2 gallon, sandwich and snack size. I'm anxiously awaiting the gallon size. These are perfect stocking stuffers and can be used for cooking, baking and microwaving as well as storage. 

Stasher Bag

Bee's Wrap- Also for your eco-friendly family and friends, Bee's Wrap is a sustainable food storage alternative to plastic wrap and tin foil. I love this stuff, especially the sandwich wrap. 

Bee's Wrap

Dishing Up the Dirt- C&C readers should be familiar with our favorite farmer Andrea Bemis of Dishing up the Dirt. Some of our favorite recipes we've shared on the blog come from her site, and now you can get a whole book of her recipes in her cookbook. May I suggest the mint chocolate chip cookies! 

Dishing Up the Dirt $19.34

Herringbone Winter Set- I'm obsessed with this herringbone hat and scarf set (there are even matching mittens). I wish someone would give it to me for Christmas. 

Knit hat and scarf 

Thymes Fraiser Fir Candle-If you're like me and love the smell of Christmas year round, then you will love this candle. It's my "go-to" hostess gift. We have the diffusers too. I never tire of this scent. 

Thymes Fraiser Fir Candle $29.00

I hope your holiday shopping is a success! 

C & C in the Kitchen - Ladies that Brunch

I recently had some friends (all of which I met through blogging) over for brunch. I do love to entertain in our home...especially if it involves setting the table. It's like when Regan and I were little and played Barbies...we'd spend hours "setting up" our rooms and homes for the dolls to make sure everything was just right. 

But this isn't Barbies, and once I set up, I had to fill the plates too. Game on. One of my friends is vegan, so I got to try out some new recipes, all of which I'd recommend to you! Dishing Up the Dirt has been a go-to lately and the Almond Amazeballs did not disappoint. Next time I'll add more coconut oil or almond butter to make them a little less crumbly. I could have eaten all 12 of these by myself. 

For the main course I made a sweet potato oatmeal breakfast casserole. If you like oatmeal and sweet potatoes this is for you. Instead of the topping (I didn't have a vegan butter substitute), I just used crumbled pecans. This was actually better as leftovers than day-of. I took it to work for breakfast the next few mornings. 

Last, but not least, we had to get our fruits and vegetables. Everyone likes fruit salad and you can never go wrong with a smoothie. The Perfect Green Smoothie (also from Dishing up the Dirt) is my new favorite. 

Add a good dose of gab to the meal, and we could have sat at the table all day. Any favorite brunch recipes?

Got Recipes?

Happy Monday! Katie here...

It's summer, and that means Mother Earth is in all her glory, delivering the most delicious ingredients for your eating pleasure. So where do you go for good recipes? Here are my three favorite sites, along with some recipes on my "to make" list.

Three Many Cooks

Regan and I met Pam and Maggie, two of the three many cooks, at Rancho La Puerta (aka Heaven on Earth) almost four years ago where Pam was the guest chef. Ever since, their blog has been a staple in my cooking regiment (I'm obsessed with their chicken noodle soup). Right now I'm dying to make this recipe for eggs baked in chickpea tomato sauce with baby spinach. 

Dishing Up the Dirt

I've shared recipes for smoothies, brunch, and dinner from Dishing Up the Dirt and if you haven't tried Andrea's dishes before, this is your chance. Not only does she have some mean cooking skills, she and her husband are farmers - growing most of their own ingredients. This beet pesto pizza with goat cheese would be perfect for a hot and humid summer evening. 

barre3

I know we probably sound like a broken record here, but barre3 is kind of the place to be - both for food and working out. I'm a regular on the barre3 iphone app for recipe ideas - especially during the week - quick and healthy is the name of the game. This summer gazpacho with grilled shrimp packs a veggie punch with the added bonus of protein. With the summer humidity in full effect here in D.C., this recipe is on my short list. 

What are your go-to recipe sites? Share the love with us on Twitter (@CardiCouture) or on our Facebook page! 

C&C in the Kitchen

It's hard to believe that it's already August! Where has the summer gone? One of my favorite things about summer is all the fresh fruit and veggies.

We have been berry picking four times.

We make at least one stop a week at a farmer's market (sometimes two).

