we are just hours away from one of the biggest holidays of the year. ESPECIALLY if you are like me and live anywhere near the coast. the beach is MADNESS on the fourth. and partying starts EARLY in the day. 

and what is the most important part of a long day of drinking & fireworks?  breakfast. 

fill yourself up with something delicious and healthy before filling up with beer and bbq. 

these gorgeously patriotic parfaits are full of flavor, use only natural sweeteners and are guaranteed to get your party started. 

independence day parfait

serves: 4 parfaits

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 5 minutes

total timez; 15 minutes

ingredients: 2 cups greek yogurt. 2 cups orange blossom granola (if you do not have this on hand or don't want to make it, your favorite granola is the perfect substitute). 1 cup blueberries. 1 cup chopped strawberries. 2 tbs honey. 4 cups for serving. optional: piping bag with round tip or plastic zip loc bag. edible flower for garnish. 

start by drizzling the yogurt in honey and combining the mixture well.  

then, you have some choices. if you have a piping bag handy, i recommend filling the piping bag with the yogurt mixture. if you are like most people and do not have a piping bag, you could use a zip lock bag. fill it up and snip off one of the corners for easy squeezing. if a spoon sounds more up your alley, use a spoon.

regardless of your tool, scoop .25 cup of yogurt into the bottom of each cup.

hen layer .25 cup of granola. followed by .25 cup of mixed berries.

repeat that process with each cup till you have two beautiful layers of each ingredient.top with edible flowers and serve or store for later consumption. 

xo, a

independence day parfait

serves: 4 parfaits

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 5 minutes

total timez; 15 minutes

ingredients: 2 cups greek yogurt. 2 cups orange blossom granola (if you do not have this on hand or don't want to make it, your favorite granola is the perfect substitute). 1 cup blueberries. 1 cup chopped strawberries. 2 tbs honey. 4 cups for serving. optional: piping bag with round tip or plastic zip loc bag. edible flower for garnish. 

start by drizzling the yogurt in honey and combining the mixture well. then, you have some choices. if you have a piping bag handy, i recommend filling the piping bag with the yogurt mixture. if you are like most people and do not have a piping bag, you could use a zip lock bag. fill it up and snip off one of the corners for easy squeezing. if a spoon sounds more up your alley, use a spoon. regardless of your tool, scoop .25 cup of yogurt into the bottom of each cup. then layer .25 cup of granola. followed by .25 cup of mixed berries. repeat that process with each cup till you have two beautiful layers of each ingredient. top with edible flowers and serve or store for later consumption. 

if my lack of blog action hasn't tipped you off, things over here have been nuts. last week i hosted a GORGEOUS cocktails & charcuterie summer styling workshop with my friend alicia of lisherb events and betsy, the owner of b. toffee. we had a BLAST sipping summer drinks and building beautiful custom meat & cheese boards. 

things are finally settling back into a more normal schedule, and i'm back in the kitchen and loving it. even though the goal is to be out and about cooking and teaching, there is nothing sweeter than cooking up breakfast in my own kitchen. 

wes and i haven't had many breakfasts together lately, so i whipped up this tasty scramble with some beautiful summer veggies for us to enjoy. 

summer veggie scramble

serves: 2

prep time: 10 minutes

cook time: 20 minutes

total time: 30 minutes

ingredients: 6 eggs. .5 cup sliced crimini mushrooms. 1 medium jalapeno, diced (if you aren't a fan of spicy, remove the seeds). .25 cup diced bell pepper. 2 green onions, white and light green parts chopped. 1 large garlic clove, minced. 2 tbs olive oil. .25 cup crumbled feta. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp freshly ground pepper. optional: quick tomato salsa, edible flower petals & sliced baguette for serving. 

start by heating the oil over medium heat until the oil is nice and hot.while the oil is heating, crack your eggs into a medium bowl and whisk them together with half the salt and pepper. set the eggs aside.

when the oil is hot, toss in the mushrooms, jalapeno, pepper and green onions. season with the remaining salt and pepper. cook the veggies, stirring occasionally until the onions are mushrooms are just starting to brown. about 5 minutes.

add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.pour in the eggs, and allow them to set for a minute or so. use a spoon or rubber spatula to scrap the set eggs off the bottom and allow the runny eggs to hit the pan and cook up. continue allowing the runny eggs to set and then scrapping the set eggs to the side of the pan until all the eggs are solid. about 5 minutes. 

add in the feta and flower petals if you are using them and toss well.

serve and enjoy. 

xo, a

summer veggie scramble

serves: 2

prep time: 10 minutes

cook time: 20 minutes

total time: 30 minutes

ingredients: 6 eggs. .5 cup sliced crimini mushrooms. 1 medium jalapeno, diced (if you aren't a fan of spicy, remove the seeds). .25 cup diced bell pepper. 2 green onions, white and light green parts chopped. 1 large garlic clove, minced. 2 tbs olive oil. .25 cup crumbled feta. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 tsp freshly ground pepper. optional: quick tomato salsa, edible flower petals & sliced baguette for serving. 

start by heating the oil over medium heat until the oil is nice and hot. while the oil is heating, crack your eggs into a medium bowl and whisk them together with half the salt and pepper. set the eggs aside. when the oil is hot, toss in the mushrooms, jalapeno, pepper and green onions. season with the remaining salt and pepper. cook the veggies, stirring occasionally until the onions are mushrooms are just starting to brown. about 5 minutes. add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. pour in the eggs, and allow them to set for a minute or so. use a spoon or rubber spatula to scrap the set eggs off the bottom and allow the runny eggs to hit the pan and cook up. continue allowing the runny eggs to set and then scrapping the set eggs to the side of the pan until all the eggs are solid. about 5 minutes add in the feta and flower petals if you are using them and toss well. serve and enjoy.