Baby Shower

September 1, 2017

Cotton Candy Cocktails

Yay! We made it to Friday! Around here the kids went back to school on Monday & there is plenty of reasons to celebrate. It’s s struggle to set alarms again after a summer of sleeping in. But, we have already mastered it! Now it’s time to think about the long weekend.

How are you going to celebrate happy hour today? Aren’t these Cotton Candy Cocktails fun & whimsical? And they could’t be easier. All you need is a bottle of Champagne, Prosecco or Cava. Place the cotton candy in some pretty flutes, pour the champagne & top with more cotton candy. You can adjust the color & sweetness with more or less cotton candy to suit your preference.

Just so you know the cotton candy will dissolve as soon it hits the Champagne.

Click HERE for the recipe.

More festive cocktails to try:

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~ Marla Meridith

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Recipes

August 31, 2017

Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad

Main course salads are a favorite of mine. They check off all the marks on a delicious, filling meal. Complete with veggies, lots of protein and mouthwatering flavor. There are so many ways you can customize a cobb. There are some of my favorite ingredients in this recipe, but I want you to experiment with your own. The only thing missing in this…sadly there were no ripe avocados in the markets here in Telluride. The one tough thing about living in a secluded mountain town is not being able to find ingredients when you need them most. The price for living in paradise! My apologies for that, you should add them to it if you have some.

Click HERE for the recipe.

Here’s a Facebook Live video where I’m demoing this recipe for you.

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~ Marla Meridith

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Lifestyle

August 29, 2017

Snuggle Up & Ski Travel Package at The Home Ranch

Nestled just outside of the iconic ski resort Steamboat, CO is a guest ranch oasis called The Home Ranch. You might remember that I visited there last winter and had the ultimate rustic-luxe mountain hideaway retreat. I’ve teamed up with The Home Ranch to entice you to book a trip there too. This Relais & Châteaux property has something for everyone. Whether you want to curl up with your favorite book in front of a cozy fire or ride horses through blankets of snow. Make it the trip of a lifetime, discover your winter vacation dream!

They have a special limited time offer for fans of MM. Book your trip today for a great ‘Snuggle Up & Ski’ experience!! Early birds you’ll be happy if you reserve now.

Here are the packages on offer and they are very tempting!

3 Nights Includes two Complimentary Massages
4 Nights Includes two Massages plus a Steamboat Downhill Day Ski Pass
7 Nights Includes two Massages, and two Steamboat Ski Day Passes

Book your trip right here!

~ Marla Meridith

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Christmas

August 28, 2017

15 Pumpkin Recipes to Get You Excited For Fall!

Pumpkin. It’s the word on everyones lips as soon as there’s a cool breeze in the air. Sure summer is completely amazing, but so is fall. Here in Telluride, fall is an epic, very short season. The aspen leaves glow bright yellow and cooking becomes heartier and filled with flavors like cinnamon, cranberry, ginger and of course pumpkin! Speaking of aspen trees, ours have already begun to turn. I couldn’t believe it this weekend when I looked up & there were yellow leaves.

So it’s time to get excited about everything pumpkin, yes?! Let’s start with dessert first…

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Banana Bread Marla Meridith

Pumpkin Churro French Toast Sticks Dinner at the Zoo

Pumpkin Waffles Averie Cooks

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins The Novice Chef

Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting Chef in Training

Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes Cakes Cottage

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole Little Spice Jar

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread Dear Crissy

Pumpkin Magic Custard Cake The Gunny Sack

Pumpkin & Cauliflower Soup with Ginger Salt & Lavender

Grilled Pork & Sweet Potato Skewers with Pumpkin Aioli Marla Meridith

Pumpkin Spinach and Walnut Spaghetti Lazy Cat Kitchen

Pumpkin Risotto with Goat Cheese & Dried Cranberries Platings and Pairings

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese Marla Meridith

Roasted Pumpkin with Maple, Chili and Feta Recipe Tin Eats

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~ Marla Meridith

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Fashion

August 25, 2017

15 Best Fashion Instagrammers You Need to Follow

I love fashion, everything about it. I also am obsessed with Instagram. It’s as much fun people watching folks here in my small, hipster town of Telluride, CO as it is the streets of London, Lech and St. Moritz. Instagram can be overwhelming at first, but once you get in a groove of following those who truly inspire you then it’s an absolute joy to be hanging over there. I’m very selective as to who I follow, there’s just so much time in the day and it’s easy for your feed to get crowded with too much info if your not careful.

These are some of my favorites and I would love to hear what yours are too. Feel free to leave their insta profile links in the comments section below.

