 Every nature documentary that I've ever seen has made bird nests look charming and whimsical.🪹 The nest outside of my parents house last month though was less "storybook cottage" and more "studio apartment in New York city."😂 These tiny feathered freeloaders seemed blissfully unaware of their lack of personal space but instead focused all of their attention on their breakfast being delivered to them by their doting parents.🐛  Packed like commuters on a rush hour subway, these sweet baby birds had no doubt that breakfast would be delivered to them in their bed everyday. Pretty sure this was the dream of my kids for a long time too.😂 That didn't happen but to be fair, this picture accurately depicts how it felt to live in a house with 2 teenagers and all their "stuff".🤣  This recipe for Eggs in a Nest is elegant. It's crispy and it's delicious. If you've ever had a desire to upgrade your morning breakfast routine - or you're the kind of parent who delivers breakfast in bed to your children - this recipe if for you. 🍳 The recipe calls for ham but I left it out of my Eggs in a Nest - personal preference. Feel free to add it back in or to swap it for bacon if that's what you like.🥓  Eggs in a Nest 1 cup ham, diced 10 Tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons water 8 eggs 3 sheets phyllo dough, thawed 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
 Spoon into phyllo cups.
Ciao!
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 Chill is never the word that I would use to describe myself.🤪 I'm the girl who takes her morning walk while listening to an audio book at 2X speed in my ears while simultaneously running through a million to-do lists in my head. For me, morning walks are less about peace, tranquility and connection with nature and more about organizing my day while simultaneously elevating my heart rate.🏃🏻♀️ A couple of weeks ago, while taking my morning speed walk, I looked up in the tree and there it was - a gigantic barred owl staring directly at me.🦉 I don't know if you've ever locked eyes with an owl, but they have the unsettling ability to look both incredibly wise and deeply disappointed at the same time. It didn't blink. I didn't blink. For a solid thirty seconds, we stared at each other in what felt like an ancient duel of mutual judgment.  My encounter with this magnificent creature made me distinctly more aware that I need to be more observant of my surroundings on my morning walks.😅 In all honesty, I feel like I need to slow myself down and find more calmness throughout my day - not just on my morning walks. This is especially true when it comes to mealtime. Not just consuming food because I'm hungry but appreciating the time and energy that it takes to prepare each dish.  It's only been recently that my eyes have been opened to the world of Roti. (Thank you Cook's Illustrated) In case you're like me and you're just now discovering what Roti is all about - it's basically a flatbread made from wheat and water. It's different from naan and pita bread because it doesn't contain any leaveners. (yeast, baking powder, starter, etc.) I did a little Roti research on google and I learned that it originated in India. It's traditionally made with just 2 ingredients - flour and water. My recipe came from Cook's Illustrated so it's got a few more ingredients than the typical Roti recipe. iykyk🤣 It's still very easy to make and really delicious. This recipe makes 12 flatbreads but you could easily cut it in half or double it depending on your needs.  Roti Flour Paste 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons water 5 Tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour Dough 1 2/3 cup flour whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 cup cold water 2 teaspoons canola oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup white flour 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
 Brush with butter.  Ciao!
 When I first heard about the Hot Air Balloon festival in Helen, I had visions of colorful balloons, smiling families, glowing sunsets and magical memories. I should have realized that everyone within a 500 mile radius of the event would have exactly the same vision.😅 Shout out to my family for being the best sports about joining in with the crowds to witness the balloon launch.🎈
 The people who fly hot air balloons and the people who bake sourdough bread are basically the same species. Both willingly to devote entire weekends to hobbies that require extreme patience and convincing confused family members why they absolutely cannot rush the process and basically, we're both full of hot air.🤪  The giant balloons lay limp on the ground until little by little, they're filled with air until they stand proudly against the evening sky. Sourdough focaccia dough starts out much the same - like a big blob on the counter.🤣 It takes careful stretching, folding and lots of time to work air bubbles into sourdough. Making sourdough kind of feels like giving CPR to a pillow but if done well, the results are amazing. Sourdough focaccia has a beautiful crispy crust and a soft, chewy center with loads of bubbly air pockets.  Sourdough Focaccia 100 grams active starter 425 grams room temperature water 500 grams bread flour 2 teaspoons salt Toppings 5 Tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons sea salt fresh herbs
  Bake 25-30 minutes at 425.   Ciao!
 Homemade chocolate chip cookies are an American classic.🍪 It's a recipe that most people can master with minimal skill, ingredients and equipment. Almost all chocolate chip manufacturers have so much confidence that anyone who buys a bag of chips can make a chocolate chip cookie that they add a recipe the that back of every bag that they sell. In classic Amy style I decided that the classic chocolate chip cookie dough recipe was too simplistic so I figured out a way to make it way more complicated. 😂🙃🤷🏻♀️ I substituted a chopped bar of chocolate for the chips - why not? I'm not opposed to chocolate chips. I LOVE chocolate chips. I stock several different varieties of them by the pound in my pantry. But rather than use some of the sweet chips that I have on hand, I decided to channel my inner artisan baker and chop up a giant dark chocolate bar for my homemade cookies instead.
I'll let you in on a little secret about chocolate chunk cookies - one that I learned through trial and error.🍪 It's all about the chocolate . Buy a brand that you love and one that you can cut into nice and neat bite sized pieces. I've baked cookies with dark chocolate bars that were too firm and the bar crumbled into tiny bits when I tried to cut it - even with the sharpest knife. Some chocolate bars were too oily and the chocolate pieces melted into a gooey mess on top of each cookie. The best way to figure out which chocolate is going to work best for your dark chocolate chunk cookies is to try as many different types of chocolate bars as you can find. Why not? It's a delicious experiment.😅
 Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies 3 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, room temperature 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 large eggs, at room temperature 2 cups dark chocolate, cut into pieces
 Scoop dough into balls and flatten into disks. Refrigerate 24 hours.  Bake 13 minutes at 350.  Ciao!  My relationship with bananas has always been a bit strained. 🍌 I feel like I can never choose the right amount of bananas to buy at one time. I either buy too few which leads to morning arguments over who gets the last banana or I buy too many and I'm left with extras that get left on the counter until they looked like they survived a small house fire.😅 My go-to for recipe for superfluous overripe bananas has always been banana bread. I mean - who doesn't like banana bread? But now that I have a 16 month old granddaughter, I've completely rewritten the rules for leftover bananas in our house. They're the perfect wholesome ingredient when I want to make a sweet treat for her - and me - without having to add mountains of sugar.  These banana apple oat muffins have no mysterious ingredients with names that sound like chemistry experiments. They're a simple food that can be eaten for breakfast, snack time, lunch, or the fifteen-minute window that toddlers have between "I'm perfectly happy" and "I have never been fed in my entire life." Of course, we all know that there are no guarantees when it comes to the food preferences of toddlers. They're known to be unpredictable food critics. Feed these to your child on one day and you might get happy giggles a clean plate. Feed it to them again the next day and you may be looking at a "I cannot believe you expect me to eat this" expression. It's all part of the parenting adventure.🤣 So here's to overripe bananas, healthy snacks and the tiny grandchildren who keep us laughing while we try and figure out what they will want to eat today. 🤣  Banana Apple Oat Muffins 1 large ripe banana 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 egg 3 Tablespoons coconut sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 apple, grated
 Bake 20 minutes at 350.
 Ciao!
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