I usually would buy birthday cakes for the kids, but last year at Poppy's 4th birthday I made her this berry one and it turned out so great! The layers were easier to do than I thought. Now it's been fun to think of what kind of cake they want and how I can make it. I’m also able to use better ingredients this way too along with homemade frosting. I made this no-bake watermelon “cake” last year to display the fruit too, and it was a hit!

For Poppy’s mermaid cake I let her pick everything out ahead of time so we could pack it for our trip. She loved the mermaid figurine with the bubbles as well as this number 5 mermaid candle.

I asked her what kind she liked and she said vanilla with white frosting, so that was the plan. This one came out so spongy and moist, and she said it's her favorite cake! I only put a thin layer of frosting between the layers, but depending on how much frosting you want, you could make the layers thicker. We put the leftovers in the fridge, and eating it cold the next day was also so delicious. I didn’t get a good picture of the inside of the cake until the next day when the kids were already digging into the frosting on the top (they LOVED the frosting), the sprinkles also made it look so festive and these ones are dye-free:

Elliott and Poppy were talking together about what cake he should choose for his birthday in November, it was really sweet! Last year I made him this checkered flag cake for a race car theme, which came out so adorable and I highly recommend it.

The recipe below includes how to make the frosting as well as what to do if you want to make cupcakes instead of the cake. Here’s the supplies I used for Poppy’s mermaid theme: balloons, mermaid streamers, iridescent steamers, mermaid cupcake liners.

Tools & Supplies

• Three 8-inch round cake pans

• Round parchment paper (or cut it out)

• Stand mixer or electric hand mixer

• Large mixing bowl

• Medium mixing bowl

• Fine-mesh sieve or flour sifter

• Rubber spatula

• Measuring cups and spoons

• Cooling racks

• Serrated knife, for leveling the cake layers or cake leveler.

• Offset spatula, for frosting

• Cake stand or serving plate

For Cupcakes

• Cupcake pans

• Cupcake liners

• Cookie scoop or measuring cup, for portioning the batter

Vanilla Birthday Cake

Prep Time: 25 min Bake Time: 30–40 min Total Time: ~1 hr 30 min (plus cooling) Serves: 12–16

Before You Start

1. Bring the butter, eggs, Greek yogurt, and buttermilk to room temperature before you begin. This helps the batter mix evenly and gives the cake a softer, lighter texture.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper, or I used an olive oil spray and sprayed down the parchment paper rounds after placing them inside.

3. Make sure the cake layers are completely cool before frosting. Even slightly warm cake can melt the buttercream.

Ingredients

For the Vanilla Cake

• 3¼ cups all-purpose flour

• ½ cup cornstarch

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

• 3 sticks (1½ cups) salted butter, softened

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 3 whole eggs + 3 egg yolks, room temperature

• ¼ cup Greek yogurt, room temperature

• 1½ cups buttermilk, room temperature

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the Vanilla Buttercream

• 3 sticks (1½ cups) salted butter, softened

• 4½ cups powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

• Milk, 1 teaspoon at a time as needed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes, until very pale, light, and fluffy.

4. Add the whole eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the egg yolks one at a time, then mix in the Greek yogurt and vanilla until combined.

5. Turn the mixer to low. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk in alternating additions: flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, flour. Mix only until the final streaks of flour disappear. Do not overmix.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared pans. Place the pans in the oven with at least 1 inch of space between them.

7. Bake for 30–40 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, the edges begin to pull away from the pans, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few dry crumbs.

8. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes. Turn them out onto cooling racks, remove the parchment, and allow them to cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

1. Add the softened butter to a stand mixer and whip on medium-high speed for a full 5 minutes, until very pale and fluffy. Don’t rush this step. Whipping the butter thoroughly is what helps keep the frosting light instead of greasy.

2. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar 1½ cups at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition.

3. Add the vanilla, then beat on medium-high speed for another 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

4. If needed, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until the buttercream is soft and easy to spread.

Assembly

1. Once the cake layers are completely cool, use a serrated knife to level the tops if they have domed.

2. Put a little buttercream frosting in the middle of the cake stand to help the cake avoid slipping. Place the first cake layer on your serving plate or cake stand and spread a thin, even layer of buttercream over the top. Repeat with the second layer, then add the final cake layer.

3. Spread a thin crumb coat of buttercream over the entire cake. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.

4. Cover the cake with the remaining buttercream and smooth the top and sides with an offset spatula.

5. If your kitchen is warm, refrigerate the finished cake and remove it about 1 hour before serving.

For Cupcakes

Use the same batter without making any changes. Line cupcake pans with liners and fill each about ⅔ full.

Bake at 350°F for 18–22 minutes, until the tops spring back and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few dry crumbs.

The full recipe makes approximately 30 cupcakes.

For a half batch, halve all of the ingredients and use 2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks. This will make approximately 15 cupcakes.

I love this focaccia because it's about as simple as bread gets. No kneading, no shaping, no scoring. You mix it at night and it does the work while you sleep.

If you don’t have a sourdough starter you’ll need one for this recipe, so check out my instructions on how to start one from scratch. Feed it about 12 hours before you make the dough. I fed mine in the morning and it was bubbly and active by evening, and that’s when I mixed everything up.

The cast iron is what makes this work as a pizza. The oil in the bottom of the pan fries the underside of the dough while it bakes, so the bottom crust is crispy when you cut it and the edges go dark and crackly. The inside is sooo delicious. Jadyn is obsessed with this version of pizza, and she said I should add even more cheese next time. Note taken.

Par-bake the crust before you put anything on top. This means baking the dough by itself first until it's cooked through, then adding your toppings and finishing it. I learned that one the hard way. I figured I could bake it the way I bake focaccia on a sheet pan, where it crisps up evenly all over, but cast iron is heavy and slow to heat, so the dough sits in a cool pan while the oven is already hot. Add sauce and cheese sealing the top and the middle stays gummy no matter how long you leave it in. Cast iron is worth it, though. Nothing else gives you that fried, crackly bottom crust, and the par-bake is all it takes to get there.

