BAKED! CHOCOLATE-CHIP BOURBON BANANA BREAD.

So, this banana bread was fully ready to begin its life as a vegan—and then I saw Joy the Baker's recipe for bourbon-spiked banana bread with chocolate chunks on A Cup of Jo, and all my good intentions flew right out the window.

Let me begin by saying that I always have a ton of overripe bananas laying around the house—I buy them in bunches, but because I prefer them on the green side, I never seem to be able to eat them before they get to the point where I don't like them anymore. (This is a decidedly first-world problem.) So when I have extra time, I like to make banana bread.

Awhile back, I found a recipe for a vegan, cake-like banana bread on Olivia's lovely blog that I remember thinking was really good, but when I sat down to make banana bread this week, I couldn't seem to find it again since the link to her original post was broken (and I never posted the full recipe in my own archives). And then I saw Joy's recipe, and, well, the rest is history.

This banana bread comes together so simply: Butter and sugar are creamed together, eggs are beaten in, and then bananas, bourbon and a little lemon juice are added. Once everything is combined, you add a couple cups of flour and fold in chocolate chips and walnuts, pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. You're going to want to have a piece of this as soon as it comes out of the oven, but trust me: Wait until it cools, or even let it sit out overnight so that the flavors have a chance to develop. It's perfect with a huge cup of coffee or chai tea.

Here's the full recipe if you'd like to try it yourself. I promise it will make you—and, if you do what I do and bring it into work, your colleagues—very happy.

P.S. For the complete index of Baked! recipes, click here.

Photo via A Cup of Jo

HOMEMADE CHAI TEA + THE FLAVORS OF FALL.

I'm craving the comfort of autumn flavors in a big way right now, but let's be honest: The barometer is still hitting the high 80-degree mark here in good old Southwest Florida. So instead of pumpkin soup, I'm eating pumpkin yogurt (Trader Joe's brand, specifically—it's good). And instead of hot, spicy chai teas, I'm making iced (equally as spicy) ones, thanks to this wonderful recipe I found via For the Love of Chow.

All you have to do is bring water to a boil, remove it from heat and throw in a blend of spices (cardamom pods, whole star anise, whole cloves, orange zest, chopped fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg*) and tea bags (I used 10 bags of English Breakfast), let the whole thing sit for awhile, and then strain the resulting concentrate into a jar and squirrel it away in the fridge. I've been pouring equal parts chai concentrate and almond milk into a Mason jar over ice, and it's seriously my new favorite thing—especially on those hot days when I still want those fall flavors. Here's the full recipe.

P.S. I was somehow inexplicably (OK, maybe not so inexplicably considering I don't like it very much) out of nutmeg, and this recipe still turned out totally fine.

P.P.S. If the thought of buying tons of whole spices makes you balk, go to an Indian or Asian market—you'll be able to find big bags of them on the cheap!

Photo via 

MARCELLA HAZAN'S TOMATO SAUCE.

Last fall, I had the pleasure of hanging out with the legendary—and lovely—Italian chef Marcella Hazan and her family for an article I was writing for work. We spent most of the day outside, and it was perfect—the weather had just turned from hot to warm, breezy and lovely, and since the article was about Marcella's son Giuliano's newest cookbook, there was tons of delicious food on hand. One of my favorite sound bites from the entire day was Marcella saying, "I don't drink—except Jack Daniels." That is a direct quote. What an awesome lady.

Anyway, I am not Italian—I am 100 percent Irish, in fact—but I am a great lover of Italian food, both the kind that you order at restaurants and the kind you make at home. And Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce is seriously the best, simplest marinara I've ever made. Would you believe me if I told you there's only three ingredients? That's right: Three. And one of them is butter. How can that be bad?

I haven't made this sauce in awhile, for some reason—which is strange, because it keeps beautifully and you can easily freeze it—but I was reminded of it while doing some meal-planning this week. ACS is in town for the week, and one of our favorite things to do is make homemade pizza; we typically use store-bought sauce, but I think homemade sauce would make the pizza way better. I'm also making Ina Garten's fantastic spicy turkey meatballs, which are perfect with tomato sauce and pasta (maybe this homemade pasta, in fact!). So yes, this sauce is a multitasker, as well.

