Honey Creme Brulee with Raspberries

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This is a variation of the classic Crème Brulee. Instead of heavy cream, this recipe calls for milk and powdered milk. Honey also adds a nice flavor. Serve with raspberries or other seasonal berries.

honey creme brulee and raspberries blog (2)

Ingredients

2 cups milk
3/4 cup dry milk
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp honey
5 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla essence
Topping: 3 Tbsp sugar and fresh raspberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 300
Combine first 4 ingredients in large saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edge (do not let boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Whisk egg yolks
Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk
Whisk in the vanilla
Divide the milk mixture evenly among 6 shallow (6-oz) custard dishes
Place in 13×9 inch baking pan, add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch around the custard dishes
Bake at 300 for 1 hour or until center barely moves when dish is touched (like jello)
Remove dishes from pan, cool completely on a wire rack
Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight
Make the hard sugar topping just before you serve by sifting the 3 Tbsp sugar evenly over custards. Use a kitchen blow torch held about 2″ from top of each custard to heat, melt, and caramelize sugar (about 1 minute each).
Top with raspberries and serve

A wonderful spring or summer dessert! Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Happy Mother’s Day | 2016

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Every year for Mother’s Day, my mom and I only ask for one thing. Pictures! Birds of a feather…

They were going to be out of the country for actual Mother’s Day, so we celebrated the weekend before with a more casual low key night. We walked to a neighborhood restaurant, and then came home and took a few pictures in front of our house.

It was perfect… Blog DL1961 Grace Born Wedges-1 OMG, excuse my face haha. Blog Mothers Day 2016-12 Blog Mothers Day 2016-13 Blog Mothers Day 2016-14 Blog Mothers Day 2016-15 Blog Mothers Day 2016-16 Blog Jelly the Pug Saltwater Sun San Sandals-1 On me…

Top- Mod Land Paris (thrifted, similar here)

Jeans- DL1961 Grace “High Rise Straight” (ebay, honestly, more similar here)

Sandals- Born (old, similar here)

On Maya…

Dress- Jelly the Pug (thrifted)

Leggings- Hanna Andersson (thrifted

Shoes- Saltwater Sandals

Keeping it Real…

In the majority of the pics we tried taking of the three of us, Maya was sticking her finger up her nose. She thought it was hilarious, and once she’s stuck on something (no pun intended!), it’s all over…

SO…I guess we do a take 2 when you come home, huh Mom?? 🙂 Blog Outtake-1

(The camera was passed all around, so thank you to my Mom and Dad for grabbing some of these!)

Summer Dresses + Denim Tops + Vans

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I think I’m going to be living in this outfit all summer…

Nothing more classic than a little black dress, whether it’s a casual tank or little cocktail. You can never go wrong!

Oh, and our weather is still a little all over the place. Chilly one minute, and then totally hot. It even got into the mid 80’s the other day!! IN MAY! IN SEATTLE!!! Blog Feel the Piece Tank Dress Gap Denim Shirt Leopard Vans-1 So, layering is always a good idea. And…so is wearing little shorts under dresses that can fly up 🙂 She totally tried to hide behind me 🙂But, I was too quick for her haha. She was in HEAVEN with all these dandilions! And, since we were at a park, I let her go for it! No neighbors to offend here 🙂 Blog Gapkids Denim Jacket Vintage Havanna Dress Checkered Vans-1 Always on the run… We actually went to this spot as a location scouting adventure for a shoot I had last weekend. I ended up not going here, but I can’t WAIT to bring a client here (or come back ourselves) around sunset! I took a bunch of videos on Snapchat. I’m still not 100% sure what I’m doing, but if you want to follow us there, we are at lkahan-ditelle. Blog Gapkids Denim Jacket Vintage Havanna Dress Checkered Vans-7

On me…

Top- Gap (thrifted)

Dress- Feel the Piece “FreeBird Dress” (eBay)

