Recipe: Super Simple Summer Salad

Food

One of the things I’ve missed most about living in a pandemic is going out to eat. I am a self-confessed food snob and there’s nothing I love more than a delicious meal served in a special restaurant. I also have so many friends in the restaurant industry and I hate to see them struggle.

At the same time, I do have a renewed relationship with my kitchen. Prior to the pandemic, cooking had really fallen off my to-do list. It had started to feel impossible. But with this new slow pace of life and nowhere else to go, cooking has become my renewed outlet. It’s funny, I’ve realized it’s like any habit. If you cook at home consistently it just becomes easier, quicker, and more fun. But cooking and food are also all about sharing. I’ve shared a lot of my cooking adventures during quarantine on Instagram – and you may have seen the recipe for the only cake I’m baking while we stay at home.

Today I have a deliciously easy summer salad recipe for you. You can throw it together in no time and it’s a perfect complement to virtually any other dish – grilled chicken or fish, burgers, pork chops, pasta. It’s light and fresh and delicious on hot summer nights (or foggy ones as is most typical in San Francisco this time of year). I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Sugar Snap Pea and Fava Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella
adapted from Cook Beautiful by Athena Calderone

Ingredients:
2C sugar snap peas, trimmed and blanched
1.5C fava beans shelled and blanched
Thinly sliced spring onion or shallot (I had a shallot on hand)
Fresh mint, roughly torn
Fresh basil, roughly torn
1 lemon, zest and juice
1.5T champagne or white wine vinegar
Olive Oil
1 Ball buffalo mozzarella
Flaky sea salt and pepper

Directions: Toss together the sugar snap peas, fava beans, mint, basil. Feel free to toss in any other greens you might like – arugula for spice, spinach for sweetness. Whisk together a quick dressing with thinly sliced shallot, champagne vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Toss to coat the salad with dressing, tear mozzarella into chunks and scatter through. Sprinkle with lemon zest, a touch more flaky sea salt and pepper before serving.

If you like the look of this salad here’s a link to the cookbook it came from. In fact, here are all the cookbooks I’ve been returning to during Shelter In Place.

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photography by seth smoot

10 Lovely Holiday Cocktails

Food

Whether it be the super early sunsets or the general madness of the season, the holidays have the tendency to make a person extra thirsty for a nice, stiff cocktail. So obviously, I’m serving up a bunch of options to quench that thirst!

For most of these holiday cocktails, I dug deep back in the Apt34 archives to bring you the best of our adult beverage selection. Some are light and fizzy while others might satisfy your desire for the once-a-year-because-it’s-kinda-heavy type of cocktail. We dare you to pick just one.

LIGHT & FIZZY

If you’re looking for a fizzy delight, you’ll want to choose one (or several – who are we to judge?) of these little darlings. They’re light, delicious and perfect for a holiday gathering or New Year’s Eve.

Find the recipe for this beauty here.

For the easiest, yet yummiest champagne cocktail recipe, click here.

Or perhaps you prefer your champagne a little spicy? This recipe adds cinnamon.

The Apartment 34 Sparkler is my signature New Year’s Eve drink!

BOOZY & WARM

If you prefer to reach for a margarita or perhaps a nice bourbon, we recommend sipping on one of the options below. Talk about warming up winter – these will definitely get the job done.

Take your Old Fashioned next level with this recipe.

The apple spice bourbon flip will definitely keep the cold at bay.

HOLIDAY SPECIALITIES

And now for what we like to consider the true holiday faves (aka those heavier options mentioned above). They’re creamy, decadent and damn delicious. Dessert in a glass if you will. Oh and we will.

Spiked hot chocolate. Need I say more?

Holiday cookie in liquid form. If you don’t chew, are calories involved??

I’d say this is like peppermint ice cream, in boozy liquid form. I approve.

What’s your poison of choice? All of the above? Yeah, same.

Check back later today for the cocktail lovers’ gift guide!

How to Cook Healthy at Home

Entertaining

This post is in partnership with Macys. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations I’m excited about and that have kept Apartment 34’s doors open.

Now that fall is officially here, I’m sure your brain, like mine, as turned to all things cozy. And while that means piling on chunky sweaters and snuggly throws, it does not have to mean piling on unhealthy food. While summer is typically the “healthy eating” season, this fall I want to stay on the wellness train.

