Have you had panang curry yet? Panang curry is rich and creamy, spicy yet balanced, with underlying notes of peanut and coconut.

I make my panang curry with lots of bell peppers and carrots, and optional tofu for extra protein. It’s a perfectly satisfying weeknight meal for cold days.

Panang is one of my favorite Thai curries, right up there with red curry and green curry. If you haven’t ordered it at your favorite Thai restaurant yet, you’ve been missing out!

The post Thai Panang Curry with Vegetables appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Rewind to yoga class one month ago. Before we got started, the instructor started off with a story about her recent experience at Starbucks. She ordered her drink (the “pink drink”) and was super friendly to the barista (I forgot the details). In turn, she got her drink for free! Treat others well and you will be treated will in return. Treat your body well and it will treat you well in return, she said.

Her golden rule analogy was lost on me because I was entranced by this “pink drink” idea. She mentioned that it had hibiscus tea and coconut milk in it. Inhale, cat, exhale, cow, hibiscus tea, coconut milk. Hmmm. Downward dog, hibiscus tea, right leg up, lunge, coconut milk.

I know I’m supposed to focus solely on yoga during class, but I could not stop thinking about the pink drink. Did you see the hibiscus pink lemonade in the cookbook? I really like hibiscus tea and its naturally bright pink color.

So, I went home and started playing around with the idea. I created a pink drink that I really enjoyed before I even drove to Starbucks to try their version. I finally ordered one a couple of weeks later (it’s not on the menu; you have to ask for it). Here’s the kicker, though—I didn’t like it! I liked mine much better, and everyone who has tried it loves it, too.

The post Pink Drink appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

I was hoping to tell you that I’d bought a house today. A cute 1930s Victorian farmhouse with tall ceilings and lots of big windows. It was a blank slate on the inside, so I could have made it exactly how I wanted it to be. It was going to be the Cookie and Kate studio! I was going to have a beautiful, functional kitchen for the first time in my life! I was going to grow a garden in the side yard!

Of course, I got carried away and decorated it all before it was officially mine. Then, the owner took it off the market, for reasons that I won’t bore you with, so it is not mine. I’ll just keep living in this rent house, with its low ceilings, dingy kitchen and beige bedroom walls… which now seem even lower, darker, and more like stained cargo khaki shorts. First world problems.

On the upside, I have strawberry shortcake to share today! The idea came to me after I nailed one of the baked goods for the cookbook, which I am so excited to share with you next spring. I had to figure out how to make strawberry shortcake before summer ended. Here it is. This one tastes like classic strawberry shortcake, but it is made with whole grains and it’s naturally sweetened, too.

The post Healthier Strawberry Shortcake appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

I can’t help but draw a comparison between making a cookbook and having a baby. Now I have never had a baby, but hear me out. They are both very big endeavors, with long incubation periods. Once combined with everyday duties, keeping up becomes about twice as difficult.

I’m nearing my “due date,” and can hardly believe that I’ll have a finished cookbook someday. I’m scrambling and struggling and suffering from frazzled cookbook brain. I can’t wait to be done, but I’m also a little scared of what may come.

Watching friends produce cookbooks is also similar to watching friends have babies. They’re both stressed and excited, overwhelmed and hopeful. You don’t get the full picture of what they’ve been making until it’s all done and you are so very, very proud of their good work.

That’s exactly how I felt when Jeanine and Jack’s cookbook (they’re the couple behind the blog Love and Lemons) appeared on my doorstep. I think I texted her about ten high-five emojis in a row. The Love and Lemons Cookbook is just perfect—it’s overflowing with colorful photos, gorgeous high-contrast typography, creative recipes, and cooking variation charts that are as helpful as they are beautiful.

It’s truly “an apple-to-zucchini celebration of impromptu cooking,” as the front cover suggests. I flipped through the book and found this amazing Brussels sprout recipe, and I just happened to have everything in my fridge to make it.

The post Coconut Rice with Brussels Sprouts appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

You know dinner was good when you want to eat it for breakfast. Speaking of, it’s 10 am and I’m writing with a happy belly.

This Thai red curry made a fantastic meal last night and perhaps an even better breakfast this morning. It’s warm, comforting, and perfect for cool days. It’s a little rich, too, but so full of vegetables that it doesn’t feel too indulgent.

I’ve been meaning to try a red Thai curry based on my green curry for a while now, and I’m so glad I finally did. It’s the best curry I’ve ever had, restaurant versions included! Yeah, I said it.

Bonus? You should be able to find everything you need for this simple curry at a well-stocked grocery store.