Save the basil for the end if you want it green. Baked basil browns and shrivels, and fresh basil torn over the top tastes better too. I baked mine because my kids think raw basil is a tad spicy, and if it’s cooked a bit they eat it all, so do whatever works for your preference.

You can also top it however you want. Ground beef if you want more protein on it, or hazelnut spread and strawberries once it comes out for a sweet one. Here's how I make it:

No-Knead Sourdough Focaccia Pizza

Prep Time: 20 min (plus rising time) Bake Time: 28–30 min Total Time: About 15–20 hours Serves: 4–6

Before You Start

Make sure your sourdough starter is bubbly, active, and has doubled before mixing the dough.

I used a 12-inch cast iron skillet.

Plan to mix the dough the evening before and bake the pizza the following day.

Use cool water, not warm. It slows the rise down overnight so you wake up to dough that’s puffy instead of overproofed and flat.

Ingredients

50 g active sourdough starter (about ¼ cup)
375 g cool water (1½ cups + 1 tablespoon)
20 g honey (1 tablespoon)
500 g all-purpose flour (about 4 cups, spooned and leveled)
9 g fine sea salt (1½ teaspoons)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
¾ cup pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about 8 oz)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn or thinly sliced

Instructions

In the evening after your starter is active and bubbly: In a large bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, cool water, and honey until well combined.

Add the flour and sea salt. Mix with a fork or dough whisk until a shaggy dough forms, then finish mixing by hand until all of the flour is incorporated. The dough will be very sticky.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let the dough rise at room temperature overnight (about 70°F) for 12–18 hours, or until doubled in size and full of bubbles.

The next day: Pour the olive oil into a 12-inch cast iron skillet, coating the bottom and sides well.

Turn the dough into the skillet and gently flip it so both sides are coated with oil. Don’t stretch it yet. It will relax as it rests.

Cover and let the dough rise again for 1½–2 hours, until very puffy.

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Using lightly oiled fingertips, gently dimple the dough all the way to the bottom of the pan, pressing it evenly to the edges. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Bake the crust without toppings for 18 minutes, until the surface is set and lightly golden with no wet spots remaining.

Remove the skillet from the oven. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the crust and top with the shredded mozzarella.

Return the pizza to the oven and bake for 10–12 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the edges are deep golden brown.

Let the pizza rest in the skillet for 5 minutes. Scatter the fresh basil over the top, then transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Slice with a pizza wheel and serve warm.

xx Brittany

Back when I drank Starbucks I always got the brown sugar shaken espresso in the summertime, and even though I rarely drink Starbucks anymore, I found myself missing that one drink and wondering if I could make my own version at home that was better quality. We have such good coffee shops here, our favorites are Hank's, High Brow and Perenn. I love going for a seasonal drink, but this was the flavor I kept thinking about.

I first learned about unrefined sweeteners from Dr. Bill Schindler, who wrote Eat Like a Human and co-founded Modern Stone Age Kitchen, and his thinking is why I use muscovado now instead of regular brown sugar. Most brown sugar is refined white sugar with molasses stirred back in after the fact, but muscovado is unrefined, so it never had its molasses stripped out in the first place, which is why it swaps in so easily and gives that deeper caramel note and that natural molasses is where its minerals come from. When I was having a hard time finding an organic muscovado and asked Dr. Bill which brand to buy, he told me the integrity of the sugar matters more than the label, that he'd take muscovado over a refined organic sugar every time. These are the ones I use for either dark muscovado sugar or light muscovado sugar.

The Starbucks version you get out is built on a brown sugar syrup and a bottled sweet cream on top, and I wanted to keep that same warm, cinnamon flavor while making it from things I already keep in the kitchen. So I stir muscovado straight into the hot espresso instead of a syrup, along with real cinnamon and a little vanilla so everything dissolves all the way through. For the foam I whip heavy cream with raw honey, a touch of vanilla, and a pinch of sea salt. It’s so good! Here's the to-go lids I use for my mason jars.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Shaken Espresso with Salted Vanilla Cold Foam

Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 5 min Serves: 1 (20–24 oz)

Before You Start

Fill your serving glass with fresh ice before assembling the drink.

Brew your espresso fresh so it’s hot enough to fully dissolve the muscovado sugar.

Ingredients

2 shots espresso
1 tablespoon muscovado sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup ice (for shaking)
¾ cup whole milk (or milk of choice)
Fresh ice

For the Salted Vanilla Cold Foam

¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon raw honey or maple syrup (or more to taste)
Pinch of fine sea salt
Ground cinnamon, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Brew the espresso. While it’s still hot, stir in the muscovado sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Fill a mason jar with the ice. Pour the espresso mixture over the ice and shake vigorously for 20–30 seconds, until chilled and frothy. Then add the milk.

In a separate measuring cup or frothing pitcher, combine the heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla extract, honey or maple syrup, and sea salt. Froth with a handheld frother for 20–30 seconds, until thick, silky, and pourable.

Slowly pour the salted vanilla cold foam over the top of the drink.

Finish with a light dusting of cinnamon, and enjoy!

Check out my other summer drink recipes HERE and HERE.

A couple weeks ago I shared the two iced drinks I’ve been living on this summer, and so many of you made them and sent me pictures (the cold foam was a hit with the matcha!), so I wanted to come back and show you the other half of my day.

The summer is really setting in with the heat! The kids aren’t phased by it though, they’re still outside all day either playing with the chickens, picking the cherry tomatoes off the vine, on the trampoline, or in the pool with us, and they come in soaked, which I love for them, sweating is one of the ways their little bodies clear out what they don’t need. I'm also doing sauna sessions throughout the week, so between that and breastfeeding, I really need to stay on top of my hydration.

My daytime drink is still the B•T Fountain (I told the whole story of how I first found it at Erewhon in this post if you missed it). The short version is that it’s the electrolytes that makes my water count, because I learned a while back that staying hydrated isn’t only about how much water you drink, your body needs the minerals and electrolytes to hold onto it, and in a Tennessee summer you’re sweating those minerals right back out. Pique B•T Fountain is also so good for my skin! It has clinically studied ceramides and hyaluronic acid in it that hydrate my skin from the inside while I drink it, so it’s doing double duty on the days I’m sweating half of it back out in the garden.

