Easy Gluten-free Crustless Cheesecake

Creamy, dreamy New York style cheesecake gets a gluten-free makeover with this easy Crustless Cheesecake recipe! Every bit as rich and indulgent as the original, minus the crust for your GF friends.

Not that Wallflour Boy needs to hear this, but this week I found myself a hot new crush. It’s steamy. It’s creamy. It’s a gluten-free-themey Grade A McDreamy.

Guys, meet the Crustless Cheesecake: Builder of Happiness, Ruiner of Waistlines, and Slayer of New Year’s resolutions. (But given that it’s almost February already, we’ve all given up on those anyway, haven’t we?)

We first swiped right on each … Read more

The Big Move (and Some Uncommon-ly Good Decor!

The following post was sponsored by Uncommon Goods. All opinions are still (as always) 100% mine.

Lightbox-2

Lightbox-3-2

Last week I started sharing exciting stories about my six weeks’ travel this summer in Europe, but I haven’t quite told you why it’s taken me so long to start blogging about it. Well, now that it’s November (say what?) I can finally tell that it’s because…I was busy moving into my shiny, big new adult apartment!

Now anyone who has ever had to do a “big move” knows what I call the Five Necessary Stages of Moving Out Grief:

1) Denial: Read more

The Cutest V-Day Idea: Custom Stickers & Baked Goods for Someone You Love!

Guys, HI. So y’all know that I love Valentine’s Day as a matter of principle–who doesn’t love a day all about the importance of love?–but this year I am beyond excited to share one of the most adorable V-Day ideas I have ever seen. Yes, I’m talking about these insanely cute–and did I mention customized?–labels that I’m using this year for all of my V-day baked goodies!

https://www.katebackdrop.com/pages/custom-backdrops

Valentine's Day Stickers 2--020617

If there’s one thing my friends know about me, it’s that I’m always looking for new ways to make holidays (and really any occasion) extra special through gifting. So when the amazing … Read more

10 Tips for Traveling On-the-Go (Like a Pro!)

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SpecialKGoodness #CollectiveBias

Remember two months ago when I was still gushing about my summer travels in Europe and just couldnotforthelifeofmestoptalkingabouttravel???

Well, if all goes according to plan, I have some pretty exciting news to share with all of you in the coming weeks (!!! so stay tuned). Until then, I’m throwing back to some of the best travel hacks that I learned during my time abroad–if you’re planning a sojourn … Read more

Holiday Fundraiser: Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that provides aid to people in some 60 countries whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. You can learn more about its work by visiting their website here.

So instead of asking for letters or cards this year for Christmas, I’ve decided to fundraise for Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) donations. I was motivated in large part by recent events in Aleppo, but it’s also part of a … Read more

Gratitude Notes: 2016 in 100 Words

2016 has been a crazy year: a year of new friends, a year of relationships come and gone, a year of travel and adventure, a year of smiles and tears and lots of heartfelt laughter. Here’s to sharing some of my favorite moments with all of you in photos and 100 words (per category, of course!).

dapper day

Dapper Day, Disneyland! (November)

challenge course

Challenge Ropes Course with last year’s Global Sibs (January)

Cookie Con

Sweet times at the LA Cookie Convention (February)

grandma-edited

Spanning four generations of wonderful on Chinese New Year’s (February) Hair Extension from Lilyhair

Swimternity

Swim meet with some of my favorite swim Read more

Love When It Is Difficult: Moving Forward After Election Night

I still remember the worn paper sign that hung in the corner of my old tenth-grade English classroom, behind our teacher’s desk by the window. The half-faded words stamped across it that looked like they had been coughed out of an inkjet printer in its dying breath, but their message was nonetheless clear:

Why do we kill people to show people who kill people that killing people is wrong?

When I think about what happened last night during the election, I think back to that sign. It’s true that this is a “historic moment” in every sense of the term, … Read more

Letting go of fear–and that pink tube of pepper spray

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. While this (obviously) is a food blog, today’s post addresses some of my thoughts on important issues surrounding women’s safety and social perceptions surrounding sexual assault and harrasment. We’ll be back to your semi-regularly scheduled recipes & photos next week! ~Ala

silk closure

Image courtesy of the University of Missouri.

– one –

I am sitting at one of the counter seats at Starbucks, laptop out and a messy pile of blue examination books sprawled out on the narrow wooden surface. Outside, it’s dark, though the low buzz of the cafe and the artificial lighting mean … Read more

Asian Sesame Pasta with Steamed Broccoli

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DareToPair #CollectiveBias

Asian Sesame Noodles with Broccoli 2--040716

Last year, when the sneak-peek movie clip featuring broccoli-topped pizza from Inside-Out was first released, my Italian friend sent the link to me, laughing as he quoted Anger:

“Congratulations San Francisco–you’ve ruined pizza!”

As it so happens, I love broccoli on anything–even pizza–and I stand my ground when I say that it makes a great, refreshing topping for one of my favorite homemade meals: Asian sesame pasta. Luckily, I recently learned that this same Italian friend buys Barilla pasta, … Read more

Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls for #SundaySupper

Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls 2--122615

Happy new year!

Remember when I shared that insanely cheesy Garlic Crack Bread with all of you last month? Well, I have another recipe up my sleeve that will warm your heart and clog our lovely arteries with equally unapologetic fervor–the perfect way to start the new year in my book. Reader, please to make the acquaintance of these Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls! Trust me, this is going to be one fast friendship you won’t want to miss in 2016!

Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls 6--122615

I don’t know about your holiday traditions, but the table at holiday dinners (especially this past Christmas) is always something … Read more