Would you like me to shut up and give you the recipe now? Yes? OK, I will. Here you go:

Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce

1 (28-oz.) can San Marzano tomatoes
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, cut in half and peeled
Salt, as needed

Combine the tomatoes (including their juices), butter, onion and a pinch of salt in a medium-sized pot over medium heat; bring to a simmer. Continue to cook, uncovered, at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of a pot with a wooden spoon. (I do this quite a bit because I'm not a huge fan of chunky sauces.) Taste and salt as needed. Serve with the dish of your choice and lots of grated parmesan cheese for passing, if you are so inclined (I am).

Photo via

Scenes from the weekend (on a Tuesday).

I love weekends that feel long and stretched out, don't you? After a packed week, I left Sarasota behind for the third weekend in a row and headed north to spend some much-needed quality time with ACS. Even though it was only a 24-hour visit, we filled it with long walks, antique-store browsing, great food and lots of laughter. Add to that a fun dinner from the Orlando Food Truck Bazaar with my parents on Sunday night and you have what I'd consider a pretty perfect few days. Here's a look at them in photos.

We walked down pretty side streets swooned over the flowers in bloom everywhere...

...daydreamed about living in this house...

...declared pink and mint the color palette o' the weekend...

...sat in a community garden, basking in the golden late-afternoon light (my favorite time of day)...

...had an amazing dinner at this adorable restaurant...

...decided we're staying in a B&B next time because, hello, how cute...

...made friends with a kitty (when does this not happen with me?)...

...came across a trio of butterflies that let us get very close (you know how I feel about butterflies)...

...and ended the weekend with lobster rolls, Korean barbecue, shrimp and grits and cupcakes.

I hope your weekend was equally as lovely, and that your weeks have started out on a high note. xoxo

The best fried chicken ever.

Fried chicken is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods—for me, it's right up there with a grilled cheese sandwich and macaroni and cheese. But until this weekend, I'd never actually made it myself.

Leave it to Ina Garten to change that.

Ina was cooking with Tyler Florence—another chef whose recipes never seem to lead me astray—on her Food Network show the other weekend, and they were making chicken fried in herb-scented oil. The recipe couldn't have been simpler: Brine the chicken in saltwater for a few hours, dredge it in a mixture of buttermilk and Sriracha, then dip it in seasoned flour. Fry the chicken, three or four pieces at a time, in peanut oil that's flavored with thyme, sage, rosemary and garlic...and then eat until you can't eat anymore. Seriously, this is really good fried chicken, you guys. We served it with corn on the cob and my mom's potato salad and it was the perfect Labor Day meal. If you want to make it, here's the recipe. I hope you love it.

What are you doing this (long) weekend?

Happy weekend, friends—and if you're in the U.S., happy Labor Day (read: long) weekend. What are your plans for the next few days? I'm heading north for my best friend/college roomie's baby shower (I'm making these Magnolia Bakery vanilla cupcakes for it) and staying through Monday to hang out with my parents. They recently redid their kitchen and it's gorgeous and the new appliances are awesome and fancy, so I'm looking forward to cooking and baking there (we're also making Tyler Florence's fried chicken recipe for our traditional Labor Day cookout).

I'm also pretty tired after what turned out to be a long week (good long, just...long), so I'm also looking forward to unplugging a little bit and just relaxing. And that's what three-day weekends are for, anyway, right?

If you'd like to do some reading/web browsing this weekend, here are three great links:

Great life lessons from Kate at Wit & Delight.

The transcript of President Obama's speech from the Martin Luther King Jr. 50th anniversary celebrations. So moving.

Death to the Stock Photo is a new (free) site for bloggers looking for beautiful imagery—interesting concept, huh? (via Hither and Thither)

Oh, and in case you missed anything here: New pink lipstick, my obsession with Moroccan wedding blankets, six things you should know about me (thanks again, Alicia!) and Emerson Fry's fall/winter collection and my tormented relationship with it.

See you back here Tuesday. xoxo

Photo: My own, snapped on the way into my aesthetician's office, which happens to be in the back of an artist's studio. 

San Diego: Favorite bites.

Like you, I'm sure, one of my favorite things to do when visiting any new-to-me city is eat--I love learning about places through their flavors. San Diego, you'll be happy to know, did not disappoint, so today I thought I'd share with you my top three bites of the trip.

(Un)baked!: Banana bites.

