we made it friends. no matter what happens from here, we survived 2020.

like many, this year truly rocked our world. right down to its last hours, this year was a real bitch. let me see if i can sum up our household’s experience in a nutshell.

in the midst of a global pandemic and social justice crisis, my husband lost his job. while terrifying, we went all in on our own business and added meal deliveries to our full plates. our community was so gracious and supportive and somehow we managed to thrive. in september, we packed up our tiny apartment after seven years and moved across town to make more space for our growing little sous chef. and while we really have faired well as a family during this INSANE time, this year has not been with out health troubles, covid cases and full blown MELTDOWNS.

the theme of my last yoga class of the year was “worry is a wasted emotion.” and while i’m having trouble practicing what i preach, it is true. in twenty-twenty-one, i am going to do my best to detach from the outcome and enjoy this crazy ride. i am making cocktails and teaching yoga for goodness sake.

alright. enough jibber jabber. let’s talk about this cocktail. now, it can easily be made with whatever your favorite tea is. the one i used is from hello goldie and has a little cbd in it for extra mellow vibes. their smitten tea is creamy and floral. rose or chamomile teas would be a great substitute. i made this marteani (see what i did there) for a new years cocktail so i used a sugar sprinkle on the rim of the glass. if you aren’t feeling those extra work/ingredient vibes, you could sub regular sugar or leave the sugar rim off all together.

blood orange & hello goldie marTEAni

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 5 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 6 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 3 oz cooled floral tea (like rose, chamomile, hibiscus). .5 oz blood orange simple syrup (plain simple syrup would work as well). .5 oz blood orange juice. .5 oz lemon juice + lemon wedge. 2 tbs sugar sprinkles or sugar. 1 cup ice. shaker. martini glass.

start by dressing up your martini glass. use the lemon wedge to brush the edges of your martini glass.

lay your sprinkles or sugar out on a plate and dip the lemoned edges of the glass into the sprinkles till they stick and you have coated the whole rim. place your martini glass in the freezer to chill.

in your shaker, combine the vodka, tea, juice and simple syrup with the ice. shake well for 30 seconds till completely combined and chilled.

strain the contents of your shaker into your chilled martini glass.

serve immediately and enjoy.

xo, a

blood orange & hello goldie marTEAni

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 5 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 6 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 3 oz cooled floral tea (like rose, chamomile, hibiscus). .5 oz blood orange simple syrup (plain simple syrup would work as well). .5 oz blood orange juice. .5 oz lemon juice + lemon wedge. 2 tbs sugar sprinkles or sugar. 1 cup ice. shaker. martini glass.

start by dressing up your martini glass. use the lemon wedge to brush the edges of your martini glass. lay your sprinkles or sugar out on a plate and dip the lemoned edges of the glass into the sprinkles till they stick and you have coated the whole rim. place your martini glass in the freezer to chill. in your shaker, combine the vodka, tea, juice and simple syrup with the ice. shake well for 30 seconds till completely combined and chilled. strain the contents of your shaker into your chilled martini glass and serve immediately.

there is nothing like a baby, or a blog to put time in perspective. today is the tenth anniversary of the creation of newfoodtuesdayz. i’ll save you the click on the why tuesdayZ page and sum it up for you. i got a cooking bug. i was a twenty-four year old, trying to figure out what i liked and who i loved and what my future held. tuesday was my only free day of the week. some dick took newfoodtuesdayS.com and posted once. so on may 19th, 2010, newfoodtuesdayZ was born. if you want to read some painful writing and young feelings, you can see my original post, and my early days, HERE.

never in my wildest dreams could i have imagined where ten years would take me. i could have never predicted how that itty bitty little kitchen i learned to cook in would prepare me to cook for hundreds out of a miniature home kitchen.

i had NO FREAKING IDEA i would be a baker. that i would have the honor to be apart of people’s BIGGEST life moments.

while the website never had an end goal, it really has grown up. the pages were originally splashed with bad photography, worse editing and a lot of oversharing. thanks to an iphone, thousands of hours in the kitchen and lots of talent around me, i have a little internet home i am very proud of. and i keep the oversharing for my instagram stories.

enough gibber jabber. it’s a big moment for me, but we are all really here for the food. the first thing i ever made for a “newfoodtuesdayz” dinner was crab cakes. i’ve made different varieties over the years, but this version takes the cake. pun extremely intended. do your best to dry your crab well. a drier mix will make for a crispier cake. i make my own spice blend, but if you have it on hand, old bay seasoning is a classic you can’t go wrong with. if you don’t have all the spices i used in my blend, you could mix and match for herbs and spices you have and enjoy. the best food, is the food made to YOUR taste.