The kids lose their minerals in all that sweat too, so I've been making sure they stay topped up. They love the sachet just stirred into plain water, the flavor is so good on its own, but the watermelon version is a fun way to make it feel extra special. Elliott loves muddling, which means half of it ends up on the counter, but he's so proud of it that I don't worry about the mess.

Watermelon Lime B•T Cooler

Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 5 min Serves: 1 (16–18 oz)

Before You Start

Choose a ripe, sweet watermelon for the best flavor.

Chill your water or sparkling water before making the drink.

Ingredients

1 B•T Fountain sachet
½ cup fresh watermelon, cubed
Juice of ½ lime
8 oz cold filtered water or sparkling water
Ice
Fresh mint, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Add the watermelon to the bottom of a large glass and gently muddle until it releases its juices. Slowly pour in the cold filtered water or sparkling water and gently stir to combine.

Add the B•T Fountain sachet and lime juice, stirring until the powder is completely dissolved.

Fill the glass with ice.

Garnish with fresh mint, if desired, and enjoy immediately.

Then there’s the other end of the day, which has become my favorite part of it. We’ve started eating dinner early, around 5pm, because it’s been better for everyone’s digestion and we’ve all been sleeping deeper for it, and by the time the Poppy and Elliott are down it’s usually around 8:30pm. Clive is almost always with us then, either nursing or just awake for a little while before bed, and Anthony and I have gotten into the habit of making our night drink and sitting on the couch together to enjoy it. It's usually the two of us with the baby, talking about the day and thinking about plans for the next. It's almost like a regroup, and such a calming way to end the night.

That's where Pique R•E Fountain comes in, it's built around magnesium, the mineral your body leans on to relax, your muscles and your nervous system both need it to settle down, which is why being low can leave you feeling wired and restless right when you're trying to come down, and so many of us are running low without even knowing it, between stress, sweating, and not getting much of it from food anymore. What I love about this particular one is that is uses three different forms of magnesium (triple maxed) instead of just one, so your body can absorb and use it, and it has the other electrolytes right alongside it; potassium, sodium, and calcium. So it's replacing what a long hot day pulls out of me while it helps me wind down. The nice thing is it works both directions, the magnesium helps calm everything down in the evening so you rest better, and then you wake up feeling clearer and more focused the next morning. It has a soft lemongrass-lemon taste that comes from real lemongrass and lemon juice, nothing artificial, no flavoring or fillers, (which is rare for an electrolyte!) and it turns the prettiest pale blue from spirulina.

There’s no sugar in it, it’s lightly sweetened with organic monk fruit instead, which doesn’t spike my blood sugar the way regular sugar does, so it doesn’t work against me at night. I feel physically more relaxed after drinking it. I give the kids a little too, their recent HTMA results came back a bit low on magnesium, so I asked our practitioner about the ingredients in this one for them, and she had me go off the standard 150-pound adult serving size and divide it down based on their weight, so Poppy and Elliott each get about a quarter of a sachet. They love it, they call it the “blue drink” and think it’s a treat (because it’s so delicious)! Once they’ve done their other supplements at night, the “blue drink” is the last thing they get before bed. I’ll retest them in a couple months to see how it’s helped their mineral levels too.

You can add this single serving size to plain water or here’s the recipe we love for our favorite wind-down mocktail:

Sparkling Cucumber Mint R•E Spritzer

Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 5 min Serves: 1 (16 oz)

Before You Start

Use chilled sparkling water.

Gently muddle the cucumber and mint to release their flavor without breaking them down too much.

Pour the sparkling water in last to keep the bubbles fresh.

Ingredients

For the Spritzer

1 R•E Fountain sachet
3–4 thin cucumber ribbons
4–5 fresh mint leaves
Squeeze of fresh lemon
8 oz sparkling water
Ice

Instructions

Add the cucumber ribbons and mint leaves to the bottom of a large glass.

Gently muddle just enough to release their natural oils and flavor.

Slowly pour in the sparkling water and gently stir.

Add the R•E Fountain sachet and squeeze in the fresh lemon juice. Stir until completely dissolved.

Fill the glass with ice.

Garnish with an extra cucumber ribbon and a sprig of fresh mint, if desired.

Serve immediately.

I keep thinking about how before Elliott was born I wasn't paying attention to any of this, and now it's woven into our days without me even trying, the cold one when the sun's high and the kids are wild in the yard, and the blue one on the couch with Anthony once they're all down. I can't remember the last time I had the kids or myself drink plain water without electrolytes in it. You can absolutely just stir either one of these sachets into plain water, that's how I have them half the time, especially if I'm running low on time, but making them into a little something fun with seasonal ingredients is an extra treat I look forward to.

I love the quality of Pique! They also offer a 90-day money-back guarantee, so there’s really no risk in trying it, and the discount through my link is 20% off for life, not just your first order, which is so cool! If you only want to start with one, I’d grab the B•T if your days are hot and long, or the R•E if it’s your sleep that could use the help. And if you’ve been meaning to get better about your hydration all summer and keep forgetting, consider this your easy start! Use my link, piquelife.com/brittanydhp, for 20% off for life + free gifts.

Let me know if you make any of them, I want to hear which is your favorite!

xx Brittany

I love a festive 4th of July cake and wanted to make a version out of real food that still gives you that classic stars-and-stripes look everyone loves at a cookout.

Boxed cake mixes lean on artificial flavors, preservatives, and a long list of additives so they can sit on a shelf for a year or two. And cool whip (which I used to loveee) isn’t really cream, it’s mostly water, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and corn syrup, held together with things like polysorbate 60 and sodium caseinate. Cream, on the other hand, is one ingredient, and it whips up into something so much better for you.

This version is a honey-vanilla sheet cake with a light vanilla milk brush that keeps it tender, real maple whipped cream in place of cool whip, and fresh raspberries and blueberries for the stripes and stars. There’s no refined sugar in it, just honey, maple, eggs, cream, and berries.

The whipped cream is the same one we make most weeks for our sourdough protein waffles. All you do is beat cold heavy cream with a little maple and vanilla until it’s soft and fluffy. A stand mixer or a hand mixer both work, and it takes just a few minutes. The one thing to watch is not to overbeat it, because cream will go from fluffy to butter consistency quick if you walk away, so stop once it holds a soft peak.