I haven't been posting too many indulgent sweet treats lately because I've been trying to make healthier choices (and it's been working! Between a strict exercise regimen and, you know, not shoveling candy bars in my mouth, I've lost 11 pounds and my clothes are fitting like I want them to again and I feel really good, so yay for that).

But that being said, sometimes a girl needs something sweet. Particularly after dinner. Enter: Banana bites.

These are the easiest things in the world to make, and I am not joking. All you do is slice up a banana or two, spread some peanut butter on half the slices, and then make little peanut-butter-banana "sandwiches" with the other half. Put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and stick it in the freezer for an hour, until they bananas are super firm. Meanwhile, melt some chocolate chips—I nuked half a bag for 30-second intervals until the chips were almost completely melted, then stirred them until totally smooth (you avoid burning the chocolate this way)—and then, when your banana sandwiches are chilled, roll them in the melted chocolate and put them back in the freezer until they're firm again (another 1-2 hours). The coolest part of the process is that, if you use chocolate chips like I did (Ghirardelli 60 percent forever!), whatever emulsifier is in the chocolate chips creates a sort of pseudo-Magic Shell when the warm chocolate hits the cold bananas. It's pretty cool. And pretty delicious. Let me know if you make them.

P.S. You can see the complete archive of Baked! posts right here.

Photo by Joy the Baker, because everyone seems to be discovering the power of chocolate covered bananas, and also her photograph is so much better than mine it's not even funny. Those suckers are tasty, but hard to take a good picture of.

A quick, easy summer lunch.

There's this restaurant in Sarasota, Louies Modern, that serves an heirloom tomato and burrata salad on a pink sea salt block, and I am in love with that salad. It's bright and refreshing and sweet and salty—your basic caprese with the ante pumped way, way up. Seriously delicious.

So when I was thinking about what I wanted for lunch the other day, that salad kept coming to mind. Now, I don't have huge pink sea salt blocks laying around my house, but I did have a box heirloom cherry tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Maldon salt (the best), basil and—thank you, Trader Joe's—burrata. So I sliced up half the container of tomatoes, plopped half a ball of burrata on top of them, tore up some basil leaves that I picked from my plant (!), drizzled the whole thing with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkled some Maldon salt on top—and that was it. Friends, it was delicious. I had to keep telling myself to slow down while I was eating it. Even better: Absolutely no cooking involved. Total win.

What's your favorite summer lunch? I'd love to hear.

Photo: My own.

A happy list.

Today, just a little list of 10 things that are making me happy:

1. ACS. (Hi.)

2. The bright pink roses (eight for $3.99!) from Trader Joe's that are happily hanging out in a gallon-sized Ball jar on my coffee table.
3. Coffee. I love you, coffee. Particularly the Coava Kilenso beans I picked up from Perq recently.

4. The memory of the toasted marshmallow milkshake I had this weekend. Oh my God, that was good. A totally-worth-it indulgence and the perfect accompaniment to an awesome burger. (P.S. Here's a marshmallow shake recipe I'm dying to try at home on a special occasion.)

5. The tiny bubbles that flew out of the top of the dish soap bottle when I squeezed it this morning. So cute, and really, is there anything happier than a bubble? 

6. The weather report for San Diego next week. You guys: Highs in the low 70s, lows in the 60s. Those are, like, late-fall temperatures to this Floridian. The thought of weather like that makes me so happy I want to cry.

7. New books! Three, to be specific: Two Kate Atkinsons and one called Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart. Books are the best.

8. The crazy amounts of rain we've been getting lately. This doesn't make me happy all the time, I admit, but there are some nights when there's nothing better to do after work than curl up with the kitties, a cup of tea and a book or a movie. 

9. My porch garden! The lemons are still growing, and now, thanks to ACS, I have herbs--thyme, oregano, basil and parsley--and tomatoes. Sadly, I've killed all but one of the tomato plants, but the one that's still alive just sprouted a blossom, so, you know, fingers crossed.

10. Getting to see extended family next week in California, especially in such an unfamiliar location. While I've had some mixed feelings about this trip, the excitement about seeing family has definitely not waned. Can't wait to see them.

What's been making you happy lately?

Photo of San Diego via. Looking forward to dipping my toes in the Pacific, too.

Anna Maria Donuts.

