For lunch… let’s be real… it’s not always fancy salad and irresistible pretzel dogs.

Usually, at the lunch hour, I open the fridge and pile whatever I’ve got onto a few pieces of bread.  There’s usually salt and olive oil involved. I believe that those are ingredients that belong on damn near everything.

Remember when I made this simple lunch?

Yea… more things on bread with salt and olive oil.

Dinner and dessert are a different story.  Something warm and tender is awesome for dinner.  Chocolate is dessert… even if it has black beans in it.

Please just consider this your reminder to keep it simple and flavorful.

Lunch shouldn’t be a stresser.  Lunch, however, should have balsamic reduction on it… whenever possible.

Goat Cheese and Edamame Lunch Toasts

Slice a baguette into bite-sized slices.  Top generously with soft goat cheese, steamed edamame, olive oil, coarse salt and coarse pepper, and a few drippings of balsamic reduction.

It’s lunch and lunch is good.

I’m 87% sure there’s nothing you can do to ruin these perfect creations.

Winter citrus is sparkling!

If I could wear these citrus segments as earrings… I would.

Let’s roast these beauties!

I know.  Weird.

Weird… but totally incredible.  Warm and salty sweet citrus bites.

Winter citrus feels like such a paradox to me.  Cool winds and brisk mornings somehow combine with the juciest, brightest fruit.

They match but they mismatch… just like red and hot pink.  Matchy not matchy.

Alright… so what are you going to do with all of this warm, roasted citrus?

I love to serve wedges warm with a waffle or eggs benedict brunch.

They’re also really lovely as a side dish with roasted meat.

You might also consider Winter Citrus Pancakes.  Crash! (bang! boom!)

Not everything requires a bowl, a mixer, whisk, and measuring spoons.

Sometimes the most delicious comforts come out of milk, spice, and heat.

I’ve been keeping it pretty simple in the kitchen lately.  You know… trying to treat my body right, and such.  I’m also trying to stay far far away from the Winter cold that’s ruining the world as of late (that was totally dramatic).

Here’s the plan:

Heat about 2 cups of almond milk in a small saucepan.  If it’s unsweetened almond milk… you might want to add a touch of honey.  If it’s already sweetened… no need.

Add about 1/8 teaspoon of ground cardamom and a good sprinkling of fresh ground nutmeg to the heating milk.  Also add the scrapings of half a vanilla bean… heck, throw the pod in too.  If you don’t have vanilla beans on hand, no worries (!) just throw in a dash of pure vanilla extract.  If you want to add a bit of bourbon… I won’t tell a soul.

Heat until steaming hot.

Serve hot with cookies from your favorite bakery.  Enjoy while reading a cookbook studded with Polaroids of your friends as bookmarks.  (Suggestions… no biggie.)

Have you ever spent a hearty sum of money on something… and then didn’t want to use it because it was so expensive?

I sometimes feel that way about my couch.  Ok… I didn’t spend a ton of money on my couch… but, well… it felt like a lot of money at the time.  As a result, I feel like the couch must be treated with the proper respect.  God forbid someone should try and jump on it.  Heck..  if someone sits down on it too hard (is that really even possible) I look at them sideways.

And don’t even get me started on the cat.  He has nooooo respect.  Probably because he has noooo concept of what money is.

My couch isn’t fancy.  But… I feel like the very fact that I have a couch puts me on the fancier side of fancy.  I spent a lot of years without a couch.

Don’t sit down to hard on my couch… that’s all I ask.  Oh!  and if you’re going to park your rear end for a prolonged amount of time, please rotate seat spots.  You’re mushing my cushions.  Nevermind that it’s a couch made for sitting and mushing.  I’m unreasonable.  I know.  I truly am.

I feel like these cookies echo my fancy couch sentiments.

See… they have fancy ingredients in them.  Cocoa nibs and vanilla beans deserve some respect.  When these two ingredients meet in a cookie, the cookie should be held in the highest esteem… even if it’s just a light, puff-of-air meringue.