Shoes- Vans (thrifted for $6!, sold out, similar here)

On Maya…

Jacket- Gap (thrifted)

Dress- Vintage Havana (thrifted, but similar here)

Shoes- Vans (thrifted)

Keeping it Real…

Maya- “I want to make your hair look pretty!” Which…is totally sweet. BUT…then she tried to yank out my pony tail! Not so good…

She’s also in this phase where she’s constantly chewing gum. No big deal, but half the pictures I have of her now are of her mid chomp 😉 Blog Outtake-2

(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Avocado Brownies

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Avocado brownies? Why? Because they are moist, soft, rich and delicious! Almost paleo (minus the sugar) and very rich, I would not give these to kids but they are a nice grown-up treat! Cut into squares and eat warm or store in the freezer for a cool dark chocolate treat!

avocado brownie blog

Ingredients

2 large, ripe avocados, mashed until creamy (about 1 cup)
8 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or grease baking dish.
In a large bowl, whisk together mashed avocados, melted chocolate and coconut oil until smooth and creamy. Whisk in sugar. Mix in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Add vanilla.
In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Stir dry mixture into avocado mixture until just combined — be careful not to overmix! Spread batter into the prepared pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool and then cut into squares.

Modified slightly from the original and thanks PCC Natural Markets

dit-elle-Esther

Sweet Potato, Guacamole, Chicken Sausage, Soft Boiled Egg…Breakfast for dinner?

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I know I’m not the only person that loves breakfast for dinner! And, I also know that it’s kind of a repeat for me, but…it’s easy and DELICIOUS! Who wouldn’t want that?!

I literally came up with this meal 30 minutes before I was supposed to make it, and it took me approximately 30 minutes to make. Admittedly, because I ran inside while Maya was playing with our neighbors. I turned on the oven, peeled and chopped the sweet potatoes, seasoned them, and turned on the pot for the eggs, in…less than 5 minutes. Then…we played for a few more minutes.

THANK GOD FOR LITTLE DISTRACTIONS, NO?!!!

And, precooked chicken sausages are a godsend in our household. I freeze them for later, and soak them in a warm water bath right before I need them!

Diced up for a pasta meal, or sliced in half for this! SO easy, delicious, and healthy!

Blog Sweet Potato Guacamole Chicken Sausage Soft Boiled Egg Whole30 Paleo Gluten Free-1 What you need…

One sweet potato (for 2-4 people)
Olive Oil
Sea salt
3 Pre Cooked Chicken sausage (Depending on the amount of people you want to feed! I did one per adult, and half for Maya) I love Aidell’s, but there are so many good ones!
Avocado (or pre-made guacamole-yes, I cheated on this one!)
Eggs (2 for me and the Huz, one for Maya)

What to do…

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut sweet potato in 1/2 inch slices
Lightly coat in olive oil (or oil of your choosing), and salt and pepper to taste
Start a pot of boiling water. For me, it’s a LOT easier to soft boil eggs for more than two people. If you want a runny egg and there’s more than 2, it’s way too much for me to manage on top of everything else!!!
Bake the sweet potatos in the oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping over half way through.
At the half way mark add chicken sausages that are cute in half.
In that time, remove the eggs from the boiling water. 7 minutes = runny yolk, 8 minutes, less, so…I remove ours at 7, and then turn the heat off for Maya’s while ours then run under a cool water bath.
Once the sweet potatoes are crispy on the outside, take them and the chicken sausages out.
Layer everything and enjoy!

Baked Zucchini Sticks

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Zucchini is in season and what a better way to prepare it than roll it in some almond meal, seasoning and parmesan cheese. Serve hot and crispy with your favorite marinara sauce.

paleo zucchini sticks blog (2) paleo zucchini sticks blog (1)

Ingredients

2 egg whites, beaten
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 medium sliced zucchini – sliced into 3 x 1/2″ sticks
Marinara sauce for serving (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place egg whites in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, oregano and garlic powder in a resealable plastic bag; shake well.
Working with a few at a time, dip zucchini sticks in egg whites to cover. Place in the plastic bag and gently shake to cover with breadcrumb mixture. Place breaded zucchini in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and lightly spray with cooking oil. Repeat with remaining zucchini sticks.
Bake until golden and crispy, 20 to 25 minutes, flipping halfway through baking. Serve hot with ketchup or marinara sauce.