crab cakes + zesty greek yogurt aioli

serves: 8 cakes (2.5-3 inches in diameter)

prep time: 15 minutes

inactive time: 15 minutes

cook time: 15 minutes

total time: 45 minutes

ingredients: 1 lb jumbo lump crab, pick out any shells that may remain and pat the crab well to dry. 2 green onions, light parts and green parts, finely chopped and separated. finely chopped celery. 2 tbs finely chopped red, yellow or orange bell pepper. 2 tbs freshly chopped parsley, divided. .5 cup panko bread crumbs. 1 large garlic clove, minced. 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges. 1 egg. 2 tbs greek yogurt. 2 tbs mayonnaise. 1 tsp dijon mustard. 4 tbs vegetable oil. 2 tbs old bay seasoning OR home made spice blend (1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp freshly ground pepper. .5 tsp paprika. .5 tsp chili powder. .5 tsp turmeric. .25 tsp cumin. .25 tsp cayenne pepper). 4 cups arugula. nasturtium flowers optional. large, heavy pan, ideally cast iron. spatula.

start by combining your spice blend (unless you are using old bay, then skip this step). then combine the yogurt, mayonnaise and mustard and set it aside.

in a large bowl, combine the crab, light parts of the green onion, celery, bell pepper, half the parsley, panko, half the garlic clove, the egg and half of your greek yogurt mixture. add in half your spice blend and stir it all well to combine.

use your hands to shape your cakes and lay them on a dry plate or rack. place the cakes in the fridge, uncovered for 15 minutes so they firm up and dry out a bit.

while they are in the fridge, combine the rest of your yogurt mixture with the rest of the garlic, dark green parts of the onion, and the remaining spice blend. squeeze in the juice for 4 of your wedges and stir it all together.

place the arugula on your serving tray. when you are ready to cook, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat.

when the oil is hot and very shiny, add in half of the cakes. cook 3-4 minutes a side, until browned. set them on a paper towel to dry. cook the remaining cakes. drizzle your greek yogurt aioli onto the bed of arugula. don’t mind the pacifier. this is my life now.

place your cakes on your platter, garnish with the remaining parsley and edible flowers if you have them and serve hot with the remaining lemon wedges.

xo, a

crab cakes + zesty greek yogurt aioli

serves: 8 cakes (2.5-3 inches in diameter)

prep time: 15 minutes

inactive time: 15 minutes

cook time: 15 minutes

total time: 45 minutes

ingredients: 1 lb jumbo lump crab, pick out any shells that may remain and pat the crab well to dry. 2 green onions, light parts and green parts, finely chopped and separated. finely chopped celery. 2 tbs finely chopped red, yellow or orange bell pepper. 2 tbs freshly chopped parsley, divided. .5 cup panko bread crumbs. 1 large garlic clove, minced. 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges. 1 egg. 2 tbs greek yogurt. 2 tbs mayonnaise. 1 tsp dijon mustard. 4 tbs vegetable oil. 2 tbs old bay seasoning OR home made spice blend (1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp freshly ground pepper. .5 tsp paprika. .5 tsp chili powder. .5 tsp turmeric. .25 tsp cumin. .25 tsp cayenne pepper). 4 cups arugula. nasturtium flowers optional. large, heavy pan, ideally cast iron. spatula.

start by combining your spice blend (unless you are using old bay, then skip this step). then combine the yogurt, mayonnaise and mustard and set it aside. in a large bowl, combine the crab, light parts of the green onion, celery, bell pepper, half the parsley, panko, half the garlic clove, the egg and half of your greek yogurt mixture. add in half your spice blend and stir it all well to combine. use your hands to shape your cakes and lay them on a dry plate or rack. place the cakes in the fridge, uncovered for 15 minutes so they firm up and dry out a bit. while they are in the fridge, combine the rest of your yogurt mixture with the rest of the garlic, dark green parts of the onion, and the remaining spice blend. squeeze in the juice for 4 of your wedges and stir it all together. place the arugula on your serving tray. when you are ready to cook, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. when the oil is hot and very shiny, add in half of the cakes. cook 3-4 minutes a side, until browned. set them on a paper towel to dry. cook the remaining cakes. drizzle your greek yogurt aioli onto the bed of arugula. place your cakes on your platter, garnish with the remaining parsley and edible flowers if you have them and serve hot with the remaining lemon wedges.