Treating yourself is important.  Treating yourself to a couch, and then acting unreasonably about its use might be silly.  But splurging of some crunchy cocoa nibs and baking them into cookies is a slightly easier treat.  And your cat won’t scratch cocoa nibs.

These meringues were inspired by Tartine Bakery in San Francisco.  Tartine is one of the best bakeries in the land.  They’re people that do things right.  It is a dream.  Tartine has cocoa nib studded meringues that are perfect.  You’ll want to order two… and you should… but you’ll probably only be able to eat one.  Trust me.

Meringues require eggs.  The brown yolk-y kind… not necessarily the wood or marble type, even though they’re pretty.

These cookies are so simple… but they have some really lovely splurge ingredients in them .

Cocoa Nibs add a crunchy, chocolate and coffee flavor.  Vanilla Beans add that beautifully irresistible fragrance.

They’re special baking items… and totally worth the splurge.

I always want to swim in glossy, unbaked meringue.  It’s like thick marshmallow cream.

Easily dollop with a big soup spoon.  Keep it easy in the kitchen.

The parchment paper is a complete must.  Parchment paper might seem like another splurge item… but it’s important.  It’s not like foil.  It’s only like parchment paper.  There is no substitute.

Take a bite while the cookies are still on the baking sheet.

You know why?  Because you’re grown.  You made grown cookies.  There’s no butter in them.  And you you you are living a good life.  Bite!

Eat off the baking tray… but please don’t forget to make things beautiful.  Beautiful things always make me feel better.  And!  Since we’ve splurged on such lovely ingredients… we really should take out a pretty plate and brew a nice pot of coffee.

These cookies are light but crunchy.  The centers are simultaneously hallow and chewy.  They are a combination of delicate and rustic.  Have them with hot coffee, red wine, or in bed with a glass of cold orange juice.  It’s your world… and it’s a beautiful one.

Dear New Year,

Here’s the deal!  I like carrot sticks.  I’m going to keep eating those.  I like oatmeal cookies.  I’m going to continue to consider them a breakfast cookie.  I’ll drink green juices.  I’ll even like it.

Also… I’m going to continue to follow 3 people on Facebook that I don’t actually like.  It’s that ‘keep your enemies close’ thing.

I’m going to drink tea, but I’ll always love coffee more.

I’ll go to church.  I’ll volunteer… and I’ll try to be better all the time.  I’ll try most sincerely.  I’ll try to love more and text less.

I’m going to find a new bourbon to appreciate.  That should be bonkers fun.

I’m going to eat real dinners, unless eating cold cereal while reading Food and Wine magazine makes more sense.

That’s where this roasted beef sandwich comes in.  Gorgeous.  Glorious.  Blessed day!  This could be the answer to unanswered questions.  Slow cooking, good smelling, tender tender, sandwich goodness.

Alright New Year, I’m gonna getcha!

Love,

Joy

This might have been love at first sight.  Now I know what that’s like.  Thank you!

There is such beauty in the simplicity of this recipe.  Beef roast is combined with broth, lots of raw garlic, onion, fresh sage and fresh thyme.  I used a large Dutch oven… but a slow cooker (crock pot) also works well too!  Beef is slooooooow cooked to tender perfection.  This takes hoooouuuurrrsss.  You can do all sorts of things in the time it takes for this roast to simmer, cook, and make your home smell amazing.

Errands.  Emails.  Closet organizing.  Nail painting.  Cookbook browsing.  Facebook stalking… imagine the things you could do.

After cooking the meat is removed from the liquid and shredded with two forks.  It falls apart, really.  It is a perfect thing.

The roasted beef is matched with brioche buns and spicy horseradish mayonnaise.  Major delicious.  Major boy food.  Major family food.  Set it and forget it…. and then be amazed at what an amazing chef you are!

These photographs were taken with an iPhone using Instagram.  Keeping it simple.

I was skeptical.  Sure… I’ve heard people talk about beans in brownies, but really!?  Must we really put beans in our brownies?  Isn’t that just like having a CNN news break right in the middle of Teen Mom 2?  Kind of a bummer.

