Pomegranate and Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies

When I told Brent I was going to make these cookies, he looked at me and said, “I’m not sure I will like Pomegranate seeds in cookies.” I shrugged. He doesn’t care for sweets nearly as much as I do anyways. I realize it may sound weird, and it may not appeal to everyone, but these cookies are quite good and the pomegranate seeds are part of the magic for me. They’re not too sweet and the pops of red make them feel perfectly festive for this time of year.

Cardamom Baked Pears

After ten days in Europe (primarily Germany) and our first ever hiatus from this blog, we’re trying to get back into the swing of things. So I wanted to keep things super easy this week. We did a bunch of batch cooking over the weekend, and our recipe is simple: a baked fruit.

I was inspired by the cardamom and pear bundt cake I saw at Whole Foods this weekend. I love pears and I love cardamom! It’s a perfect spice for this time of year—warm and slightly spicy. If you can get Bosc pears, they are best because they are quite sturdy and hold up against baking and bold spices well. Otherwise, you might want to reduce the cooking time. Enjoy!

Fall Butternut Squash Frittata

I can’t tell you how frequently I walk through the produce section of the grocery store at this time of year, and I day dream of a table full of sweet and savory selections made with the various squash and gourds on display. I will admit, though, that I’m not very brave when it comes to cooking with gourds and squashes.

This dish may be a bit safe (in that butternut squash isn’t a difficult food with which to work), but it’s layers of flavor are complex and delicious. There’s the sweetness from the squash, the tang from the balsamic, and the earthy savoriness from the spinach. I’m so excited to share this creation with you, and I hope you enjoy it for a weekend brunch or make-ahead for weekly breakfasts!

Curried Pork Belly with Vegetables

This past weekend, we decided to pick up a full pork belly—if you can find it, it’s a great savings, and we hope to make our own bacon on the smoker at some point. We haven’t cracked that code yet, but for this week we made a delicious curry recipe that resulted in super tender, flavorful pork belly with vegetables.

Cooking this dish was a bit of an adventure, as the liquids didn’t reduce as quickly as I expected. Kudos to my good friend and cooking sensei Russ for sous cheffing via iMessage on a Saturday night.

Autumn Latkes

I love latkes but we don’t often think to make them because we don’t often have potatoes in our pantry. The fall weather makes me crave sweet potatoes, though, so I recently picked up a few at the grocery store. I don’t recall exactly what inspired this recipe. I’ve seen latke recipes with various ingredients beyond the potatoes—from other vegetables to cheeses. I chose to incorporate apples because I had them the house. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor: slightly sweet and tangy. We ate the whole batch in one sitting. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did!