The post Thai Red Curry with Vegetables appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

I’ve been on a vegetable-packed coconut curry kick lately—they’re just the perfect transition food for this time of year. This vegetarian Thai green curry recipe features fresh asparagus, carrots and spinach in a delicious green coconut sauce. It’s full of flavor and simple enough for weeknight dinners.

I used store-bought Thai curry paste instead of raw ingredients, because some (like galangal) are difficult to find and time-consuming to prepare. I’ve watched a chef prepare curry paste in Thailand, and he really worked up a sweat! So while this recipe is not perfectly authentic, it’s a lot easier to make.

This curry is based on an older Thai green curry recipe, which I’ve since deleted. I loved the base recipe for that dish (I learned how to make it at a fun cooking class), but I was never quite satisfied by my choice of mix-ins.

So here we are, three years later, with an improved, extra-green version. This time, I opted for asparagus (snow peas would also work), carrots and wilted spinach. I love it, and I think you will, too!

The post Thai Green Curry with Spring Vegetables appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

I’m finally back in Kansas City. I arrived home on Tuesday, to a house full of all the things I haven’t used in the past month. I almost hoped I’d greet the things like long-lost friends (oh hello, favorite knee-length boots!) but I really just sighed at the sight of those things, those burdens that I pack up and carry from place to place.

If you took away the blog-related cookbooks and photography props (code word for so many breakable plates and glasses), maybe it would be a more reasonable amount of stuff for one person. My closet is definitely overstuffed, however. The end of winter is nearing and I’m feeling some pressure to wear all of my cold weather apparel at least once before it goes. I have too much!

I think about minimalism a lot—how much I love the concept and how difficult it is to put into practice. I’m too attached to my things. I often find myself looking around my place and wondering, how much does one person really need? Is this a reasonable amount for one person?

I’ve watched my grandmothers downsize into smaller, more manageable living situations and I think about all of the care and time that went into filling their homes and the difficulties in downsizing. Some of that is inevitable, but I don’t want my life to be characterized by the getting and getting rid of things.

The post Coconut Curried Kale and Sweet Potato appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Meet my favorite pumpkin soup recipe. It’s super creamy (thanks mostly to the pumpkin, with a little help from coconut milk or cream) yet plenty healthy, too. It’s gently spiced, but I made sure that the pumpkin flavor shines above the rest.

This dairy-free pumpkin soup would be a welcome addition to your holiday table. It would be equally at home with a soup or sandwich from fall through winter.

It’s easy to make and the leftovers taste even better the next day. So, you could certainly make the soup a day in advance. Don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list—this soup only requires basic pantry ingredients!

This soup was inspired by my recent trip to Portland. While I was there, I went to lunch with my baby brother and our friend Bill. I’ve written about Bill over the years—in summary, Bill beat leukemia with the help of my stem cells. He’s the toughest guy I know.

Now we’re friends who share the same immune system and we finally got to meet a few weeks ago. (You can join the registry here.)

We shared lunch and an afternoon at Multnomah Falls. It was a damp, gray fall day in the Pacific Northwest and it was perfect.

The post Creamy Roasted Pumpkin Soup appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

Have you ever gotten to the airport only to find that your pilot has gone missing? Apparently that happens. I finally got out of Kansas City and caught a red-eye from Chicago to London (hello from Heathrow!). I only wish I’d been smart enough to pack basic toiletries and a change of clothes in my carry on. Here’s to hoping that my luggage meets me in Tel Aviv eventually.

I love how cultures collide in airports. Right now, I’m listening to a guy speak French into his iPhone while wearing a shirt that says “Brooklyn” across the front. I just accepted German chocolate from a friendly Jordanian and earlier walked by a group of chic Europeans (maybe Italians?) drinking Stella before noon. Then there’s the pink-faced stranger of unknown origin who’s snoring loudly a few seats over. Snoring is a universal language, n’est-ce pas?

The post Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup appeared first on Cookie and Kate.

This homemade peanut butter ice cream is such a treat! The recipe yields ultra-creamy peanut butter ice cream with irresistible honey notes. I love peanut butter and honey on toast, and it’s even better in ice cream. It’s a match made in heaven.

This ice cream recipe is a little unconventional, but hear me out. I love making my ice cream with coconut milk simply because it’s easier to make than custard-based ice creams. It tastes just as good to me!

With coconut milk ice creams, you don’t have to fuss with eggs. To summarize, this recipe is dairy free, so it’s suitable for lactose-intolerant ice cream lovers, and it’s egg free, too.

The recipe is entirely sweetened with honey. Honey is the perfect sweetener for coconut milk-based ice creams. Since it never fully freezes, the ice cream stays soft enough to scoop straight from the freezer. So, it offers a more traditional ice cream texture on first bite. Now you know!

The post Peanut Butter and Honey Ice Cream appeared first on Cookie and Kate.