You can bake the cake the day before, whip the cream in the morning, and add the berries an hour or two before everyone shows up. Raspberries hold their shape and don’t weep the way sliced strawberries do, so the flag still looks clean by the time you’re serving it.

One tip: dry your berries really well after washing them, and wait until the cake is fully cooled before you spread the cream, or it will slide right off.

I made the usual swaps to keep the ingredients clean: honey and maple instead of refined sugar, grass-fed butter, pasture-raised eggs, unbleached flour, aluminum-free baking powder, and real heavy whipping cream (I like the Kalona Organics or Alexandre Family Farm brand at either Sprouts or Whole foods, both have no added gums).

Full recipe below:

Naturally Sweetened Berry Flag Sheet Cake

Prep Time: 30 min Bake Time: 22–28 min Cool Time: 1 hour Total Time: ~2 hours Serves: 16-20

Before You Start:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease a 13 x 18 inch rimmed half-sheet pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, then lightly grease the parchment.
Set the eggs out so they are not fridge-cold.
Melt the butter and let it cool slightly.
Wash the raspberries and blueberries, then dry them very well.
Keep the heavy cream cold until you are ready to make the whipped cream.
Make sure the cake is fully cooled before adding the whipped cream or it can melt.
Add the berries within 1–2 hours of serving for the cleanest flag design.

Ingredients

For the Honey-Vanilla Sheet Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
¾ tsp fine sea salt
5 large eggs
¾ cup raw honey
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

For the Light Vanilla Milk Brush
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch fine sea salt

For the Maple-Vanilla Whipped Cream
3 cups cold heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp pure maple syrup, or up to ¼ cup to taste
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp finely grated lemon zest, optional
Pinch fine sea salt

For the Flag Topping
4 containers fresh raspberries, 6 oz each
2 pints fresh blueberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare your half-sheet pan with parchment and butter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth.

Add honey, maple syrup, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.

Whisk until fully combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Whisk gently just until the batter is smooth and no dry flour remains. Do not overmix.

Pour batter into the prepared sheet pan and spread evenly into the corners.

Bake for 22–28 minutes, until the cake is lightly golden and the center springs back when touched.

Start checking around 22 minutes. If the top is getting too dark before the center is done, loosely tent with foil and keep baking.

Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes.

Make the Light Vanilla Milk Brush

In a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, warm the milk, heavy cream, honey, vanilla, and salt just until the honey dissolves.

Do not boil it.

Keep the cake in the pan.

Use a toothpick, skewer, or fork to poke small holes all over the cake.

Slowly brush or spoon the milk mixture over the cake.

This is a light brush, not a heavy soak. The cake should be moist, but not wet or soggy.

Let the cake cool completely.

Make the Maple-Vanilla Whipped Cream

Add cold heavy whipping cream to a large mixing bowl.

Beat on medium speed until it starts to thicken.

Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, lemon zest if using, and salt.

Keep whipping on medium to medium-high until fluffy and spreadable.

Stop when it holds soft-to-medium peaks.

Do not overwhip or it starts to turn to butter consistency.

Assemble the Flag Cake

Make sure the cake is fully cooled.

Spread the maple-vanilla whipped cream evenly over the cake.

Place blueberries in the upper-left corner for the blue star section.

Arrange raspberries in rows across the cake for the red stripes.

Leave whipped cream showing between the raspberry rows for the white stripes.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serving Instructions

Serve chilled, straight from the pan.

Slice into squares.

Keep refrigerated until close to serving, especially on a warm day.

Make It Ahead

Day before: Bake the cake, add the light milk brush, cool completely, cover well, and refrigerate.

Morning of: Make the whipped cream and spread it over the cake.

Within 1–2 hours of serving: Add the blueberries and raspberries.

Tips

Don’t overmix once the flour is added, or the cake can become dense.

Use a light hand with the milk brush. Too much liquid can make the cake feel heavy.

Make sure the berries are dry before decorating so the flag stays clean.

If your oven runs hot, bake at 340°F and start checking around 20 minutes.

This meal is something I originally prepped for postpartum healing and froze in these soup prep containers as single servings. Once those ran out, Anthony made it fresh for me at least three more times since Clive was born. It seems really simple, and when I first made it I wasn't sure it would be that filling because it doesn't have many ingredients. But it's SO good.

The Chinese red dates really make it. They’re a bit sweeter than regular dates, and I love the texture. They’re firmer when dry, so in the soup they turn into this amazing bite.

In Chinese tradition, red dates have been used to help mothers recover after birth for generations. They’re thought to nourish the blood and bring warmth back into the body, and they’re high in iron, that’s why they turn up in so many recovery soups and teas. With the chicken broth for protein and the ginger to settle your stomach, a bowl of this feels nourishing in the best way. It was one of the meals I was so glad to have stocked in the freezer those first few weeks with Clive.

I found the recipe in the First Forty Days book, which is all about postpartum healing and warming foods. Red dates aren't something I'd ever think to buy, and this was my first time having them, but I'll always keep them stocked now. You can find them at an Asian market or order them online. I ordered mine from here: TeaCuppa

If you know someone who's pregnant or just had a baby, this is an amazing meal to bring a newly postpartum mom. It's also great to prep ahead if you've got your own postpartum coming up.

Chicken, Red Dates & Ginger Soup

Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 2 hr 40 min Total Time: ~3 hr Serves: 6–8

Before You Start

Rinse the chicken thoroughly under cold water.

Wash and slice the carrots.

Peel the onion.

Leave the ginger unpeeled and simply cut it in half.

Have a large stockpot ready.

Keep a spoon nearby for skimming any foam from the broth while it simmers.

Ingredients

For the Soup

2–2½ pounds whole chicken or chicken parts
½ white or yellow onion, peeled
1 (2-inch) knob fresh ginger, unpeeled and halved
3 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
5 Chinese red dates (jujubes)
3 tbsp dried goji berries
Sea salt, to taste
Cold water, enough to cover the chicken

Instructions

Rinse the chicken under cold water, place in a medium stockpot and add enough cold water to just cover the chicken.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, uncovered.