Modified from the original from PCC Natural Markets.

dit-elle-Esther

No Time…basics!

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Does anyone else feel like the end of the school year is near, and as the weather gets nicer there is SO much more to do? Ok, maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s that I had 3 shoots this weekend, and I feel like I’m running around like a mad woman with no purpose…

All that to say. I cannot even think about outfits right now! Easy basics are about all I can handle. Blog Dallin Chase Top DL1961 Emma Shoemint Espadrilles-31 Um….and let’s be clear. Maya picked out her entire outfit. Because…peach, plus polka dot leggings and polka dot shoes…PERFECT! 😉 Blog Plum Baby Dress Polka Dot Vans-1 And, she went on a blowing kisses frenzy, but it was really hard to capture! Then, we walked over to my parents house to give them something, and we came home with a flower… as we do.

On me… (No time for links, sorry!!)

Top- Dallin Chase

Jeans- DL1961 “Emma”

Shoes- Shoemint

On Maya… (No time for links, sorry!!)

Dress- Plum Baby (thrifted)

Leggings- GapKids (thrifted)

Shoes- Vans (Nordstrom Rack)

Keeping it Real…

This entire shoot could have been a “keeping it real!” I got a new tripod (because my old one was stolen out of my car-GRRRR!), and I’m still trying to figure it out. THEN…for some random reason, my remote triger wasn’t on the same channel as my remote. Oh, and Maya was in THE BEST MOOD EVER! Seriously?!!! GAH! So, after 15 minutes of her posing and playing for me while I was working on my non working camera (while I was cursing up a storm-under my breath, ok NOT!!!!)

I kept attempting to focus on the focus stand, and she was so freaking cute…

Oh, and THEN…. a comedy of errors. I chopped off her head, she “punched me”, I almost dropped her/choked her, and….well, not pretty. Hahaha. All in all. It really was a super fun evening, but I FAILED at capturing it all… At least, I failed at capturing it well. It was mostly captured 😉

(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Our Earth Day…in entirely thrifted outfits :)

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Most days we are mostly wearing clothes that come from thrift stores or eBay, but I wanted to make sure that on Earth Day, we were wearing entirely thrifted outfits.

The day started off nice and sunny, but by the time we got our acts together to go down to the beach, it was cold and windy! Blog Levis Jacket Splendid Striped Tee COH Gray Ava Checkered Vans-1 Perfect excuse to cuddle to keep warm! haha. The look on her face. I swear it didn’t last long 😉 Blog GapKids Jean Jacket Crewcuts Striped Dress Toddler Checkered Vans-1 Right before we headed down to the beach I saw a picture on Value Village’s Instagram that showed this super cool clothing sculpture on a very familiar looking beach. Come to find out, it was Alki!! SO….of course we had to go check it out!

And…yikes. Blog Value Village EarthDay Alki Beach-3 Blog GapKids Jean Jacket Crewcuts Striped Dress Toddler Checkered Vans-4 Maya just wanted to play hide and seek haha. She lost interest pretty quickly, and started chasing seagulls. ALMOST got this one!! And then…a little dancing on a platform to keep warm! Which…didn’t work so well.NO…she didn’t jump from the platform!! She jumped from the steps 🙂 Blog GapKids Jean Jacket Crewcuts Striped Dress Toddler Checkered Vans-11

On me…

Jacket- Levi’s (thrifted, similar here)

Top- Splendid (thrifted, similar here)

Jeans- Citizens of Humanity “Ava” (thrifted, similar here and here)

Shoes- Vans (thrifted)

On Maya…

Jacket- GapKids (thrifted, but similar here)

Dress- Crewcuts (thrifted, but similar here)

Sweatshirt- Crewcuts (thrifted, but similar here)

Leggings- Tucker and Tate (thrifted)

Shoes- Vans (thrifted)

Keeping it Real…

Ok, so she wasn’t as excited as I thought she’d be haha. Although, in her defense, we parked way down at the other end of the beach, played for a bit, and then walked down to the sculpture… And this was after a few hours playing at the gym too.

