seeded crackers + ricotta

it's 11:30am. yesterday i got this intense feeling inside to make seeded crackers. i'm not eating bread that much (i.e. following lchf via minimalmeals), but nonetheless i felt like i was missing some sort of cheese or butter (not gonna lie, it would be weird) vehicle for breakfasts and lunches and snackage-s. hmm. 

someone whose food i have admired for a little while is elle, who is the epitome of awesome paleo-ish low carb eating. maybe i'll make a post about why i'm eating this way as well. it's a long story of combatting ibs-like symptoms and years of impatience. keto solved that, (more to come).

anyways, i made elle's wonderful seeded crackers with a few modifications and they are crunchy and coconut oil fragrant-y (along with gluten free and paleo) and, yes, the perfect vehicle for my ricotta open-faced sandwich thing for breakfast this morning.

and with that, i will share with you the recipes for both.

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seeded crackers

serves ~20 large crackers

what you do

1. preheat oven to 300˚F

2. mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. add boiling water and melted coconut oil. 

3. mix together again until well combined. let sit for 5-10 minutes so that the chia seeds can absorb the water.

4. scoop up half the doll and roll out 1 half at a time. between 2 pieces of parchment paper, roll out each half as thinly as possible without breaking up the dough. remove top layer of parchment before putting in the oven.

5. on the bottom rack, bake the rolled out cracker dough for 30 minutes at 300˚F (checking every 15 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn) and then 20 minutes at 240˚F. 

6. leave in the oven to dry and harden up for at least another 30 minutes. 

7. break into pieces and store in a container

what you need

• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon almond flour
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/3 golden flax seeds
• 1/3 black sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon psyllium husk powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup boiling water

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ricotta open-faced cracker sandwiches

serves 1

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what you do

1. prep your 7-minute egg

2. on the large crackers, evenly divide and spread the ricotta. season with salt and pepper. drizzle with some good olive oil.

3. (essentially, because ricotta is the main star here) garnish the crackers with the zucchini, carrots, salmon and egg. season again. drizzle with olive oil again (if you're like me).

4. enjoy the messy goodness

what you need

• 1-2 of elle's crackers (see above)
• 3 tablespoons fresh ricotta cheese
• thinly sliced zucchini (i used a vegetable peeler to achieve this
• carrots, cut finely
• 1-2oz fresh smoked salmon
• 7-minute egg
• drizzle of olive oil
• salt & pepper

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happy sunday, everyone.

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i'm a sucker for avocado toast

from sunday in brooklyn

charred avocado toast, wheatgrass, pickled onion, sprouts, radish, chili oil + 6-minute egg

it is a very ironic love, since i used to hate avocado way back when. 

i'm against ordering it when i'm eating out because it's so easy to make at home. 

anyway.

here's the thing about avocado toast (and like most of my recipes), it doesn't really need a recipe. you just throw some avocado toast on a slice of bread and then mush it together and badabing-badaboom you have that so wildly-adored avo toast. even though i'm telling you this, i'm going to give you a recipe on how i make my avocado toast anyways. sometimes you just need a little help.

izzy's favorite avocado toast

serves 1

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what you do

1. here's the deal. you must toast your bread to crunchy perfection. i prefer a crunchy exterior and soft interior. up to you. or make some sweet potato toast by toasting up 2 slices of your lovely sweet potato as you would normal bread.

2. cut your avocado. dice it? slice it? i personally am a fan of the avocado rose method or something kind of like that (i.e. image 3 of this post).

3. using either a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice a small radish into circles about 1/8" thick (or as thin as you can go). put aside.

4. do you like eggs? i do. if you're feeling love for an egg, fry one up in a tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat. make sure it doesn't burn. make sure it is crispy. 

5. assemble: toasted bread on a plate. avocado rose (or something like it) gently placed on top. sprinkle of sesame seeds, chili flakes, salt. the juice of half a lime. those thin radishes. and a hot crispy egg on top. ah yeah.

what you need

• 1 slice ezekiel bread (i like sesame) or 2 "slices" of sweet potato
• 1/2 of a perfectly ripe avocado
• small radish of your choosing
• sesame seeds
• chili flakes
• salt
• 1/2 lime
• (1 egg and 1 tablespoon of olive oil)

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i laughed writing this. god, i'm weird.

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found artists: jonathan higbee

“over the years i have been able to develop my eye and sense of anticipation to more easily spot uncanny coincidences...

"...but every once in a while my gut will tell me that some element i’ve come across on the street has potential to become a successful image,

"...even if it’s nothing special just yet.”

i've always loved coincidences.

although seemingly methodically constructed, planned, oriented, and too-good-to-be-true, jonathan higbee's images are instead a result of patience and a good eye. 

"coincidences is my love letter to new york, and to the infinite number of magical, ephemeral and serendipitous moments that make it a city unlike any other."

higbee's work is quite literally the kind of work i wish i could do, using the kind of skills i wish i had. patience? not really there yet. 

being able to make something very real be magical (which i think is what these photos are for me) is an ability i can only hope to achieve. or, at least, learn to garner. 

coincidences are the best kind of instances. (i meant that rhyme and i am sorry). they are irreplicable and serendipitous, and that's what makes them special.

and my god, when you get them on camera, you will treasure them forever.

happy snow day.

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i'm learning

image by haleyisokay

i'm learning.

two weeks ago there was a mass shooting in parkland, florida. i'm ashamed to have only just felt this intense urge to do something now, after so many other tragedies.

i'm inspired and empowered by the voices of my fellow teenagers. the survivors of parkland have transformed and gained hold of the national dialogue. in those two short weeks, they've already enacted change.

i'm learning to use my voice too.

i'm learning to become more educated on our country's current standing on gun control among about other issues that i am passionate about (of which, at times, it seems there are too many). 

i'm learning to call my state and local reps and communicate my own views.

i'm learning to break the boundary of doing, beyond planning, beyond hypotheticals. 

vote! organize. walk. scream. march. debate. and continue.

i'm learning to do all of these things. i'm finding the power to do all of these things. 

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the blackest black

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photography by luke hayes

there's been a lot of chatter with the winter olympics starting tomorrow. 

in the midst of all of that, i stumbled upon this pavilion designed by asif khan using that chemical substance that absorbs almost all (99.965%) of radiation of the visual spectrum.

vantablack.

it's a visual black hole and completely disrupts three dimensional space. though, it adds elements of it back with the assorted star-lights outside.

“from a distance the structure has the appearance of a window looking into the depths of outer space. as you approach it, this impression grows to fill your entire field of view. so on entering the building, it feels as though you are being absorbed into a cloud of blackness."

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on happiness

from an excerpt i wrote in my journal this morning:

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maybe i'm saying all of this because i'm on winter break.

well.

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