Once boiling, add the onion and ginger.

Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes.

Occasionally skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Remove the meat from the bones and shred it.

Return the carcass and bones to the pot.

Reserve any extra chicken for another meal and return about 1–2 cups shredded chicken to the soup.

Add the carrots and red dates.

Simmer uncovered over low heat for 1 hour.

During the final 15 minutes of cooking, stir in the goji berries.

Season with sea salt to taste.

Remove and discard the bones before serving.

Serve warm.

Storage: Keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

I’m extra excited about this routine lately because I’m finally back to iced drinks! Through the early weeks with Clive I was leaning into the Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to postpartum healing, which is where the warm-everything comes from; warm meals, warm drinks, no cold water or iced coffee, etc. I loveee iced drinks in the warm months so I was a little bummed about missing out on them. Now that I’m on the tail end of healing I’m easing cold back in. I’ve been testing out different recipes that feel gourmet at home and use all high quality ingredients.

These are two drinks I’ve been loving making lately, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They look like something I’d order out, an iced matcha with vanilla cold foam and a sparkling strawberry basil refresher. They take a few minutes to make and both are great for me (and my skin!) too.

They both use Pique, which I’ve used since right after I had Elliott. I first found them at Erewhon, browsing the wellness section for a high-quality electrolyte I could travel with. Around that same time I’d gotten some bloodwork done postpartum, my first time really testing my biomarkers and seeing where I was at with everything. Anthony and I were getting more committed to making meals at home and prioritizing our health, and from my results I realized I needed to be a lot more intentional about my hydration and my minerals, which was something I’d never thought much about before. I was a sparkling-water person with some still water here and there, and because I didn’t drink soda I figured I was getting enough. I learned that staying hydrated isn’t only about how much water you drink, your body also needs minerals and electrolytes to hold onto it. And with breastfeeding I’m trying to stay on top of my hydration and minerals as much as I can right now, so a daily electrolyte that also tastes delicious is even better!

Because I trusted them for my electrolytes, reaching for their matcha was an easy yes, and the timing worked out, because Jadyn has got me on a matcha kick ever since she moved back home from college, whenever we order coffees, she gets a matcha and she would try different seasonal flavor ones. I still love coffee and I’m not giving it up, but I’ve gotten strict about not having it after 12pm because sleep is everything right now, and I went looking for something gentler to get my mornings going, especially with breastfeeding.

Now my mornings start with the Pique Sun Goddess Matcha and I make one for Jay too. What I love about matcha is the calmer, steadier kind of energy it gives you compared to coffee. This one is organic, ceremonial-grade, and sourced from Japan. Ceremonial-grade is the highest quality you can get and Japan is where the best matcha in the world comes from. It also matters because other matcha out there can contain heavy metals like lead depending on where and how it's grown, and this one is quadruple toxin screened for purity. On top of all that it's rich in EGCG, the main antioxidant in green tea, which helps protect your cells from the everyday damage that comes from things like stress and pollution, and it's a big part of why green tea comes up everywhere when you read about healthy aging, and skin. Pique also uses a cold extraction process, which is part of why it's such clean, calm energy, with no jittery spike. And matcha is the most concentrated way to get all of it, because you're drinking the whole leaf instead of steeping it and pouring it out.

I like to add sweetness to my matcha without using refined sugar, and this recipe below is sweetened with honey and vanilla extract and tastes delicious!

Iced Sun Goddess Matcha Cloud

Prep Time: 10 min Total Time: 10 min Serves: 1 (16–18 oz)

Before You Start

Heat water to about 175°F.

Fill a large glass with ice.

Have a handheld frother ready.

Stop frothing the cold foam while it’s still silky and pourable. You want cold foam, not whipped cream.

Ingredients

For the Matcha

1 Sun Goddess Matcha sachet
2 oz hot water
8 oz whole milk or milk of choice
2 tsp raw honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Ice

For the Cold Foam

¼ cup whipping cream
2 tbsp whole milk or milk of choice
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp raw honey or maple syrup
Pinch of flaky sea salt

Instructions

Add the Sun Goddess Matcha sachet to a small bowl or cup. Pour in the hot water and whisk until smooth and frothy.

Stir in the raw honey and vanilla extract until fully dissolved.

Fill a large glass with ice and pour in the whole milk.

Slowly pour the prepared matcha over the milk for beautiful layers.

To make the cold foam: In a measuring cup or mason jar, combine the whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of whole milk, vanilla extract, honey and salt.

Using a handheld frother, froth for 20–30 seconds until thick, silky, and still pourable.

Pour the cold foam over the top, allowing it to come right to the rim of the glass.

If desired, finish with a light dusting of matcha powder and serve immediately.

Tips

• Whole milk creates the creamiest, coffee-shop-style drink, but any milk of choice works beautifully.

• Don’t over-froth the cold foam. It should be thick and creamy, but still pourable.

If you want to try the matcha, you can get it through my link, piquelife.com/brittanyrsd, with 20% off for life + free gifts.

My afternoon drink is the one with the B•T Fountain. It’s an electrolyte, so it’s doing the hydration work, the minerals and coconut water that help my body hold onto water instead of it running right through me, which after a hot day in the garden with a baby on me is exactly what I need. But Pique calls it a beauty electrolyte for a reason (and that was one of the things that stood out to me when I was first looking for an electrolyte, that it's good for your skin too) it has clinically studied ceramides and hyaluronic acid in it, the same ingredients I love in a good serum, except here they’re working from the inside. Ceramides help your skin hold moisture in and hyaluronic acid pulls water in and keeps it there. It’s made with no sugar, no fillers, and no artificial flavors as well.

My garden is overflowing with basil right now, so I’ve been building drinks around it while it’s fresh, and strawberry and basil together are so good, a little herby, a little sweet, exactly right for the heat. The B•T Fountain is doing the heavy lifting, it has a full range of minerals, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, plus coconut water powder and Himalayan pink salt, so it's real electrolyte hydration. Its natural yuzu raspberry flavor is what makes the strawberries and basil work so well, you get that bright citrus-berry base, and the fresh strawberries deepen it while the basil keeps it from being too sweet:

Strawberry Basil Yuzu Berry Spritzer

Prep Time: 5 min Total Time: 5 min Serves: 1

Before You Start

Chill the sparkling water well.