I was a liiiiittle worried about getting her to walk back, but the seagulls helped 🙂 Blog Value Village EarthDay Alki Beach

(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Asparagus Pistachio Pesto

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It’s asparagus season and we are seeing a lot of beautiful crisp fresh green stalks in stores locally. If you love asparagus, lemon, garlic, olive oil and pistachios, you will LOVE this! It is totally, amazingly, delicious. This recipe directs you to blanch the asparagus quickly and then process into pesto. Perfect spring or summer appetizer or side! Enjoy! 🙂

asparagus pistachio pesto (2) asparagus pistachio pesto (1)

Ingredients

1 lb asparagus, tough ends removed
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup pistachios
1 lemon, juiced (2 to 3 Tbsps, I used Champagne Vinegar)
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
3/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Blanch or steam asparagus until al dente and still a bold green
Refresh in cool water
Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces
In food processor, pulse garlic, pistachios, lemon juice, salt and pepper a few times, then add asparagus
Pulse the processor to make sure mixture is not over mixed, while gradually adding olive oil
Process until desired consistency

Thanks PCC Natural Markets!

dit-elle-Esther

Ginger, Chicken Sausage, Spaghetti Squash, Egg Muffins | Paleo, Whole30

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I have always loved the taste of ginger, but have been even more inspired to add it into things after reading Esther’s post on the health benefits of it. I mainly just loved the taste haha.

I had made another variation of these muffins a few months ago (with spinach!), and have kept meaning to make them again. They are a little time consuming, but it’s SO worth it to have these ready to eat in the morning! OR…for a snack 🙂 Blog Whole 30 Paleo Ginger Spaghetti Squash Chicken Sausage Egg Muffins-1

What you need… (12 Muffins)

5 Large Eggs
2 cups spaghetti squash, cooked with water squeezed out.
6 precooked chicken sausages, chopped into bite size pieces (I used these)
1 Teaspoon ginger
1/2 Teaspoon crushed garlic
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or fat of choice)
Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do…

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Squeeze out all the moisture from the spaghetti squash with a paper towel and evenly distribute into lined muffin tins (This is my 2nd time making these and I spent almost as much time scrubbing the tins both times, even though I greased them!!). I had Maya push a paper towel into them to get even more moisture out. She thought it was fun, and it helped pack them in there!
Bake for 10 minutes til the spaghetti squash gets slightly browned at the edges.
While that is baking…In a large frying pan, heat up your oil (or fat of choice) with the ginger and garlic, and cook diced onions until soft. I let Maya stir these up. 🙂
While these are cooking you can dice up your chicken sausage. Once the onions are soft, add in the chicken sausage for a few minutes to warm them up and release the juices.
After the spaghetti squash has cooked, reduce your heat to 350.
Evenly distribute the onion/chicken sausage on top of the spaghetti squash in the muffin tins.
Whisk all the eggs, and add salt and pepper to taste. Maya loves whisking eggs, and it was an easy way for her to help!
Pour over the sausage and onion mixture until you can see the egg. Not quite covering the sausage.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until the eggs are all the way cooked through.
Store in an air tight container, and eat through out the week!

Here are some behind the scenes video from us making these. I’m totally inept at Snapchat, but we are both having fun with it. Find us at lkahan-ditelle 🙂

ENJOY!! 🙂 dit-elle-Lauren

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