Asparagus Pesto Tart

If there’s one recipe in my cookbook that I hear about people making and enjoying more than any other, I think it’s the Asparagus Tart. I made this variation on it recently using pesto and thought it was so simple and tasty. You can also substitute any other cheese, and almost any other vegetable if you like! If it’s a vegetable that takes a while to cook, however, you might want to cook it before baking. Cut into small squares and serve as an appetizer, or serve large chunks with a side salad for lunch.

Happy New Year!

Happy Hanukkah!

Today is the first day of Hanukkah! It’s one of my favorite Jewish holidays because you get to light candles every night. Here’s a little round-up of favorite Forest Feast Hanukkah recipes:

• Cauliflower Potato Latkes
• Sweet potato Latkes from The Forest Feast cookbook
• Sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts)
• DIY Citrus Menorah

Also, if you are in San Francisco tomorrow (Wed. 12/17/14), please join us for a Hanukkah party at Umami Mart SF (my favorite kitchen and barware shop) from 6-8pm. More info here, all are welcome! We’ll be serving latkes and lager and I’ll be signing cookbooks if you want to pick some up for holiday gifts!

My Bay Area Travel Guide

If you’re planning a trip to San Francisco and have an extra day, I recommend you coming out to my neck of the woods! There are lots of fun hikes and foodie stops. I recently contributed to Flipkey’s San Francisco Travel Guide with a day trip itinerary in my area, with all my favorite places. There’s brunch at Alice’s, wine tasting at Fogarty, cheese tasting at Harley Farms, the cutest coffee shop in Pescadero and a hike at Russian Ridge.

Check out the whole itinerary here!

Zucchini Fan Quiche

Even though we are deep into October, I am still pulling zucchinis out of our garden! (Thanks, California.) This quiche is super simple, but made special by fanned out slices of zucchini on top. I use pre-made crust to make things easy, but you could of course make your own. Feel free to add herbs or other vegetables to the egg mixture, and use whatever type of cheese you have on hand.

Also, I just wanted to share some news- my cookbook made the New York Times Best Seller list last week! Dream come true. We are celebrating with Champagne Cocktails and Beer Floats :)

Cheers!

Erin

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You might also like:

Vegan Zucchini Bread (super moist!)

Zucchini Pastry Bites

Apple Matchstick Salad

It’s apple season! Growing up in the apple orchard when I was little, I loved this time of year when we started to pick and make everything imaginable with apples. We dried them, made apple butter and apple sauce, pies and tarts…the list is endless!

Cutting apples into matchstick-sized pieces for a salad makes them just a little more fun to eat, don’t you think? Slice a few apples this way and toss them with chopped pecans (or any nuts), dried berries and raisins (I bought a mix at Trader Joe’s with golden raisins, blueberries and cranberries), plus some fresh cilantro. Dress with a bit of olive oil, lemon and salt. Sweet, Salty, Savory! 

This week The Forest Feast turned 3, and I love that this little blog’s birthday falls during the harvest season. This week, our family is celebrating my favorite Jewish holiday- Sukkot, a harvest holiday where we build a little hut outside and have meals under it for a week. It’s so fun! And we’ve had warm nights here in the woods lately which has made it even better. I made this salad the other night and it was a hit.

Happy Harvest!