Why I COOK
Plating and taking photos of my meals is part of what changed my relationship to food. These photos are another piece of my healing art - a celebration of my mental health and creativity in the kitchen. With every photo I take, it’s more than a recipe - at least to me. Each photograph is truly meant to express how I took an addiction to numbing my emotions and turned it into something beautiful.
For half of my life I used food, it was my best friend, the boyfriend I never had and my support when I didn’t find it at home. And the hardest part about food is that we need it to live, we can’t stop eating - it has to be confronted - and cooking was the best way I could manage that relationship. To touch it. To treat it like a piece of art.
When I stop to cook, move through my kitchen, plate and get lost in the moment - old feelings fade. What I’m left with is color and something I can share. Here are a few of my favorite plates and photos.
roasted eggplant: yogurt + pomegranates / herbed kabocha squash
asian pumpkin soup
banana tahini ice cream / dairy free
kale + chard salad with anchovy + oregano vinaigrette
strawberries + cream quinoa
roasted spaghetti squash + kale nest with sunny side up egg
miso eggplant
smoked salmon toast with mascarpone, capers
shakshuka
mandoline madness: cucumber, radish, string bean + sundriedtoamato summer salad in basil caper vinaigrette
green smoothie paradise
prosciutto toast with fried egg
Burger with caramelized onions + goat cheese
simple sunday sauce (yes, that's butter you see melting down)
spicy swiss chard saute with red pepper flakes, garlic + olives (topped with a block of feta)
spicy beef bowl layered with greens + guacamole
quinoa, corn, zucchini, kale + avocado salad
roasted baby eggplant + shishito peppers (tahini sauce for side dipping, not pictured here)
zucchini boats with mini heirlooms, fresh mozzarella + pesto
avocado citrus toast
roast leg of lamb
coconut butter tasting, chocolate + original
grilled radicchio with side of snap pea + breakfast radishes
roasted string bean salad with mini heirlooms + chickpeas with yogurt lemon dressing
daikon cucumber + citrus salad
baked egg in avocado
farm fresh: turkey burger bathed in guacamole + side of heirlooms
baked salmon with watercress + cherry salad
shrimp bowl with wilted spinach + scallions
meatball madness
tomatillo chicken
super quinoa (leftover) bowl
miso soup prep
banana berry ice cream (dairy free)
vegetable frittata
hearty + healing: not your average miso soup
zucchini, corn, pea + red onion salad with fresh oregano
blistered shishito peppers
spinach stuffed roasted delicata squash
this side is everything: sweet + sour asian slaw
zoodles with sunbutter sauce
warming goat curry
tofu scramble
clockwise: cashew bread, carrot soup, roasted red pepper + eggplant dip, hamburger soup
vegetable curry
collard Breakfast wrap
before the wrap ...
veggie stuffed collard wraps with tahini/lemon sauce
asparagus with miso dressing
sweet potato zoodles with spinach pesto
chicken sausage + peppers
broccoli rabe with chicken sausage
chickpea lemon + coconut soup with spicy cilantro pesto
peach + heirloom salad with hot honey dressing
fava beans
caprese salad
white bean, arugula, tomato + pesto salad
breakfast sandwich delight
yogurt, seeds + fruit
breakfast italian style: tomato, truffled eggs + pesto
antipasto e verdure
fagioli
roasted eggplant + zucchini
adzuki bean noodle salad with veggies + spicy sesame vinaigrette