This might very well be called denial, but I'm going to choose not to talk about all the craziness that is happening in Florida right now and instead talk about doughnuts. Yes, doughnuts. Specifically Anna Maria Donuts, which is located on Anna Maria Island and which is my new favorite place.

I'd been meaning to get to Anna Maria Donuts ever since I heard it had opened, but Anna Maria Island is a 30-ish minute drive up Longboat Key from downtown Sarasota, where I live and work, and yes, that is not all that far in actuality, but it still requires some planning—especially since AMD is only open from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Happily, as you know, my mom was in town this weekend, so I suggested that we take a trip up, and after a great brunch on the beach at The Sandbar, we yielded to the siren song of the doughnuts and headed over to Pine Avenue.

Here's the deal with Anna Maria Donuts: You start with a homemade cake doughnut, and then you choose your frosting (chocolate, vanilla, maple, caramel or classic glaze) and your toppings. You can put anything from rainbow sprinkles to bacon to Fruity Pebbles to peanuts to crushed graham crackers on top of your doughnut, and you can also trust that it will be delicious. Seriously: You get the fried, not-too-sweet flavor of the cake, then the rush of sugar from the frosting and the crunch of whatever topping you've added. I am not kidding when I tell you that I probably could have eaten three of these and not looked back, but you'll be happy to know that I restrained myself.

You know, I've always loved doughnuts, ever since childhood, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that my grandfather—my mom's dad—would always stop and get me whatever Dunkin' Donut I wanted after Mass on Sundays (usually a powdered-sugar-coated vanilla cream-filled one). I've obviously had other doughnuts throughout the course of my life, but something about biting into this one brought me right back to those Sunday-morning after-church excursions, and it was a really lovely moment. (I am nothing if not unfailingly nostalgic.)

Anyway, if you're local, make the trip to Anna Maria Donuts, please. Like, now. And if you're planning on visiting, make sure you add this little doughnut shop to your list of must-eat spots. OK? OK.

P.S. I keep wondering: donut or doughnut? I am clinging to the latter spelling, but the former seems to be pretty generally accepted these days—thoughts?

Photo: My own.

The best pasta ever.

A few weeks ago, while I was visiting my parents in Orlando, my mom—as she is wont to do—sent me off with some random foodstuffs, among them a box of De Cecco gemelli pasta. I'd never seen this shape of pasta before (it most closely resembles fusili) and was excited to use it (yes, pasta excitement is a thing!), but wanted to save it for a dish that was a little more special than one like cacio e pepe or basic pasta marinara. So I put the box away and pretty much forgot about it.

Then, last week, I read Molly's post about Yotam Ottolenghi's pasta with yogurt sauce and was immediately intrigued. Greek yogurt, peas, olive oil and garlic are whizzed into a sauce in the blender and tossed with pasta, feta cheese, more peas and basil, and the whole thing is topped with pine nuts toasted in olive oil and red pepper flakes. Something about the combination of flavors kept me thinking about the recipe all week, and I figured it would be the perfect excuse to use the gemelli, so, on Saturday night, I finally made it (thanks in no small part to the fact that ACS made me an herb garden and I now have abundance of basil on hand, which makes me unspeakably happy).

And you guys, I have to say, this pasta is even better than I imagined, and I had very high hopes. I used an enormous clove of garlic in the yogurt sauce, which made it deliciously spicy and an even more excellent partner in crime for the chile oil. Add to that the hot crunch of the pine nuts, the creamy saltiness of the feta, and the cool sweetness of the peas and the basil, which balances everything out, and you have one of the best dishes I've made so far this year. Plus—and I don't say this lightly—the ingredients are things you probably already have on hand, which really means you should make it. Now. And then you should call me and we can have a pasta lovefest and talk about what a magician Yotam Ottolenghi is. Happy times all around.

A trip to Myakka.

Over the weekend, I took a trip out east to Myakka so I could check out the Old Miakka Farmers Market—a new-ish market that I'd heard great things about and had been meaning to get to for a few months. So in spite of the 90-degree-plus temps, I jumped in my car, grabbed my beloved Kilenso flat white from Perq Coffee Bar, and enjoyed every single second of the 30-ish minute drive and my time in Myakka.

What are you doing this weekend?

This past week, a friend reminded me of my old LiveJournal, the web log I kept all throughout college. Reading it was hilarious—a total walk down memory lane that was riddled with both hysterical laughter and cringes (oh, that early-20s angst; oh, song lyrics galore).