Use pure vanilla extract.

Add the sparkling water last to preserve the bubbles.

A tiny pinch of sea salt brings out the flavors.

Ingredients

For the Spritzer

1 B•T Fountain sachet
8 oz coconut water
8 oz sparkling mineral water
3-4 strawberries (or more to taste)
3-4 fresh basil leaves (or more to taste)
½ tsp pure vanilla extract (or more to taste)
Tiny pinch flaky sea salt
Ice (optional)

Instructions

Add the frozen strawberries and basil leaves to a large glass.

Lightly muddle the strawberries to release some juice.

Pour in the coconut water and filtered water.

Add the B•T Fountain sachet and stir until completely dissolved.

Stir in the vanilla extract and a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt.

Slowly top with the sparkling mineral water and gently stir.

Garnish with an extra strawberry or basil leaf, if desired.

Serve immediately.

Together they’re what Pique calls the Radiant Skin Duo. What’s kept me with it is how easy it is. You can make these into a whole drink like I did above, or just stir a single packet into hot or cold water in a minute, which is especially nice while traveling. If you’ve been wanting to be better about your hydration, or you just want an afternoon drink that isn’t another coffee, it’s an easy place to start. Use my link piquelife.com/brittanyrsd to get 20% off for life + free gifts and try it for yourself.

Let me know if you make either one, I want to hear which is your favorite!

xx Brittany

I’ve been seeing the viral dot cakes all over and wanted to make a homemade version with no artificial coloring or synthetic dyes. I love that they come together as little single-serve cakes, finished with a blanket of dots on top that are oddly satisfying. I used naturally colored sprinkles so you get that same bright, playful look without anything artificial.

Funfetti was my favorite growing up. I made the boxed version constantly in high school. I still have a soft spot for it and there’s something so nostalgic about it, but I looked at the ingredient list recently and couldn’t believe what was in something I used to eat by the spoonful: Red 40 Lake, Yellow 5 and 6, Blue 1, propylene glycol, BHT, and a long tail of additives I can’t pronounce. The candy bits alone have four artificial dyes. Half of it isn’t even real food, it’s dyes for color, preservatives like BHT to give a boxed mix a two-year shelf life, and fillers to hold it together, none of it there to make the cake taste better or do anything good for your body. Making it from scratch gets me the same funfetti I loved, with butter, eggs, and naturally colored sprinkles instead.

The kids and Anthony were the official taste testers on this one, and the cake didn’t last long! Elliott was pulling pieces straight from the pan before it ever made it into a ramekin, and I did too (I love a good cake without any frosting sometimes). It’s buttery with a fine, tender crumb and just enough vanilla, the kind of cake that holds up on its own without needing frosting to carry it.

The whole thing is easier than it looks. You bake one sheet cake, cut out rounds, stack them with buttercream in a ramekin, and flip the top into a plate of sprinkles. You’ll want a stand mixer or hand mixer to get the buttercream light and fluffy. We also fold naturally colored, naturally flavored sprinkles right into the batter, so the cake bakes up funfetti on the inside with little flecks of color in every slice.

I made a few swaps to keep the ingredients clean: grass-fed butter, pasture-raised eggs, organic cane sugar, unbleached flour, and aluminum-free baking powder. None of it changes how simple the recipe is, but it makes a treat I feel good about handing to the kids.

These are the kind of thing I'll keep making all summer, for birthdays, or any time the kids need a little something special. They had so much fun making them together! Full recipe below, plus everything we used to make them:

Viral Dot Cupcakes (No Artificial Ingredients)

Prep Time: 30 min Bake Time: 20–25 min Chill Time: 30 min Total Time: ~1 hr 45 min Serves: 4

Before You Start:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper and lightly butter it.
Set out 4 ramekins for assembling later.
Bring butter, eggs, and milk to room temperature.
Measure all ingredients before starting.
Use naturally colored sprinkles (I used these ones for the top and these ones for the inside)
Find a round cutter or glass slightly smaller than your ramekins.
Make sure the cake is fully cooled before cutting or it will tear.

Ingredients

For the Cake
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ tsp aluminum-free baking powder
¼ tsp fine sea salt
½ cup salted grass-fed butter, softened
⅔ cup organic cane sugar
2 pasture-raised eggs, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup whole milk or whole-milk buttermilk
3 tbsp naturally colored rainbow sprinkles

For the Buttercream
3/4 cup unsalted grass-fed butter, softened
2 cups organic powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp heavy cream
Pinch fine sea salt

For the Dot Blanket
1 cup naturally colored rainbow nonpareils

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare your sheet pan with parchment and butter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a stand mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer), beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed with the paddle attachment for about 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing fully between each addition.

Mix in vanilla extract.

Turn mixer to low and add the dry ingredients and milk in this order: flour, milk, flour, milk, flour. Mix just until combined and no dry streaks remain.

Fold in sprinkles gently with a spatula so the colors stay intact.

Pour batter into prepared sheet pan and spread evenly into a smooth, level layer. (It will feel a little thick and low in the pan).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center springs back lightly and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Remove from oven and let the cake cool completely in the pan.

Use a round cutter or glass to cut out 8 circles, pressing straight down.

Make the Buttercream

In a clean bowl, beat butter on medium-high for 2 minutes until smooth.

Add powdered sugar gradually on low speed.

Add vanilla, heavy cream, and salt, then whip on medium-high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

Assemble the Cakes

Place one cake round into the bottom of each ramekin.

Spread about 2 tablespoons of buttercream evenly over each base layer.

Place a second cake round on top and press gently.

Add a generous amount of buttercream on top of each cake.

Use a spatula or knife to spread it to the edges and smooth it completely flat with the rim of the ramekin, scraping off excess.

Add the Dot Blanket

Pour nonpareils into a plate.

Flip the ramekin over onto the sprinkles

Gently press to set, then tap off any loose sprinkles.

Optional: refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Serving Instructions
Serve straight from the ramekin with a small spoon. Keep chilled until serving so the buttercream holds and the natural sprinkles stay vibrant without bleeding.