arugula, white bean, tuna salad
tomato + cucumber salad + tzatziki
split pea soup
pesto baked salmon + roasted asparagus
pan seared scallop salad
roasted asparagus + lemon / mozzarella + prosciutto purses
slow scrambled eggs
open face omelette
grain free banana nut mini muffins
up close: grain free banana nut muffin
tea time
morning minimalism: freshly ground peanut butter on sprouted bread
quinoa porridge with strawberry compote, maple syrup + walnuts
egg in a quinoa grit hole
egg in a quinoa grit hole: after the mix
chicken Soup
one pan fava beans
mozzarella + citrus salad
vegetable + tofu laksa
roasted radishes
egg + mushrooms with olive toast
caprese toast
caprese toast post-destruction
homemade applesauce
apple nut mini muffins
mascarpone scrambled eggs, brown butter shiitake mushrooms, wilted arugula + truffle oil
skirt steak with mike's hot honey caramelized onions
maple glazed delicata squash with arugula, balsamic vinaigrette + provolone
fall breakfast skillet: roasted honey nut, delicata + spaghetti squashes with chana masala + a fried egg
roasted broccoli, roasted lemons + pecorino
carrot soup
chicken thighs with onions, string beans + peas in a sherry wine, butter + dill sauce
butternut squash noodle baked ziti
roasted spaghetti squash with turkey bolognese
baked egg in roasted honey nut squash
black bean chocolate peanut butter brownies
apple pinwheel, mixed nut train with goat cheese stuffed dates
apple muffins with a message
chipotle chicken
chipotle chicken makeover, grains + beans
chipotle chicken layered with grains, beans + sunny side egg
spinach and spiced nut salad, grains and roasted roots
green sauce + jalapeno yogurt
chipotle chicken, greens, beans + dipping sauces
fiesta omelette
kitchen sink veggie burger
spinach stuffed omelette
quesadilla before the fold
quesadilla after the fold
open face scallion + havarti omelette
herbed eggs with mixed kale + collards
spiced nuts
herbed spinach, olive toast, goat cheese + sunny side egg
coconut miso soup with pumpkin, tofu + bok choy
pumpkin soup and green sauce with spiced nuts
roasted roots with thyme
sunday morning produce
parsley, cilantro, scallion + spinach sauces with truffle oil yogurt
Eggplant / Collard + Coconut Curry
Spinach / Grain / Pharsi Squash / Spiced Walnut Salad with Truffle Oil Yogurt
Broccolirabe Mini Frittatas
Pharsi Squash Soup
Chicken Thighs / Peas / Carrots / Herbs
Brunch: All of the trimmings + Bacon Maple Kale with Sunnyside Eggs
SPAGHETTI SQUASH FRITTERS /PEAS + EGGPLANT
STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM
Banana Peanutbutter Pancake Batter
Banana Peanutbutter Pancakes
Banana Peanut butter Pancakes
Pea toast
pea toast (after the yolk break)
Stuffed ROMAINe
Vegetable Building Blocks: Pharsi Squash / Broccolirabe / Roasted Eggplant / Peas + Onions
Breakfast of champions
DEONCstructed banana peanutbutter pie
Peanut Butter Ezekiel Muffin with Maple Drizzle
Desk Breakfast Delight: Apple Slices / Yogurt / Honey / Nut
Sweet Potato Noodles with Spicy Tahini + Peanut Butter Sauce
Fish De-boned + Collards In Wine/Butter/Lemon Sauce w/ Feta
Spinach Salad: Cara Cara Oranges / Spiced Nuts / Pomegranate
Roasted Vegetable Dip Prep
Radish Green Bounty
Zoodles with Radish Green Pesto + Bulgarian Feta
Fall Salad
MOrning squash breakfast bowl
Peanut Butter Chocolate Flax Seed Sea Salt Sprinkle Bark
How An Avocado Can Change Your Life: Miso Guacamole
Brilliant Food
Monday Night Minimalism: Miso Cod
