After such a positive response from my dad’s guest post on wine pairings, it was easy to convince him to do a follow up.  Here is hippie-pops again with more details on the family vineyard (plus a Healdsburg restaurant review). Elise’s grandfather Walt Dieden, 82, is the owner and resident of Dieden Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma County, CA).  He and my mother purchased the property in 1976 when they lived in Saratoga, CA, replaced all the vines and began farming Zinfandel grapes.  For years my dad commuted up on weekends to manage the… Read more >

Yum yum yum yum yum. Really and truly. Vegan Coco-nana Pancakes 1/2 cup whole grain flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain flour) 1/2 cup coconut flour (I used Tropical Traditions) 2 tsp baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup almond milk 1/2 cup water 1 banana, mashed First mash the banana in the mixing bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients.  Adjust liquids to get desired consistency.  Scoop into sprayed pan. Why do the first pancakes always end up a little more burnt than the rest of the batch?   Vegan pancakes… Read more >

This was WAY harder than I anticipated.  I consider myself semi-OCD when it comes to planning ahead, but this challenge required immense foresight.  When certain things weren’t available at the store, I was forced to adapt quickly.  There were so many times that I got home from work exhausted and had no energy to make anything (let alone make it presentable for the blog).  These are the meals that usually evade the camera.  Unfortunately (slash fortunately), I had a letter schedule to keep this month.  Any other month I would’ve taken the easy route and… Read more >