I was skeptical and I was dang wrong.  Beans in brownies is totally not CNN!  (When was the last time you typed ‘totally not CNN’?) Beans in brownies is a trick that knocks down the fat and boost up the protein (even if just slightly).  Sea salt and big walnut chunks are also highly advised….so advised, that you may find yourself indulging at breakfast.  Like I did.  This very morning.

Three different kinds of chocolate make these brownies worth their salt.

Semi-sweet chocolate rounds, unsweetened chocolate chunks, and cocoa powder.

Black beans get pureed smooth and you’re well on your way to delicious brownies!

Just look at that.  Not a black bean in sight… but they’re in there!

A 9-inch square pan is buttered, papered, buttered again, and floured.  It may seem like a lot of work, but this trick is wonderfully helpful when it comes time to remove the brownies from the pan.  Just lift the paper and ease ‘em out!

Whole walnuts left over from the holidays.  These beautiful nuts look like brains… I’m all about it.  I leave the chunky and almost whole to top the brownies.  A sprinkling of coarse sea salt is also ideal.

See the tiny specks of sea salt?  That’s where delicious lives.  Black beans disguised by chocolate and sugar, beauty indeed.

The nut-studded, dry and crackled top.  These brownies are undeniably delicious.   So good you’ll want to share them with friends and show off what you can do with beans.

I like to just slightly under-bake these brownies.  Twenty five minutes is pretty golden, and if the center is still slightly moist, it will firm up and cook just a bit as it cools.  Dry brownies are a mild tragedy.

It’s a slow slow week we’re living, these days after Christmas and before New Year’s Day… but what’s on your brain?

Are you ready to say goodbye to 2011?  Are you ready to shake it out?

2011 was a beautiful year… but I’m ready to shake it out so I can put some beauty in 2012.

These days between Christmas and New Years feel so still and quiet… and yet very contemplative and heavy with potential.

I’m not talking about the potential of… I dunno, losing weight and eating better and drinking more water… and all that important nonsense.

I’m talking about the potential of it all.  Another year behind us and another chance in front of us.

What are we going to do with it?  Now is the time to think.

Now is the time to think and eat cookies.

Let’s get into imagining our future selves!  This is it!

Aaaahh oatmeal cookies.  So much potential.  It feels like all you need is brown sugar, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg.

Such a simple treat.

Oh… you also need oatmeal.  Duh.

I love to use old-fashioned oats because they’re big and hearty.

We’re also going to add two kinds of chocolate to the cookies.  Chocolate chips and cocoa nibs.  We’re talking melty chocolate and crunchy chocolate flavor.

I’d like you to meet my dear friend, Cocoa Nibs.

Cocoa nibs are coarsely ground cocoa beans.  I think they taste like a mix between roasted coffee beans and dark chocolate.  They’re crunchy and full of nutrients.  I love cocoa nibs on top of vanilla ice cream, with yogurt and fruit, and definitely in these oatmeal cookies where they add a lovely crunch and deep chocolate flavor.

Cocoa nibs.  Get into it!  Seriously.

These Oatmeal Walnut Cocoa Nib Cookies are exactly what you want them to be.  Expected and hearty.  Totally comforting and delicious… and with a touch of something just a bit different (that’s the cocoa nib part).  These cookies are exactly the way I like to approach a new year:  with certain expected comforts, but full of newness and surprise… and chocolate.

We’re almost in the future!

Oh!  Ps.  The best, most delightful way to scoop cookies from a big heap of dough into perfectly portioned individual cookies is with a cookie scoop.  I gifted myself one of these and I’m hooked.

Yesterday was a day like any other day.

I woke up thinking about doughnuts and chili fries. Ok… not really.  I did, however, make my way to the kitchen, found an open box of cereal, and ate a giant handful of dry cereal with my eyes closed.  Then I drank milk.  I can’t tell you whether or not I drank straight from the carton or used a glass.  That information is classified.  Just let me be known that I seem to be a bachelor at heart.

Yesterday was a day like any other day.  There was cereal, a bit of beach, eye cream (because I’m obsessed), food, friendship, and curious amounts of butter.