Miso/Tahini Glazed Salmon + Daikon Cucumber Salad
Chickpea Peanut Butter Mini-Muffins
Crispy Baked Tofu
Cauliflower Rice with Tempeh
Daikon Noodles / Spinach Pesto
Purple Kale Leftover Bowl
Zoodles (Bare): Lemon Zest / Nutmeg / Pecorino / Spinach / Butter
Zoodle + Egg: Lemon Zest / Nutmeg / Pecorino / Spinach / Butter
12 Minute Meal / Veggies in Coconut Milk
Mixed Broccoli + Cauliflower Rice w/ Purple Callaloo / Sweet Potato / Tahini + Turmeric
Baked Tofu Bowl #1: Zucchini Base
Roasted Eggplant / Broccoli / Cauliflower Building Blocks for Meal Prep
Purple Callaloo (like spinach but way more beautiful)
Sauteed Shiitake + Cremini Mushrooms
Sunnyside Up / Mixed Kale, Collard + Chard / Sun dried Tomato / Chicken Sausage
SPAGHETTI SQUASH HASH / POACHED EGG
Baked Tofu Bowl #2: Broccoli rice base
Zucchini Noodles + Eggs: The New Breakfast of Champions
Zucchini Noodle / Chicken Sausage / Bulgarian Feta / Purple Callaloo / Sun dried Tomato / Lemon Zest
POACHED EGG
Black Bean Banana Brownies w/ Tahini Maple Swirl
Spiced Carrot + Cauliflower Soup with Green Sauce
Brunch Prep: Poached Eggs Miso Guac Kale + Olive Tapenade
Miso Guac + Kale/Olive Tapenade Crisps
Miso Guac + Kale/Olive Tapenade/ Poached Egg
Veggie Rice + Spicy Miso Dressing
Veggie Rice + Spicy Miso / Egg On Top
Vegan Kale Pesto
Tri-Colored Carrots + Some Cruciferous Companions / before the roast
Steamed String Beans w/ Miso Butter + Roasted Eggplant Dip w/ Miso Tahini
Swirls of Love / Homemade chocolate + peanut butter bursts
Breakfast Veggie Wrap, Photo 1 of 2 / Spinach, scallions, miso guac, roasted eggplant + havarti
Breakfast Veggie Wrap, Photo 2 of 2 / Spinach, scallions, miso guac, roasted eggplant + havarti (after the heat + fold)
Kale/Olive Tapenade + Miso Guac (now with chickpea miso proportions)
Fried Eggplant w/ Sweet Miso + Spinach/Scallion Sauce (optional: melted havarti on top)
Kefir Bowl / Dried Figs + Dates, Seeds, Papaya, Coconut + Raw Honey
Avocado Dip Packed / spinach, lemon, cayenne + sun dried tomatoes
Pepper / Sunny Side Up / Spicy Kale
Asparagus + Radishes / before the roast
Breakfast Simplicity / Last Night's Roast = Breakfast
Spiced Roasted Seeds
Butternut Squash Soup + Spiced Seeds
The New Sunday Dinner: Cooking Veggies + Connecting
Roasted Chickpeas (ceci / garbanzos)
A Sunday Table So Bright
Red Sauce So Simple, So Fine
Easy Eggs: Fast, Fun + Tasty (and simple)
The Meaty Mama: Chicken Sausage Patty Breakfast Sandwich.
Coconut Sweet Potato + Carrot Soup
Fig / Date / Cocoa Truffles (Photo No. 1)
Fig / Date / Cocoa Truffles (Photo No. 2)
Fig / Date / Cocoa Truffles (Photo No. 3)
Kale / Sauce / Eggs: $1.68 for breakfast at home
The First Bite: Kale / Sauce / Eggs: $1.68 for breakfast at home
Flourless Peanut Butter + Tahini Cookies
The Most Perfect Day Off Salmon: Roasted Lemon Simplicity
Art You Can Eat: Avocado Rose Making
Zucchini Noodle / Butternut / Brooclirabe / Marcona Almond + Lemon / EVOO / Pecorino
Freestyle Salad: Zucchini / Carrots / Daikon + Sesame Ginger Dressing
Jerusalem Artichoke + Potato Soup
Your New Favorite Breakfast Item: The Turnip
The First Bite: YOUR NEW FAVORITE BREAKFAST ITEM: THE TURNIP
12 Minute Meal: A Sunday Lunch of Turnip / Kale / Fried Egg
Roasted Radishes
Late Night Dinner Diaries: Turnip Noodles / Red Sauce / Pecorino
Salted Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies: All natural / 7 ingredientS
Coconut Macaringues (Like a Macaroon Slept With A Meringue)
Green Smoothie Bowl