It's funny how I remember almost everything I wrote about, though—from the school papers I was working on to the late-night IM conversations with friends; the sad times (my beloved uncle's passing) and the happy ones (graduation and my first "real" job). I also discovered that I tended to be a bit more creative in my writing style back in the day, something I kind of miss. Working at a magazine, particularly as an editor, will certainly force you to write more clearly and succinctly—a good thing—but there's something to be said for a long, semicolon-laden, Virginia Woolfian sentence, too. Hm. Maybe I should start telling more stories here...

Anyway, what are you up to this weekend? I'm finally feeling almost 100 percent back to normal again, and tomorrow I'm planning to take a trip out east to a new-to-me farmer's market I've been wanting to go to for months. The drive out is gorgeous—all green farmland—so I'm going to try to stop and take some pictures, as well. I'll share them here next week if they turn out.

Have a wonderful few days—and enjoy those extra minutes of golden summer sunlight the solstice is giving us tonight!—and I'll see you back here Monday. xoxo

Photo: My own, of a beautiful butterfly that was fluttering at my parents' house last weekend...and we all know how I feel about them.

Recipe for happiness: Cold brew with coconut milk.

I know you don't need me to tell you how to make cold brew—there are thousands of recipes out there (though this one's my favorite). And, like it is for me, a good iced coffee is probably one of your favorite warm-weather drinks (it places very closely after an icy glass of sauvignon blanc or a really great iced chai on my top five list). So that's why I thought I'd write about Raleigh, N.C.-based Slingshot Coffee Co. today, which makes some of the best cold brew I've had, and is the perfect fix for when you don't want to make your own but need an iced coffee, stat.

Slingshot makes a ready-to-drink cold brew and a coffee concentrate; I picked up a bottle of the ready-to-drink stuff at Artisan Cheese Company last week and immediately went home for lunch to try it. You can definitely drink it straight, with just ice, but I'm not a black-coffee kinda girl, so I added a tablespoon of coconut milk (I'd opened a can that morning to make one of these), and a little sweetener. Yum. I'd planned on using almond milk with this, but now I think creamy coconut milk is definitely the way to go. And yes, the coffee is amazing—super smooth and flavorful, with notes of cherry, caramel and chocolate. Go get some.

P.S. Coconut milk whipped cream and strawberry coconut smoothies.

Strawberry coconut smoothie.

Sorry for the radio silence around here, friends—I am still sick with an obnoxious cold that just won't seem to go away, and yesterday I decided to start popping cold meds to try to alleviate my symptoms. I think they're helping, and I'm hoping to feel better by the weekend, but man, this week has been a doozy.

So in the spirit of health, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite smoothie recipes. I've been really into making smoothies/shakes in the morning lately, and this one always hits the spot—plus it's dairy-free, with only a couple of ingredients. Happy blending!

Strawberry Coconut Smoothie

1 cup organic frozen strawberries
1 banana, sliced
2 Tbsp. organic coconut milk (let's be real: I use the full-fat version and often I use 2.5 tablespoons, but you could totally use light coconut milk, too)
1 tsp lemon juice, or to taste
1/4 cup water

Blend strawberries, banana, coconut milk, lemon juice and water until smooth. Drink immediately. Enjoy.

Photo: My own.

Perq Coffee Bar.

These days, the perks of living in Sarasota include Perq Coffee Bar (see what I did there?), whose buzz (pun! Again!) began last year and which finally—finally!—opened its doors to the public last month. It's safe to say I'm obsessed, and here's why: Gorgeous space, made-from-scratch baked goods, sandwiches from a favorite local shop, and, oh yeah, the best coffee and tea in town. We're talking fair-trade, single-origin beans roasted in-house, local dairy options, the option to order a drink with almond milk (hallelujah!), tea offerings that are brewed just as carefully as their coffee counterparts, and a bright green Slayer espresso machine that is totally awesome.

Perq's lingo is different than the "small/medium/large/tall/grande/venti" you'll find at most coffee shops, and it's a little confusing at first, but you'll pick it up after a few orders. Also, take it from me: You will leave the shop with good vibrations (literally). I ordered a dirty chai—chai tea with a shot of espresso—a few weeks ago and it was insanely, awesomely strong. Totally worth it. If you're local, you must go.