One easy place to do that is in the kitchen, so this month I’ve partnered with Macys to get the tools to eat clean and healthy at home. I’ve finally found my rhythm in the kitchen post-baby (it only took 2.5 years), but it feels so nice to be cooking again. I’ve been working on some week-night dinners that both my kiddo and the grownups can love and I’ve landed on a winner that I wanted to share with you. Keep scrolling to check out the recipe – and some more peeks at my finished kitchen!

Macy’s has the best tools to create creative, healthy meals every day. I recently snagged KitchenAid’s new Spiralizer, and I’m obsessed. I now have my eye on the vegetable sheet cutter, food processor, and the slicer/ shredder attachments to make the work quick and easy with an all-in-1 machine. It’s also helpful when cooking is both good for you and aesthetically pleasing. Cuisinart has every type of tool to outfit your kitchen to be a healthy mecca, but I’m particularly loving the new Cuisinart cookware sets with rose gold hardware. I now have my eye on some J.A. Henckels ceramic cookware set to help whip up any healthy meal I desire – the naturally nonstick surface cuts down on the need for excessive oil or butter. I also just saw that Crux has introduced a new Air Frier to create healthy fries or veggie chips – I’ve never tried that before but it could be perfect for a fall party.

But when it comes to weeknight dinner recipes, I want to achieve three goals: making something quick, make something healthy, make something delicious. While I’m a massive pasta lover, I’m going to try to keep my carbs to a minimum fall while also plotting ways to sneak veggies into a toddler’s diet. I think I’ve created a total win-win – a pesto “pasta” made from Zuchinni noodles with chickpeas for added protein and Ricotta Salata for a yummy salty touch. The toddler gobbles it up (especially impressed by the extra long zucchini noodles) and the husband loves it just as much. Better yet, it takes no more than 30 minutes to make. Final bonus: this recipe is also gluten-free. Continue to scroll to see how it all comes together!

RECIPE: Parsley Pesto Zoodles with Chickpeas and Ricotta Salata

Ingredients
Bunch of Zucchini Noodles (4-6 zucchini’s worth, depending on size)
Parsley-arugula pesto (see below for recipe)
Chickpeas
Ricotta salata
Lemon
Olive oil
Salt

Step 1: Make your Zoodles. This is super easy to do via the KitchenAid mixer instructions and their handy-dandy online videos at KitchenAid.com/quickstart

Step 2: Drain, rinse and soak your chickpeas. Pro-tip: remove the chickpea skins before sautéing, otherwise, they won’t crisp up.

Step 3: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanche your zoodles, retaining a bit of the water from the pot, drain noodles and set aside.

Step 4: Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.

Step 5: Once hot, add chickpeas to the pan with the oil with a big pinch of salt. Stir to coat. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the chickpeas are just crispy, about 6 minutes.

Step 6: Lower the heat to medium-low, and add the blanched zoodles to the pan along with a good-sized blob of pesto and a bit of reserved pasta water. Toss until the zoodles are coated with pesto, then add one more pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Toss once more, and adjust lemon juice and salt as needed.

To serve, plate your zoodles and serve with shredded or sliced ricotta salata over top.

RECIPE: Parsley Pesto

Ingredients

1 bunch Italian parsley
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 C toasted almonds
1C parmesan cheese, grated
lemon
olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Step 1: Toast your almonds in a pan over low heat. Watch them closely to ensure they do not burn.

Step 2: Add parsley, garlic, almonds, grated parmesan, a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper to a food processor. Pulse until fine.

Step 3: Add a squeeze of lemon juice and then slowly add the olive oil as the food processor spins until you have a nice paste. Adjust seasonings to fit your taste.

(or if you’re feeling industrial you can use a mortar & pestle)

original photography for apartment 34 by andrea posadas

This post is in partnership with Macys. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations I’m excited about and that have kept Apartment 34’s doors open.

9 Healthy Ice Cream Recipes to Try Before Summer’s End

Entertaining

It wouldn’t be summer without a sweet treat or two, but there’s no need to totally throw your healthy eating habits out the window. There are so many spins on healthy ice cream these days; made with soaked cashews and coconut milk, sweetened with the natural, unprocessed sugars from dates or honey. These alternatives take just a bit of the sinfulness out ice cream without sacrificing taste. Or so they say. I definitely want to give one (or six!) of these healthy ice cream recipes a try before we bid summer farewell (tear).

Take this Sea Salt Caramel Coconut ice cream. It’s got a natural date caramel swirl – you can add bourbon – and it’s only sweetened with maple syrup. Get in my belly!

