Winter Squash & Apple Minestrone with Quinoa & Brown Rice

Hello, friend.

With Thanksgiving over, all the turkey consumed, and just a few measly crumbs of stuffing left in the pan, I can officially say that I am 100% in the Christmas spirit right now. The holiday season is definitely my favorite time of year. Not the actual day of Christmas per say, but rather the time leading up to the holiday itself. I feel that the day of is hectic and kind of a blur. In an instant, it’s over before you feel like it truly began. The season leading up to Christmas is different, though. It’s festive, fun, and exciting. The days leading up to it gives you more time to embrace the season fully. I love being able to decorate my apartment in twinkling lights and garland, baking holiday cookies in the kitchen with Momma Crawford, and watching endless holiday television specials under a warm blanket drinking hot chocolate. It’s this time of year, where the days are chilly and the nights are long, that I crave something warm and comforting to eat. In the winter, I love turning on the oven and roasting seasonal vegetables, filling the apartment with warm, aromatic scents. Squash is such an easy ingredient to work with and tastes delicious in a variety of dishes, especially in soup. To say goodbye to the autumn season and hello to the long winter months ahead, I have teamed with Hodgson Mill once again to bring you a great “grain” recipe that will get you through the coldest of days.

Dutch Apple Pie Cookies with a Caramel Apple Glaze | #TheMagicofTea

Hello, friend.

Halloween is over and November is in full swing! The days are colder and the nights are longer. During this time of year when I’m not spending my time in class or in the library studying, I can be found baking my little heart out in my tiny apartment kitchen. There is something therapeutic about coming home after a long day of school, out from the biting autumn winds of Illinois, and just baking my feelings. After I am all said and done, I take a deep sigh, brew myself a steaming cup of tea, sit down at my desk and proceed to go on a photo editing binge, the sounds of smooth jazz acoustics playing softly in the background. 

As I've gotten older, tea has become one of those drinks that has ever so quickly grown on me. Coffee has always had my heart (or at least since freshman year of college when I started drinking it), but there is something so powerful about the calming, floral flavors that tea provides. It's this which has recently gotten my hooked, the warm brew trickling down my throat with each savored sip. Tea reminds of late night study sessions at my or my friend's apartments, our laughter proceeded late into the evening. Happy memories and funny moments, all over a cup of tea, and  more specifically, Celestial Seasonings tea.

Bourbon & Buttermilk Biscuit Apple Cobbler {w/th The Macadames}

HEY! Hey, you. Yes, you. I have a quick thing to share with you before you continue reading. First of all, this post is in collaboration with Anisa of The Macadames. With her living Australia and me here in the states, my fall is just beginning while hers is ending. We decided to bridge the gap and make some delicious recipes using the seasons favorite; apples. After you’re done reading this post, head over to her site for a delicious baked apple recipe, which wink, wink looks to die to for! But firsts, this post. This post is a bit different from the traditional blog posts I write. To be frank, I hate writing blog posts and I need a change of pace. A few weeks ago, I had the idea to combine my love of fiction writing and food writing, and this is what came about. My thought for this is to write short little scenes involving the recipes I’m posting about. I hope to capture the art of culinary storytelling even further by creating my own stories. Disclaimer: these are far from Pulitzer Prize-winning pieces or anything, so take it for what it is, a young man’s fictitious anthology of food. 

Grandma Crawford's Cinnamon Apple Poundcake + my first magazine feature

Hello, friend.

So some exciting news... I’M IN A MAGAZINE!!

That’s right, the rumors are trumors. The blog title does not lie. I am in a magazine!

So rewind to December of last year. I had been following the magazine Local Wolves on Instagram for a while (around October-ish). One day, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed when I came across one of their post with the caption “#newbeginnings”. It was an open call for submissions where you emailed them, answering the question “how were you going to challenge yourself in 2016?”, for a chance to have a potential spot in their user submitted section of the magazine. I thought “Why I can answer that!” So I sat down in front of my laptop and starting writing. I wrote about the blog, my love of food, and my journey with stuttering. I sent the email and walked away from the computer, knowing I was never going to hear anything back.

Apple Cider Pancakes with Apple Butter & Toasted Almonds

Hello, friend.

So, October is almost over. It's practically Halloween. It’s officially the countdown to the holiday season. I’m not emotionally ready for that yet. Are you? Luckily, I have some recipe ideas and holiday inspired posts in mind, so stay tuned for that. Speaking of holidays, homecoming is this weekend and I’m beyond excited. It’s one of my first weekends I have off from work. I haven’t had the chance to make a home football game this year, so I am excited to take some time and actually be a social college student. Tailgating here we come!