This has been one of the roughest weeks of my life. On Tuesday, I found out that my good friend from my old job passed away. The news was shocking, but even more so because I just had dinner with her a week or so ago. We had beers and talked about going bookstore shopping.

My friend was one of those people who was there for you when you needed her most. She would come over to my desk at work and talk to me, and I’d always feel better afterward. She called me her “little French dumpling” after I started working at the bakery. She saw to the heart of me and appreciated me for who I truly am. She was extraordinarily gifted in the ability to love.

I was really depressed for a few days after hearing the news, but then, my boss (and friend) took me aside. Life goes on, she told me in French. You have to try.

Even though the words were difficult to hear, I knew that she was right. My friend who passed away would want me to be happy and do the things that bring me joy.

So yesterday night, I impulsively decided to make these no bake brownie bites. They’re not cloyingly sweet and have the perfect balance of salt and sugar. In a way, they’re a lot like my friend. She was sassy and no-BS, but she had the sweetest heart of anyone I’ve ever met.

These are for you, Caroline.

No Bake (Vegan) Brownie Bites (slightly adapted from The First Mess)

Ingredients

for the bites:
1 ½ cups raw walnut pieces/halves
⅓ cup raw cashews
¼ cup raw cacao powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pitted Medjool dates
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 tablespoon non-dairy milk (I used almond)

for the cacao glaze:
1 ½ tablespoons virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
½ teaspoon maple syrup
two to three squares of 72% dark chocolate (omit if you want vegan bites)

sprinkles:
finely shredded coconut
goji berries
bee pollen (not vegan)
hulled hemp seeds
flaky sea salt

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade, pulse the walnuts and cashews until you have a meal consistency. Add the cacao powder, vanilla extract, sea salt, and cinnamon. Pulse to mix evenly.

Add the dates and coconut butter to the food processor and run the motor on high, scraping down the sides of the bowl here and there. The mixture should just hold together if you pinch it with your fingers. Flip the motor on to high again, and pour the non-dairy milk in through the feed tube. The dough should ball up and appear glossy, but not too sticky and wet.

Scoop out the brownie bite mixture in 1 ½ teaspoon measures. Roll the portioned mixture into balls, set on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and slide into the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.

Make the cacao glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the coconut oil, cacao powder, dark chocolate and maple syrup. Whisk over low heat until combined. Set aside.

Retrieve the superfood brownie bites from the refrigerator. Dip each bite into the cacao glaze and set back on the parchment-lined baking sheet. While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle each bite with the sprinkle of your choice.

Store superfood brownie bites in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

I just got a spiralizer attachment for my birthday and I’m obsessed. I’ve been wanting to make noodles out of vegetables for so long, and now, the time has finally come.

I decided to make zucchini noodles with pesto for a birthday picnic that I hosted today at a park near my apartment. I got the zucchini from the grocery store, but I bought the basil this morning from the farmers’ market. And oh, what a difference that made.

The basil was fresh and it barely needed any coaxing from garlic or other ingredients. I just threw two bunches in a food processor, added some olive oil and sunflower oil, a couple handfuls of walnuts, some Parmesan and a clove of garlic. Et voilà: the best basil pesto of my life was born.

Making the noodles was a slightly more complicated process. It took me two out of eight zucchini (and some choice words) to figure out how to use the spiralizer attachment, but once I got the hang of it, everything went smoothly. Here’s a helpful video in case you run into problems like I did.

You might want to put the zucchini noodles between two paper towels and drain them for a little before tossing them with the pesto. Or, you can do what I did and make a slightly thicker pesto (with less oil) and then let the water from the zucchini thin out the sauce. Whatever works.

The noodles ended up being so good that I ate three bowls and didn’t save any for people who came late to the picnic. Whoops. I’ll probably make them again soon.

Here’s a song that reminds me of summer, picnics and chilling out. It’s also good to play while you’re spiralizing zucchini.

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto (from me, to you) 

Ingredients

8 zucchini
two bunches of fresh basil, leaves removed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
juice from 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions

Spiralize the zucchini and place the noodles into a large bowl. Toss with a little salt and let it sit while you make the pesto.

To make the pesto, put the basil leaves, olive oil, sunflower oil, walnuts, lemon juice, Parmesan and garlic in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add more oil with the blade running if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the cherry tomatoes. Toss the noodles in a large bowl with the pesto and sprinkle on the cherry tomatoes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Sometimes, you start eating a dish and it brings up a bunch of emotions. I know I talk about weeping over food a lot on this blog, and believe it or not, I’m not exaggerating. But I had a different kind of emotional experience with the pizza at All-Purpose Pizzeria, a new restaurant that just opened in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood.

I went today after work and ordered the Ferraro pizza with artichokes, ramps, stinging nettles, pistachio pesto, smoked scamorza (which sounds terrifying, but it’s just cheese), and feta. When the waiter brought it out and put it in front of me, it was already a feast for the eyes. Then I took a bite.

The overwhelming emotion I felt was comfort. Even though I never ate smoked scamorza, pistachio pesto or stinging nettles when I was younger, the pizza reminded me of home. The ingredients were inventive but the effect was simple: I felt reassured. I could have been at a dining room table with my family. But I was sitting at a bar in downtown D.C. surrounded by businessmen and other solo diners reading the newspaper or checking their phone.

Writing about the pizza makes me miss it, but the restaurant isn’t too far from where I live now. I’m sure I’ll drop by again soon for some beer and pizza after work. All-Purpose is the kind of place that you’ll want to keep coming back to.

Here’s a song I’ve been jamming out to lately.