Shopping List

Dairy
1¼ cups unsalted grass-fed butter (2½ sticks total)
½ cup whole milk or whole-milk buttermilk
1 tbsp heavy cream
2 pasture-raised eggs

Grains & Baking
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups organic powdered sugar

Pantry & Sweeteners
⅔ cup organic cane sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Leavening & Salt
1½ tsp aluminum-free baking powder
¼ tsp fine sea salt

Decorations
3 tbsp naturally colored rainbow sprinkles
2 cups naturally colored rainbow nonpareils

I’ve been starting to food prep and freeze meals for the first few weeks with the baby. This will be the most prepared we’ve been with food going into postpartum. With Poppy, we pretty much had food delivered every day and it wasn’t the best choices (also had too many iced coffees). Then with Elliott, Erewhon had just opened in Pasadena so we’d get the hot bar plates, which were better ingredients, but eating out every day definitely added up. This time I want nourishing meals that are delicious, frozen, and ready to go with little effort other than reheating.

But I can’t forget a sweet treat. I love to bake so I’m also prepping a few desserts I know I’ll want when I’m craving something sweet but still being mindful about ingredients. Yesterday I made a triple batch of these classic cowboy cookies with a few ingredient swaps to make them refined sugar free and postpartum friendly, and added them to the freezer…

Laura Bush’s version is one of my favorites. It won the Family Circle cookie bake-off during the 2000 presidential campaign and it’s in classic cookbooks:

But I wanted mine to feel a little more intentional for this season.

Laura's recipe calls for three sticks of butter and I used one and a half, but you don't miss it because the egg yolk, the nuts, and the toasted coconut bring so much richness on their own. I also swapped the white and brown sugar for coconut sugar and a little maple syrup. Both are lower glycemic than refined sugar so there's less of a blood sugar spike and crash.

The flour swap is einkorn instead of all-purpose. Einkorn is an ancient grain that's higher in protein and nutrients, easier to digest, and less inflammatory than modern wheat. I also added ginger, which Laura's recipe doesn't have, because it supports digestion and helps reduce inflammation, both of which I know I'll appreciate in those early weeks. I added flaxseed for hormonal balance and milk supply support, and dark chocolate is one of the better food sources of magnesium, which I tend to be depleted in postpartum.

Toasting the coconut before folding it into the dough is a small step that makes such a big difference, it gets golden and fragrant and adds this warm, nutty depth to every bite.

I tripled the recipe and froze them already baked, so postpartum I can just pull a couple out, let them come to room temp or warm them for a minute or two with zero cleanup. You can also freeze the raw dough balls if you’d rather have that fresh from the oven experience and bake them straight from frozen at 350 degrees, just add a minute or two to the bake time.

Einkorn Cowboy Cookies (Postpartum-Friendly, No Refined Sugar)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 11–13 minutes
Total Time: ~30 minutes
Serves: 12 cookies

Before You Start
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Spread ¼ cup shredded coconut on a small pan and toast for 3–5 minutes, stirring once, until lightly golden. Watch closely, it browns quickly. Let it cool completely.

Make sure your butter is soft (room temp) not melted or shiny.

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients
¾ cup (1½ sticks) salted butter, softened
½ cup coconut sugar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients
1⅓ cups einkorn flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger

Mix-Ins
1½ cups rolled oats
¾ cup dark chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
¼ cup toasted shredded coconut
1 tablespoon finely ground flaxseed

Instructions

In a large bowl, cream the butter and coconut sugar together until smooth and slightly fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. You can do this by hand or use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Add the maple syrup, then the egg and egg yolk, mixing well, then stir in the milk and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the einkorn flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Add to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.

Fold in the oats, chocolate chips, nuts, toasted coconut, and flaxseed.

Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Keep them slightly taller than wide and don’t flatten.

Place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each cookie.

Bake for 11–13 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the centers still look soft.

Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before moving. They will continue to set as they cool and develop that soft, chewy texture.

For Freezer Prep
Scoop the dough into balls and freeze. Bake straight from frozen at 350°F, adding 1–2 minutes to the bake time.

We've been eating later than usual this past week, so I figured if the prep is quick and the oven or slow cooker is doing the rest, then it's a win. Think slow cooker lemon butter chicken with fennel and carrots, BBQ shredded beef over garlicky cauliflower rice, crispy baked tacos with beef and black beans, a classic pot roast that cooks all day, and a bright honey lemon salmon to finish the week…

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The farmers market was packed this morning, which I should've anticipated given that it's Easter weekend. We got there early thinking we'd beat the crowd and still ended up being the…

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(picture of our Easter brunch last year)

Easter brunch, done beautifully and without the stress. I'm sharing everything I'm making, how I'm styling the table for almost nothing, and the schedule that makes it all come together. It's all inside for Substack family below:

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Garden updates, an Elliott moment that made me laugh, what I'm planning for Easter brunch, and why I swapped out a ingredient we used to eat all the time. Full dinner menu inside too:

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This week felt like real progress. We finished something we have been working on for weeks, a very exciting delivery is arriving at our house that the kids have been talking about nonstop, and the menu is exactly what I want to be eating right now. Five dinners inside, plus the full weekly update and grocery list.

This post is for my Substack family. Join to read the full weekly update, all five seasonal recipes, and a full grocery list organized by category.

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Jay comes home from college in Florida right before the baby is due, and if she visits for Easter I want her room ready before that too. I finally started making real decisions about it this week, especially the bathroom in her room. I decided on a paint color, a lighting change, and a mirror situation that I think is going to completely transform that space, and I’ll walk you through my current thoughts and inspo pics.

The menu this week is low oxalate, pregnancy safe, and nothing over 30 minutes of prep. Five dinners that feel really good for where we are right now as a family, and Friday’s is the one I’m most looking forward to making.

This post is for my Substack family. Join to read the full post with a weekly update, get all five seasonal recipes, and full grocery list organized by category:

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We’re one week into the kids’ 60 day protocol now (I talk more about it in this post HERE) and having their test results has taken all the guesswork out of how I’m feeding our family right now, along with their supplement routine. I know what each of their bodies needs and it’s shaped everything about this week’s menu.