P.S. My friend Megan also wrote a great post about Perq a few days ago; read it and see her pictures right here. She's convinced me to order a matcha latte next time I'm in, for sure.

'Round here.

Inspired by Clair's lovely post (do you read her blog? You should) here's a quick list of things that have been going on in my life lately:

Exercising: A lot. I've really gotten back into the swing of things and I must say, it feels great. Recently it's been a combo of kickboxing (so much sweat!) and long beach walks.

Enjoying: Watching my lemon tree grow. If all goes well, I should have actual lemons soon. This is very exciting to me, not in the least because I'm normally a black thumb.

Reading: Sweet Tooth, by Ian McEwan. Not loving, exactly, but enjoying.

Craving: A trip—somewhere, anywhere! Have been feeling a little stir-crazy recently. Thankfully, I've got San Diego in August to look forward to, and I'm hoping there's opportunity for a mini-vacay in July somewhere, too.

Watching: Mad Men, mostly. And I think we're going to start Arrested Development, which I've never seen, this weekend, since ACS randomly has all the seasons on DVD but has never watched them, either. I know next to nothing about the show, but it's good, right?

Eating: This herb-roasted salmon from Ina Garten is delicious and easy (so delicious I accidentally ate half a pound of it the other day, in fact, instead of the quarter-pound I thought I was scarfing down. Oops). Definitely make it. I paired it with a super-simple arugula salad and it was the perfect post-work meal.

Feeling: Happy that summer is (basically) here. More beach walks, barbecues, swimming, sundresses, dips in the ocean and friend time, please.

What's been going on with you lately? How were your long weekends?

Photo: My own, from one of the aforementioned walks on Siesta Key Beach. 

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy Friday, friends—it's the weekend, yay! How were your weeks? Mine was good. In fact, it ended up being a week of little treats: I made that chai coconut ice cream on Monday, which aside from tasting awesome was a fun project; on Wednesday I bought the brightest pink peonies I could find and splurged on some Maldon sea salt (which is amazing, something I never thought I'd say about salt); and yesterday, I got my first facial in an attempt to take better care of my skin and it was fabulous. (My aesthetician is wonderful, by the way; if you're in Sarasota and need someone great, let me know.)

I'm becoming a big believer in occasionally rewarding yourself with little things like flowers or candles or—sometimes—with bigger splurges like a facial or a new piece of clothing or even a trip somewhere. In the past I usually did this with food—a candy bar here, a scoop of ice cream there—but I'm quickly learning that that's not the best thing to do. So candles, flowers and facials (!) it is. Here's to being gentle with ourselves.

No links today--just a wish that you all have a wonderful weekend! See you back here on Monday. xoxo

Photo: J.Crew

Baked! (kinda): Chai coconut ice cream.

Awhile back, I mentioned that these Baked! posts were going to take more of a healthy, clean-eating bent—i.e., last week's almond butter cookies, which are gluten- and dairy-free. I want to talk more about the why behind that decision in a few weeks, but first I want to share with you this recipe for chai coconut ice cream.

Ice cream is probably my biggest weakness when it comes to dessert: I try not to keep it in the house because if I do, chances are you'll find me standing in front of the freezer at midnight, spoon hovering over the carton. And yet, here in Florida, it's practically summer already: We've got highs in the mid-80s, we're wearing shorts, we're thinking about beach barbecues and dips in the Gulf. It's hard to deprive yourself of anything that instantly cools you off, and come on, ice cream is the ultimate hot-weather treat. So needless to say, I'm glad I've found this healthy recipe.

OK, fine: Ice cream can't really ever be considered healthy, but this version does come close: It's full of spices and it's sugar-free, dairy-free, and egg-free (thank you, coconut milk and honey). I found the recipe over on Cookie + Kate, which is a wonderful blog—you should definitely check it out if you haven't already—and it couldn't be simpler: black tea and spices (ginger, cardamom, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla) are combined with coconut milk and honey, cooled and then put through an ice cream maker. Here's the recipe; the result is what you see above. It's creamy and delightfully spicy and just as good straight out of the ice cream maker (soft serve!) as it is if it's been frozen overnight. Yum. I have a feeling this is going to become a go-to very, very quickly.

Photo by Cookie + Kate