This amaze-balls looking chocolate ice cream is made with sweet potato. Yes, you read that right! And has no added sugar. As in zero, nada, zip. Which is why this might just top my must try this week list – just because it looks almost too good to be true.

This Cinnamon Roll ice cream doesn’t even require an ice cream maker. Just cashew butter, dates, a bit of almond milk and an overnight stay in the freezer.

This Toasted Almond Coconut ice cream recipe forgoes the cashew option for a combo of almond and coconut milks. But since those are two flavors I love, I have no quarrel with that.

This Chai Ice Cream uses actual chai tea to impart its flavor. You can make it vegan by sweetening with maple syrup (the other option being honey which I actually didn’t realize wasn’t considered vegan….)

If the ice cream is made of cashews, but also has cookie dough, that means you can still have two servings, right?!

This Vegan Coconut Blueberry option uses coconut oil. Color me intrigued. And hungry.

Fresh summer berries are my jam – especially when they’re jammed into ice cream! This Raspberry Ripple Coconut ice cream recipe uses the soaked cashews ice cream base with mashed raspberries and sounds as picture perfect as it looks.

This yummy looking Coconut Honey ice cream only has six ingredients! It might not be light on fat (hello coconut cream), but it sounds dang good.

There are so many mouth watering options on this list, it’s a little hard to know where to start, but I’ve decided I’m going to pick one and give it a go this week. I’ll be sure to share all the behind the scene and my final taste test on my Instagram story. Because maybe, just maybe, we can, in fact, have our ice cream and eat it too.

For more of my favorite dessert recipes, CLICK HERE.

Easy Spring Side Dish

Entertaining

April is here, Easter is around the corner and I’m actually excited to get in the kitchen and cook! All I want to eat right now are light, colorful, flavor-packed dishes. Well, this gorgeous carrot recipe certainly meets all those criteria.

I had the pleasure of meeting cookbook author and OG blogger Sarah Britton at a recent book signing event in San Francisco. Her latest book, Naturally Nourished, puts a mouth watering spin on clean eating. Ingredients like coconut oil add deep flavor while keeping things light. For this lovely little dish, young carrots are roasted to bring out their sweetness, but brightened with fresh dill and lightly toasted pistachios. It’s the perfect dish to serve a crowd at lunch, serve as a savory veggie at Easter brunch or as a delicious dinner side. It’s also just real purdy.

BROWN BUTTER CARROTS WITH PISTACHIOS
(recipe from Naturally Nourished by Sarah Britton)

Ingredients
14 young carrots
2t coconut oil
fine sea salt
2T unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely diced
1/2t Dijon mustard
1 1/2t apple cider vinegar
1T Pistachios, lightly toasted and chopped
handful fresh dill

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Scrub carrots and trim all but 1in off the tops. Rub each carrot with a little coconut oil and place on rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and roast until carrots are tender and a bit blistered.

As the carrots roast, prep the dressing. Start by melting butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and swirl pan over the heat until the butter starts to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Once browned, pour in a bowl (or jar) and mix in the mustard, vinegar and pinch of salt. Blend well.

Remove the carrots from the oven and place on a serving platter. Pour dressing over top and garnish with dill and pistachios. Serve immediately – you don’t want to let this dish cool.

For more fresh recipe ideas CLICK HERE.

Margarita of the Year: Tiki Rita

Entertaining

Who else is feeling pumped about all things Spring right now? Fresh colors, new styles, lighter flavors – I don’t know what it was about this winter, but the hibernation was legit. But the new season is working it’s magic. I’m finally feeling ready to break out of the doldrums. It’s time to be social again! I’ve never properly broken in our house so I think it’s high time. It’s the perfect excuse to break back into the bar cart and put some of that spring energy into a fresh cocktail idea.

Now, my love of margaritas is well-documented. Margaritas just equal fun. And when made right, they’re absolutely delicious. It’s no wonder they’re most popular cocktail in the US (interesting, right?!).

I’ve become a bit of a margarita connoisseur over the years and have figured out the formula to a stellar drink. The number one rule? Top shelf ingredients. Your margarita is only as good as what you put in it. Obviously that starts with great tequila. The first time you have truly good tequila, I promise your mind will be blown. My choice for top shelf tequila is Patrón. The second secret? Fresh everything else. We served margaritas at my wedding (it was in Mexico after all – you can see a glimpse here) and my dear father-in-law juiced over 50 limes by hand! But you know what they say. A little hard work makes the reward so much sweeter.

