kitchen – Snapshots & My Thoughts by Ailee Petrovic

Décor September 3, 2014

Dream Kitchens

I recently posted about my dream living rooms and have since moved onto kitchens. The next house we move into will likely be a tear-down and rebuild, as we are constantly looking for old homes in our neighborhood to buy and renovate (similar to what we did with our current house). I love the idea of having a blank canvas to work with, especially for the kitchen, as this is the room we spend most time in at home. I love white kitchens, with white cabinets and white countertops. Until recently, I’ve lusted for Carrera marble countertops, but my mom told me that people have issues with stains, as the marble soaks up liquids (especially wine). My parents opted for Taj Mahal countertops, as they are almost as white but do not absorb liquids. I also love the idea of a rustic wooden island in the kitchen with all white cabinets. We currently have white tiles in our kitchen, and it’s the first thing in the house I would change, as I constantly have to wash them.

I’m sharing a few of my inspirations below! Do you have a favorite style of kitchen?

My sister’s beautiful house

Cupcakes and Cashmere

Glitter Guide

Houzz

Style Me Pretty Living

Décor July 10, 2014

Colorful Kitchen Cabinets

I love customizing IKEA pieces, because they are typically very affordable and come in standard colors, begging for some creativity. We added Anthropologie knobs to the IKEA dresser in Isla’s room – a simple touch to make it look a little fancier. When I came across Joy Cho’s (of Oh Joy) kitchen cabinets on Glitter Guide, I fell in love with the toekick. These cabinets are a DIY – and one of my favorites so far. They are the Pax Unit cabinets in white – the DIY steps are in the post here and shown in the photos below. Have you ever renovated or customized a piece of furniture?

Food May 23, 2014

5 Ingredient Raw Vegan Brownies

I am not a baker. But seriously, every vegan dessert I try fails (except these beet muffins – yum!). So when I came across a recipe for a simple, raw vegan brownie bite recipe, I jumped at it. I made some slight adaptations to the version I found online, and both Sasha and I love the result! These have five ingredients – raw cashews, organic honey, pitted/chopped dates, coconut oil, and unsweetened cocoa powder. They take five minutes to prepare (minus recommended refrigeration time) – and they are healthy-ish (no refined sugars!). Perfect tiny snack to fill your sweet tooth cravings!

Ingredients: 1 cup of plain cashews, 1 cup of pitted or chopped dates, 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1.5 tablespoons of coconut oil, 2 teaspoons of honey

Step 1: Add 1 cup of raw, unsalted cashews to your blender and pulse until finely chopped

Step 2: Add pitted or chopped dates to cashew powder and pulse until completely mixed (should get kind of solid)

Step 3: Add 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

Step 4: Add 1.5 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 teaspoons of honey to the blended mixture – may have to stir with spoon vs. blend (depending on how strong your blender is!)

Step 5: Lay down stick-free parchment paper or aluminum foil and make into small brownie bites

Optional (but I recommend) Step 6: Add to fridge for an hour so the coconut oil hardens – then enjoy!

If you try them, let me know how they turn out!

Food October 3, 2013

Sprouted Kitchen: Almond Date Truffles

I absolutely adore cooking. I make Sasha dinner from scratch every single night. Since I’m a vegetarian and he’s not (except for Meatless Mondays), I’ll make the same dish for us, but add chicken, shrimp or salmon to the top of his meal, which makes life much easier. While I’m not a vegan, I don’t eat eggs, so baking has never, ever brought joy to my life like cooking has. I recently stumbled upon Sprouted Kitchen, the most amazing food blog ever, and found a host of amazing meatless recipes and eggless desserts. I am thrilled. The Almond Date Truffles, shown below will definitely be my first trial.

Almond Date Truffles // Makes 18

20 Medjool dates, seeded and halved (plump and slightly glossy)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup creamy almond butter
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. natural cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup toasted almonds, well chopped

Put the dates and vanilla in a food processor and run until a chunky paste forms. Add the almond butter and pulse a few more times. Add the coconut, cocoa powder, salt and cinnamon and pulse a few more times. The mixture should be a tad crumbly, but press between your fingers and stick together. If it seems too wet to hold in a ball, add more coconut, if too dry, add a touch more almond butter or a splash of water.

Roll a heaping Tbsp. of the mixture between your palms to form a ball. Repeat with remaining mixture. Put your chopped almonds on a plate and roll each truffle in the almonds (apply a bit of pressure to get them to adhere). Place the plate in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. Truffles will keep covered in the fridge for a couple weeks.

Recipe and pictures via Sprouted Kitchen