Inside this week’s post:

• The two specific fish I’m cooking this week and why I chose each one based on our kids’ individual results

• What our low oxalate weeks actually look like in practice and why we’re still doing it during the protocol

• How I’m thinking about all of this as a pregnant mom feeding herself and this baby at the same time

• Five weeknight seasonal dinners, full recipes, and a grocery list organized by category

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I put together my top 10 most popular recipes all in one place so they're easy to find. These are the most read posts on here and the ones we make over and over at home too. All from scratch, all with real ingredients, all so good!

Every recipe is linked below:

1. How to Bake Your First Loaf of Sourdough

2. Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls (No Refined Sugar)

3. Molten Lava Cakes (Trader Joe’s Inspired, No Refined Sugar)

4. Sourdough Donuts Fried in Beef Tallow

5. The Chocolate Chip Cookies I Keep Making (No Refined Sugar)

6. Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows

7. Sourdough Protein Waffles + Homemade Whipped Cream

8. How to Make a Sourdough Starter from Scratch

9. Erewhon-Inspired Pumpkin Pie Recipe

10. Erewhon-Inspired Apple Pie Recipe

If you're new here, I post new recipes every week along with weekly meal plans, grocery lists, and more. Subscribe so you don't miss any of them!

xx Brittany

This week we’ve still been out working on the garden trying to get everything in place before we plant (more about that in this post HERE). Next spring it won’t be nearly as big of a project because the layout and design will already be done, but this first year with the initial setup there’s just a lot more to figure out and get right. It’s been a good kind of busy though and I’m excited to see it all come together!

In the middle of all of that, we also got the kids’ HTMA and bioresonance results back and there’s a lot to unpack:

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This week we’ve been working hard on the garden beds. We dug up all the previous owner’s soil so we could refresh everything with our own organic mix…

…and as we were digging we started noticing rot on the sides of the beds. Turns out they aren’t cedar (which is naturally rot resistant and can last up to 15 years!) So now we’ve decided to replace all the beds with cedar and set them up the right way. Better to know now than after everything is planted. I guess with traditional treated wood it can contain arsenic, so it’s not recommended for garden beds where you’re growing food. Learning as we go! The silver lining is that now we’ll be able to fit a dinner table down the middle so we can eat outside in the garden once everything is set up.

This week we’re keeping things simple. Beautiful cuts of beef, winter vegetables, and techniques that make everything taste deeper. I’ve been taking a cooking class and one thing that’s stuck with me is that 1% salt by weight is usually the sweet spot for most dishes. I’ve worked that into this week’s recipes and the difference is noticeable, especially when you’re building flavors in something like a pan sauce or a roast. I never want food to taste flat or under salted, and having an actual ratio to follow instead of just eyeballing it has taken the guesswork out of seasoning. The cast iron flank steak with crispy shallots and lemon is one of those meals where the sear on the meat and the bite of fresh lemon do all the heavy lifting. There’s also garlic herb ground beef over creamy cauliflower mash, skillet lemon chicken with a glossy pan sauce, Dijon herb sirloin tip roast with caramelized carrots, and crispy skin salmon with roasted broccoli and bright dill yogurt. The base flavors are mild and family friendly, with easy options for adults to add heat at the table. These are dinners that feel like you put in way more effort than you actually did!

P.S. If you’ve been wanting to learn to bake sourdough bread, make sure to check out my post on how to make a sourdough starter from scratch. Next week I’ll be posting the video walking you through how to bake your first loaf, plus a baking schedule to follow if you work full time and aren’t home most of the day. It’s still totally doable. Once you bake your first loaf you won’t go back to store-bought!

The full step-by-step recipes and organized grocery list are below for my Substack family:

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Growing up we always had a candy jar at our house filled with Airheads, Sour Patch Kids, and sour belts, but Reese’s was always my favorite by far. I loved Valentine’s Day specifically for the Reese’s hearts. I remember sitting at my desk in class flipping through all my valentines and hoping that one of them would have that little heart-shaped Reese’s tucked inside. There was nothing better!

The ingredient list today looks a lot different than it used to though. The original Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups recipe only had 9 ingredients and today they have 14, including things like PGPR which is a lab-manufactured emulsifier used to reduce the cost of cocoa butter, and manufactured citric acid that wasn’t part of the original recipe.

The one that really gets me though is TBHQ. It’s a synthetic chemical preservative that’s also used in things like lacquers, resins, and cosmetics to stop them from degrading. Studies from the Environmental Working Group and Michigan State University have found that it can harm immune function, and research has linked it to increased allergic responses, liver enlargement, and neurotoxic effects in lab animals. The FDA approved it decades ago and hasn’t reassessed it since, even as new science has continued to come out. As a kid I never thought twice about what was in them, I just loved them. But now as a parent I look at the back of the package and it's hard to feel good about what's in there.

My kids have never had a Reese’s because we try to avoid artificial ingredients and chemicals I can’t understand in our house. But for me a treat should be something I can feel good about giving them, and there are so many sweet alternatives to traditional candy now that it’s easier than ever to avoid artificial flavoring. Unreal Chocolate Gems (like an M&M) and Smart Sweets are some of our favorites. I still love that peanut butter and chocolate combination though so I’m always looking for ways to bring that flavor home in a way that feels right for our family. These whole ingredient peanut butter chocolate hearts are my answer to that, and they’re perfect for Valentine’s Day.

This recipe is surprisingly easy and Poppy and I had so much fun making them together. Video HERE. She helped me press the filling into the molds and was so proud of herself when they came out. You end up with a soft creamy peanut butter center wrapped in a thin chocolate shell with a delicate sprinkle of flaky salt. They taste nostalgic and indulgent, really close to classic peanut butter cups but made with simple whole ingredients.

Watching Poppy light up over something we made together with real simple ingredients felt a whole lot like that excitement I used to have digging through my valentines as a kid, and that’s what I want for them. For Valentine’s Day we always do a themed meal whether it’s dinner or breakfast (here are some past ones below)

2021:

2022:

2023:

2024:

…and we’re doing the same thing this Saturday. These hearts will definitely be making an appearance in our heart themed meal! Full recipe continues below for my Substack family:

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