And every Monday we pick up our CSA box. What does CSA mean? "Community Supported (or shared) Agriculture." A CSA refers to a group of individuals who have pledged to support a local farm, with growers and members sharing the risks and benefits of food production. CSA members pay at the onset of the growing season for a share of the anticipated harvest; once harvesting begins, they receive weekly shares of vegetables and fruit...whatever is coming out of the ground.

Our CSA comes from Tumbleweed Farm in Parkdale, OR. Taylor and Andrea are quite possibly the coolest farmers ever!

Coolest and cutest! Andrea makes dirt look chic! 

You might be familiar with Andrea through her widely known blog, Dishing Up the Dirt.  Remember recently Katie share some of her favorite recipe sources? Andrea's site was on her list (post here)!

I can't tell you how much I look forward to Monday and opening our box of fresh vegetables and herbs that have been harvested from the ground that very morning. I'm like a child on Christmas morning.

Andrea and Taylor truly know the meaning of hard work. I'm pretty sure when the Mini Fashionista gets older I am going to send her up there to learn what it means to really "get your hands dirty!"

Earlier this week I used the cucumbers we received to make this amazing Chilled Cucumber-Tahini & Herb Soup with Cumin-Spiced Roasted Chickpeas that Andrea posted on her blog (recipe here). It was super easy and so delicious.

This is what her soup looked like. 

Mine wasn't quite as pretty, but I know it tasted just as good. 

I am hoping to make a trip to the farm with the Mini sometime very soon, so I will be sure to recap our experience when we do!

C & C in the Kitchen

One of the best parts about having a home is dinner parties. Good company, homemade food, and adult beverages always making for a winning combination. Last weekend we had some friends over and it was so fun...maybe a little too much fun (at least Sunday morning).

I'm not a huge fan of cooking during the week. But entertaining is the best excuse to try out new recipes and spend the time I don't normally have. For me it's about trying a few new things, but also breaking out my "old reliables" so I don't get too stressed and spend the entire day in the kitchen. Here's what was on the menu. 

A friend of mine's sister is a farmer (the most adorable farmer you've ever seen). Her awesome blog, Dishing up the Dirt has some incredible recipes (Did I mention she's featured in this month's Self magazine). For an appetizer I tried the butternut squash and sage pesto pizza with balsamic glaze. I couldn't find fresh sage at the grocery store (no garden here) so I used basil in its place. I can't wait to try some of her other pizza recipes. 

Put goat cheese, artichokes, a little olive, and cherry tomatoes in the oven for 20 minutes on 350 and you've got this incredible dip. It's so easy and a real crowd pleaser. 

For the main course soy marinated flank steak was the go-to. I marinated the meat the night before giving it extra flavor. Add corn on the cob and peach and heirloom tomato salad (blogged about here) and it was the perfect meal for an incredibly mild August night. 

And last, but not least, this flourless chocolate cake is one of my favorites. Not only is it ridiculously good, it's super easy. I paired it with creme fraiche ice cream - because obviously you can't have cake without ice cream!

Happy dining! 

C & C in the Kitchen: Matcha Smoothies

I'm OBSESSED with smoothies. No really, I'd eat three a day if there was a travel version of my Vitamix. A friend recently sent me this recipe for Matcha vanilla smoothies from the blog Love and Lemons. 

First order of business...buy Matcha (thank you Amazon). Second, doctor the smoothie up to make it my own. Here's an estimate of what I put in.

1 frozen banana

1 cup Almond Milk

2 tsp Matcha

2 Dates

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp almond butter

3 ice cubes

Needless to say, it was delicious and the perfect energizer for a busy day at work. If you're not up on the Matcha, here are a few benefits - high in antioxidants, boosts memory and concentration, and fortifies the immune system.

If you're looking for other delicious smoothie recipes, my go-to is Dishing Up the Dirt. You can thank me later for this recommendation - it will change your life. 

C&C in the Kitchen: Recipes on Repeat

When I find a recipe I have the tendency to make it over and over and over again...

Here are a few of the recipes that are currently on repeat in our house.

Spiced Almond Thumbprint Cookies with Chocolate-Cashew Cardamom Frosting from Dishing up the Dirt

Speedy Veggie ‘n Brown Rice Noodle Bowl with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce from Oh She Glows. 

No-Bake Peanut Butter Granola Bars from Hummusapien

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet and Farro Winter Salad from Joy the Baker

Have a great weekend!