To celebrate the most popular cocktail nationwide, Patrón has crafted 7 artisanal recipes that showcase the versatility of the margarita and its endless variations in flavor profiles—from spice-infused to classic citrus. I got to put their “Tiki Rita” recipe to the test.

A Hawaiian-inspired version of the classic, this margarita is still light and refreshing but with a distinct spicy note – as in from your spice cabinet – not hot. It combines both fresh lime and fresh grapefruit juice as well as a spice-infused liquor call Allspice Dram. Thankfully, you can pick up all the ingredients at most liquor stores or your favorite bottle shop. I found everything for this cocktail at BevMo. And while I don’t normally rock the kitsch that tends to accompany all things tiki, I did find these adorable tiki shot glasses! I think they’re the perfect way to pay homage to the drink’s inspiration. And isn’t the color just gorgeous? Scroll down to get the entire recipe!

RECIPE: PATRÓN TIKI RITA

Ingredients

2oz Patrón Reposda
.5oz Patrón Citrónge Orange
.5oz Fresh lime juice
.5oz Fresh grapefruit juice
.25oz Vanilla syrup
.25oz Allspice Dram
Grated nutmeg
Lime wheels
Hawaiian sea salt rim

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake with ice to chill.
2. Strain onto fresh crushed ice in a high ball (or tiki!) glass that has been rimmed with Hawaiian sea salt.
3. Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg, a lime wheel and fresh cloves.

Check out all of the “Margarita of the Year” recipes by visiting patrontequila.com and casting your vote for your favorite on Twitter and Facebook for a chance to help name the #MargaritaOfTheYear. Of course, I’d love to see the #TikiRita trend! Vote for your favorite Margarita by doing one of the below:
1. Using the recipe Hashtag – #TikiRita – on Twitter/Facebook
2. Vote on the Patrón Margarita of the Year website by clicking RIGHT HERE

photography for apartment 34 by michelle drewes

This post is in partnership with Patrón. The perfect way to enjoy Patrón is responsibly. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting posts that keep our doors open.

The Best Burger You’ve Had All Summer

Food

It’s not really summer if you haven’t thrown at least one burger on the BBQ. But I have a confession to make – I’m not typically a burger fan. There are just so many more interesting dishes I’d rather eat. But that’s before I discovered how to make a really good burger. The secret? Make the old standby interesting with fresh flavors, nontraditional ingredients (hello vegetables) and a great supporting cast of side dishes.

This summer I’ve added the best burger recipe to my arsenal thanks to these Spiced Beef Burgers with Grated Carrot & Tahini Yogurt. I promise you, this is a must-try recipe.

This also happens to be another dish I learned from my Martha and Marely Spoon meal box. I’ve always been a little hesitant to make homemade burgers – they always seem like a ton of work, but this recipe definitely makes the effort worth it. The flavor on these burgers is turned up a notch with a Baharat spice mix – it’s a Middle Eastern blend of cumin, allspice, black pepper and nutmeg. But what I really loved was the homemade tahini yoghurt with fresh parsley and garlic as an alternative to traditional condiments. Mustard and ketchup are so blah (and usually crammed with a ton of chemical crap). The yogurt dressing is nice and light, refreshing and super flavorful.

Now, I know burgers may not fall on the tippy top of the healthy summer recipe spectrum, but I enjoy a good indulgence now and then. You could even paleo out these burgers by skipping the bun and using the Boston lettuce as your wrap.

Whether you choose to embrace the carbs or not, you’re going to want to try these bad boys before we bid summer adieu (I just used adieu in yesterday’s post – a word I never use…what’s up with that…but I digress). Onto the recipe!

Spiced Beef Burgers with Grated Carrot & Tahini Yogurt
serves 2

Ingredients
3/4 oz fresh parsley
2 oz carrot
1 large clove garlic
1 lemon
12 oz ground beef
1 1/2 tsp baharat spice mix
7 oz 2% Greek yogurt
2 T tahini
1 head Boston lettuce
2 brioche hamburger buns
course salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

Directions

Prep your ingredients by picking parsley leaves from the stem & finely chop. Wash your carrot and grate on the large holes of a box grater. Peel and finely chop garlic and juice the lemon

To make the burgers combine the ground beef, baharat, half the chopped parsely, 1t of salt and 1/4t of freshly ground pepper in medium bowl and mix until combined. Shape mixture into two patties about 4in wide and 3/4in thick. Refrigerate to firm up while you prepare the tahini yogurt.

