Please drop whatever you're doing and make this. Actually, let me rephrase. Since you're in the middle of reading this post, finish reading, take note of the ingredients, and be sure you have everything you need to start baking. Just writing this post makes me wish I'd had more self control, but every last bite was gone in about two days. And I have to confess, most of the bites belonged to me. It's both a blessing and a curse that Andrew isn't the biggest fan of crumbles (though the vanilla ice cream, he can handle), leaving me no choice but to eat everything before it wastes away in the refrigerator.

The politics of food and agriculture has been a hot topic recently. More than ever, consumers are paying attention to the ingredients in the food they buy, realizing the benefit of eating fresh produce, and supporting local farmers. It shouldn't be this way, but sometimes eating better is more expensive. You must make a conscious decision to buy local, organic, or grass-fed, even if it means sacrificing in other areas. But, if you're passionate enough, this decision will be good for both your body and the environment.

In the two and a half years since I’ve had my blog, it’s undergone several makeovers. Actually, the first version of this blog had an entirely different name, Roasted Garlic, and its first post was appropriately, roasted garlic. To be honest, I haven’t cooked with it much since, though I’m not sure why. Roasting garlic is straightforward and the work is done in the oven. The flavor is bold but mellowed by the other components of the dish, and tossing it together is almost effortless.

I sometimes don't know what to do with beets. They're an ingredient I get excited about when I find them in my vegetable box, but inevitably they remain untouched for weeks. I've mentioned my issues with texture before and that I tend to like things smooth: soup, mashed potatoes, and beets, as it turns out.

For my birthday last year, my parents came to town and took us to lunch at a little Italian restaurant in our neighborhood. I ordered the beet risotto and proceeded to recreate it in a previous post, but after attempting the recipe again, I much prefer this updated version.

I was planning to title this post "The Writer In Me," but didn't want to deter you from the fact that at the end of these somewhat lengthy paragraphs is an elegant yet easy recipe for you to try. So before we get to that, a few things.

In addition to my full-time job in the philanthropy sector, I also have a background in writing. It started in 5th grade, and I haven't stopped writing since. I even have a masters degree in poetry, which is why the transition from poetry and fiction to a life-changing obsession with food came as a bit of a surprise.

Sometimes I know I'll fall in love with a recipe even before I set out to make it. There are moments in my cookbook reading, magazine page flipping, and RSS feed browsing where a recipe—the title, a photo, or an enticing description—makes me stop and think: “I must make this...immediately!” You just know.

My light bulb moment came during a weekday lunch break when I was huddled inside of a Coffee Bean sipping a tea latte. June and July were strange months in Los Angeles, weather wise. The usual warm, sunny afternoons were replaced by clouds that didn’t seem to be in any rush to leave. Evenings were cool, even a bit breezy. I found myself craving soup, pumpkin, mushrooms. In general, foods associated with fall and winter, not summer.

Not too long ago, the wonderful Tiina over at sparkling ink posted some heavenly looking banana muffins. On a recent lazy Sunday afternoon, I stirred the batter together and let the cinnamon perfume the kitchen as they baked.

It was the perfect day for baking. The sun, covered by southern California’s seemingly endless “June Gloom,” had yet to emerge from the fog layer, and it almost felt a bit like fall, when you feel like curling up with a bowl of popcorn for an afternoon movie, and simmering soup on the stove for hours.

Figs have been on my mind lately. I often see them featured in magazine recipes and sitting in cartons at the grocery store, but I rarely buy them. I love the deep purple of their skins, the peridot and pink colored insides.

The smell of figs cooking is soothing. You’ll notice it too, after they’ve been cooking and are close to reaching the congealed jam consistency, they will emit a perfume that, if you’re like me, will remind you of wine tasting and picnics and summers spent outdoors.

Our Fourth of July weekend was relatively quiet. We spent an afternoon lingering at the Getty, then stayed home on the big day and made this steak. It's been a couple of weeks now, and Andrew is still talking about it. When we started preparing dinner, my expectations were not especially high for this dish. I assumed it would be acceptable fare for a summer holiday, but was unprepared for how my taste buds reacted.

Andrew and I have started exercising again! We finally agreed on the days of the week to get outside after work, and for the past three weeks we've been sticking to it. I try to be optomistic, generally, but because we've stopped and started in the past, I'm not sure how long this will last.

On the days we exercise, my routine is to prep a few things for dinner before we run so we aren't waiting too long to eat after we get back. My favorite dish is the kind I can pop in the oven while we're out, and these peppers fit the bill. They're hearty and filling, which is great for refueling after a workout, and not even a carnivore will miss the meat in this dish.