Herb butter.  A simple combination of salt and pepper, fresh thyme and chives, fresh (fuzzy) sage and lemon zest.

It all gets smashed into butter.  Later I’m going to suggest you put this cold butter inside a hamburger patty.  That’s obscene and I apologize in advance.

December 26, 2011.  Morning by the beach.  If anyone ever makes me live in a frozen tundra land… I’ll hold this dear inside my heart.

December 26, 2011.  Brunch with Tracy, Casey, and Cooper (not pictured… obviously).  Tracy is cutting her son’s pancake.  She’s mom-ing hard.

December 26, 2011.  Afternoon butter manipulation and photography.  Yes… I shoot on the floor in front of my door sometimes.  Just… deal.

What are you going to do with all of this beautiful, herb-y, salty, butter spread?

Bread is an amazing place to start.  Toasted?  With garlic?  Keep talking!

December 26, 2011.  You might consider, as I did… placing small pats of herb butter inside ground beef and making butter burgers.

Butter.  Burgers.  I mean… sweet Lord.  The recipe is from Good Meat, a book I am deeply emotional about.

I can neither confirm nor deny my butter burger consumption.  A butter burger is not pictured here because that would be entirely irresponsible, and frankly… dangerous.

December 26, 2011.  End with a cider.  Pear.

My hair is straight today.

My hair is straight today only because a woman spent about two hours pulling, tugging, blowing, and spraying my hair into this state.

It’s still curly on the bottom.  It’s also still frizzy on the top.  It would appear as though the outside of my head is as stubborn as my inside brain.  Stubborn!

I should just let my hair be how it lives.  Curly with a charming hint of frizz.  But… sometimes you want a change.  Sometimes you want to toss your bangs like the girls with the long straight hair.  Whatever.   Sometimes you want to bake your brie up into little bite-sized squares so you can eat too many of them without feeling like you’re eating an entire round of brie.  Again… whatever.

Also… it’s raining today.  I don’t even want to talk about the frizz this will induce.  I’m probably going to stay inside where the baked cheese is.  Just so you know.  Leave me be.

These bite-sized treats come together with puff pastry.

It’s buttery.  It’s flaky and light.  It’s buttery.

It’s totally buttery.

I cut the sheet of puff pastry into 12 rectangles… then each rectangle in half.  That means 24 little rectangles that will make 12 little puffs.

That was math.  I’m totally sorry.

I brush half of the squares with egg wash, a little nibble of cheese (do not be afraid of the brie rind!), a touch of jam, and more puff pastry.

It’s happening!

Yes.  I put these little brie bites on sticks.  I stuck a small popsicle stick half way up the puff pastry and then pressed it all together.

You don’t need popsicle sticks.  You totally don’t.  The sticks just make things more… sticky.

Sweet little cheese pockets.

A lot of brie was eaten in the making of these pockets.

Egg washed and a sprinkling of salt.

Major magic.

Baked and puffed and sometimes they bleed jam and cheese.  No biggie.

These bites are best served warm… but I sure did eat several of them at room temperature.  Delicious still.

It’s warm cheese baked in buttery crust with sweet jam.  If you need convincing… I just… I dunno.

The Simple Lunch is for days when:

maybe you’re nervous and possibly overwhelmed.

you’ve considered dipping your morning muffin in good olive oil.

you want to remember the days when you highlighted your hair with lemon juice and sunlight.

you need to sprinkle salt on your lunch aaaannnddd over your shoulder.

you want day wine… maybe two glasses.  no judgements.

Take a moment to enjoy The Simple Lunch…

it’s just like taking a warm morning walk.

it’s just like relaxing on your couch and just zoning out staring at your wall paper.

The Simple Lunch is happy and relaxed.

Grab a baguette, a ripe avocado, lemon, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and a sprinkling of olive oil.  Aaand go!

Real talk:  I bring you this abbreviated post because I’m bonkers busy right now.  But but but!  BUT!  Avocado toast is majorly delicious and and AND, I’m trying to figure out a way to put baked cheese things on a stick.  I’ll bring you those treats (fingers crossed) this weekend!  I love you… let’s hug.