Pre-heat your grill (or grill pan) over media-high. Combine yogurt, tahini, garlic, remaining parsley, 1T of lemon juice and 2T of olive oil in a media bowl – season with salt and pepper

Grill your burgers, turning once until lightly charred 2-3 minutes per side for medium rare.

To make your Boston lettuce salad whisk the remaining lemon juice, and 2T olive oil in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper. Remove core from the lettuce and separate leaves. Reserve 2-3 for burgers. Add remaining leaves to bowl and toss to coat.

To finish your burgers, split buns and lightly toast on the grill (or grill pan or skillet) until golden 1-2 minutes. Assemble burgers on buns with lettuce, grated carrot and a dollop of tahini yogurt. Serve with salad and remaining yogurt on the side.

This dish is perfect for a Saturday afternoon, a weeknight dinner or to impress at your next summer party. I would pair it with this great summer drink (or this one) and maybe make this and this as additional sides. And this would be the perfect healthy dessert to top everything off nicely.

No matter when and how you serve them, I guarantee you’ll enjoy this fancied up burger!

Happy cooking (and eating!).

Tasty Tuesday; Yes Way, Frosé!

Entertaining

We may have missed National Rosé Day over the weekend, but that only means we have some catching up to do! With the temps heating up, I’m in the mood to take my favorite rosé to the next level. Have you heard of frosé? Yeah, I hadn’t either, but I’m immediately sold.

Just look how purdy this drink is.

RECIPE: FROSÉ

makes 4 cocktails

Ingredients
1 750 ml bottle dry rosé
3 oz simple syrup
3 oz fresh lemon juice
4 lemon twists, to garnish
Vergano Americano Chinato (you can substitute in Campari if you can’t find it)

Directions
1. Freeze the rosé into cubes overnight.
2. Blend rosé cubes with simple syrup and lemon juice just until smooth.
3. Pour into glasses, garnish with lemon twists, splash the chinato over the top and serve.

This seems like the perfect light, refreshing drink. Perfect for a hot afternoon by a pool, a mimosa alternative for Sunday brunch or a fun signature cocktail for a summer wedding. Or a Tuesday. Just sayin’.

If this has wet your whistle, there are a few more frosé recipe options here, here and here.

PS – more of my fave summer cocktails are right here.

images and recipe via W&P Design, inventors of the carry on cocktail kit

Avocado, Citrus & Edamame Salad

Entertaining

So what was your vice over the long weekend? Sweets? Booze? Fast food? All of the above? No worries – now’s your chance to get back on the clean eating band wagon. I’m definitely going to be relying on our summer-ready recipes to right my wrongs from the last three days! The salad Sarah has for us this week is as gorgeous as it is delish.

With summer just around the corner, we all want to feel more energized and rock our best bodies by eating mindfully. Salads are the solution to ensure that you are getting all the nutrients you need, while feeling balanced and light. I personally adore this plant-based salad because it provides ample protein from the organic edamame for blood sugar control, beneficial fats from the avocado for satiety (a super food that helps to curb cravings and enhances skin health) and bright leafy greens paired with crunchy celery for added fiber and hydration to keep your insides nice and clean. The fresh citrus really brightens this salad, adding a burst of color and flavor to please your palate. Citrus fruits are packed with the powerful antioxidant Vitamin C, which gives your body a much-needed immune boost to stay vibrantly well.

Most store bought salad dressings are loaded with sugar and impure additives to make them last longer and taste better. However, the homemade dressing that accompany’s this salad is ultra fresh, nutritious and perfectly balanced with a little salt, acidity, sweetness, savory goodness and beneficial fat for maximum flavor.

Mouth watering yet? I just know you’re going to love this clean recipe as much as I do.

AVOCADO, CITRUS & EDAMAME SALAD

Serves 2
Recipe Inspired by Joy The Baker

INGREDIENTS (all organic where possible)

SALAD
• 2 cups leafy greens
• 1 grapefruit, segmented
• 1 cara cara orange, segmented
• 1 cup shelled *organic edamame (organic ensures the edamame has not been genetically modified)
• 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• 1 small (or half of a large) ripe avocado, peeled and sliced

DRESSING
• 3 tablespoons finely diced shallots
• 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)
• 1 tablespoon dijon or whole grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar (ACV)
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
• A pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)

DIRECTIONS

Add all of the salad ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl, use a fork to thoroughly whisk all of the dressing ingredients together. Lightly toss the salad with the dressing.

Serve in 2 beautiful salad bowls and enjoy in good company.

For the rest of our healthy summer recipes CLICK HERE

pbotography by joe lee photography // styling by sarah hawthorne

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