There is a relatively well-known chain of French-inspired cafe's called Le Pain Quotidien that makes irresistible bread, tarts, tartines, and other rustic fare. It's one of the few places I don't mind eating out, because it's the kind of food I love to eat. They also serve iced tea lemonade in your own carafe. My meal is usually something I can recreate at home, which is ok with me because I dine there to be inspired. I eat consciously, always walking away feeling satisfied and refreshed.

Crostini is the Italian word for a piece of toasted bread, and the word crostini instantly evokes a sense of contentment. Olive oil seeping into each slice, juicy tomatoes, creamy cheese, garlicky beans. It's the kind of thing I can make an entire meal out of in the summer.

Back in May I made a raw asparagus salad, but I never thought to throw it on top of pizza. Deb did, and I'm so glad, because it makes a wonderful dinner and gets me out of the mozzarella and tomato sauce pattern that sometimes takes over.

During the course of making this pizza, I found myself pulling a few asparagus ribbons out of the bowl and snacking on them while I waited for the dough to rise. Then I left the kitchen to avoid eating the majority of our pizza topping. Takeaway: More asparagus is always better, if you have it.

There are many things you can use a food processor for, but my favorite has always been pesto. It’s the first thing I made after we got married and opened the large Cuisinart box from one of our wedding guests. At the time we had space for a large basil plant on the patio, and I, not surprisingly, became slightly obsessed and made pesto every chance I could.

Since then, I’ve branched out. I still make basil pesto, but I’ve used kale, arugula and now, spinach. Pesto makes for a hearty pasta, and is extra healthy if you use whole wheat pasta as well.

I’ve made a few treats recently, including strawberry ice cream and a raspberry buckle, but I was secretly itching for chocolate cake. Do you ever feel that way? That you’re just feeling the need to soften some butter and cream it with sugar and pull a cake out of the oven? I was starting to become desperate.

Sometimes cake can be overwhelming. There are layers. And fondant. And Swiss buttercream. Layer cakes are showpieces, always impressive and festive, but I wasn’t in the mood for one of those. Instead, I craved the beauty of a single layer. And chocolate. I was also looking for the recipe I could make again and again, for any occasion.

Can you believe it’s been five weeks since I’ve posted a pasta recipe? I’ll give you a moment while you catch your breath. While I have absolutely no explanation for this oversight, I can assure you there will be no shortage of pasta moving forward, because that would just be a tragedy.

This recipe from Bon Appetit combines a few of my favorite things: roasted cauliflower, breadcrumbs, and pasta. It's similar to the Sicilian Spaghetti I love so much, but with larger, cooked-to-toasty-perfection breadcrumbs that play a big role adding texture to the dish.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm very fond of muffins. I especially love them in the car, and make a habit of baking a batch whenever a long stretch of highway is in my foreseeable future. This time, my nephew was graduating from high school, and although the drive was a mere two hours, muffins were still very much appropriate. Road trips aside, muffins also make great afternoon snacks at work, or a light breakfast (unless you have an addictive cereal habit like me).

Can someone please tell me how it became June so quickly? It seems like just yesterday I was blending warm soups and baking macaroni and cheese, when suddenly it became summer. Oh my. Now that my lamenting is out of the way, let's focus on one of my new favorite dishes.

I love quinoa for it’s health benefits and quick cooking powers, but lately it’s been salad after salad. And while there’s nothing wrong with finding new ingredients to toss it with for a simple dinner, I did a little investigating and came across a fresh and satisfying way to prepare it.

I love the way a lime smells, and for this reason am drawn to find ways to use them more in my kitchen. So when I decided to make a big pot of simmered black beans to eat with homemade flour tortillas (recipes here), the table needed a little something extra.

I stumbled upon this recipe on my Epicurious iPhone app when I was searching for a way to use the sweet potatoes that were delivered in my vegetable box. With lime and cilantro as the key ingredients, I knew it would be perfect to go alongside the beans.

Sometimes there are nights when I don’t feel like cooking, and I know I’m not alone. For all the fun I have meal planning, flipping through my glossy magazines, and cooking new things, I have days when I'm just not interested in spending a lot of time in the kitchen. But I’m still interested in eating well, so you can see the dilemma.

For a lazy night, tuna melts are life-savers. They take almost no time to make, and are satisfying with just a few simple ingredients. I’ve made these twice for dinner in the last week, which is reaching my quota for repeat recipes, but I love having this sandwich in my recipe box now. You know, for whenever I need something really, really simple (yet delicious).