Rosie @RosieLondoner

Tala Samman @MyFashDiary

Christine Andrew @hellofashionblog

Blair Edie @blaireadiebee

Sara Donaldson @harperandharley

Julia Engel @JuliaHengel

Jessica De Block @jessicadeblock

Paloma Soriano @PalSoriano

Victoria Törnegren @victoriatorngren

Nadia Fairfax @nadiafairfax

Kate La Vie @kate.lavie

Nataly Osmann @natalyossman

Chriselle Lim @chrisellelim

Charlotte Groeneveld @thefashionguitar

Maria Helena Bordon Meireles @helenabordon

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~ Marla Meridith

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Recipes

August 24, 2017

Salmon Tacos with Sesame Cucumber Salad

Salmon has been a favorite ingredient of mine for a very long time now. I love it’s health benefits and it’s rich flavor. Combine it with my fresh asian inspired cucumber salad you have the best of all worlds, all wrapped in a flour or corn tortilla. A super healthy meal that’s ideal for the last few weeks of summer.

Click HERE for the recipe.

A few more salmon recipes to try on MM:

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~ Marla Meridith

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Berries

August 20, 2017

Bloodhound Cocktail

Looking for a tasty way to use those farmers market strawberries? Well I’ve got a special something for you. Try a Bloodhound Cocktail, a simple combination of fresh, muddled strawberries, gin and vermouth. A pretty little summer cocktail with a dang cute name. If you are anything like me, then you might have heaps of fresh produce this time of year in your fridge. Sometimes you just need a few more ways to use it up. This cocktail will do just that. Serve for girl’s night, happy hour with friends, a bridal or baby shower or to celebrate that the kids are going back to school!

Click HERE for the recipe.

~ Marla Meridith

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Cheese

August 15, 2017

Pesto, Mozzarella and Tomato Panini

There’s nothing like diving into a grilled cheese, no matter what the season! Grilled cheese is the ultimate comfort food & a quick and easy meal for this busy back to school season.

This Pesto, Mozzarella and Tomato Panini a cheesy taste of heaven. It only takes a few minutes to put the ingredients together and you will be in comfort food bliss. Make your own pesto (really simple to do) or use store bought. All good.

Click HERE for the recipe.

~ Marla Meridith

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Appetizers

August 6, 2017

Tom Ka Gai Soup (Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup)

One of our favorite restaurants here in Telluride, Colorado is Siam (as a matter of fact, I was there last night.) This Thai restaurant has a menu about a mile long and I’ve never had a dish I didn’t love. Tom Ka Gai Soup is one of the most popular dishes no matter what the season. It’s a healthy, satisfying soup that has so much flavor. You can add as many veggies as you wish. Also, feel free to experiment with proteins. This soup is great with shrimp, scallops, beef and tofu too.

Click HERE for the recipe.

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~ Marla Meridith

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Appetizers

July 31, 2017

Italian Chickpea Salad

Summer is in full swing and salads are what we are craving to beat the heat. Lighter meals that can be enjoyed poolside or out of the picnic basket. I’m always a fan of chickpeas, both for their flavor and overall tummy filling satisfaction. No meat needed in this Italian Chickpea Salad recipe. Chock full of summer tomatoes, parmesan cheese, olives and fresh basil. The lemon/olive oil dressing is simple and perfect.

Click HERE for the recipe.

Here’s a few more meatless summer salads to try:

~ Marla Meridith

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Book Reviews

July 28, 2017

Chocolate-Vanilla Checkerboard Cookies

When I first received the book Marbled, Swirled and Layered by Irvin Lin (Eat The Love blog) I thought WOW! I also thought to myself…ack, I’m not a baker, how on earth am I going to tackle these beautiful creations. Well, thankfully after flipping through the mouthwatering recipes I realized that I could tackle any of them! This recipe for Chocolate-Vanilla Checkerboard Cookies was not only easy to prepare, but it was so fun too. I felt like a champ in the kitchen as I beat the dough, trimmed it and baked the cookies to perfection.

I always thought that the art to making these cookies was something reserved for pro bakers. I remember diving into boxes of these beauties when I lived back in NYC. They are delicious dipped in milk or with a steamy cup of coffee.

The recipe in the book yields 48 cookies, I brought some to my friends dinner party & guests swooned. They were impressed with my baking skills (thank you for excellent directions Irvin)

Marbled, Swirled and Layered has 150 recipes with plentiful variations, which makes it fun to customize your own treats. I love books that encourage creative thinking outside the box. The choices are endless for bars, cookies, pies, muffins, breads, cakes, cobblers, crisps and more. There are helpful sections for baking equipment, baking troubleshooting, ingredients and gluten-free conversions.

Over time I will definitely take the time to make many of the recipes in this cookbook. A few on my hotlist for the short term.

Banana Crunch Beer Brownies
Chocolate & Brown Sugar Buttercream Rolled Cake with Crushed Pistachios
Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Butterscotch Layered Cookies
Coconut Jam Alfajores
Jumbo Arnold Palmer Cookies
Malted Milk Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting
Pumpkin S’mores with Maple-Brown Sugar Marshmallows & Dark Chocolate
Roasted Banana-Peanut Butter Cream Pie
Smoky Butterscotch & Vanilla Cake
Soft & Chewy Oat and Blueberry Ice Cream Sandwiches with Vanilla and Peach-Bourbon Ice Cream
The Nostalgic Marshmallow-Filled Chocolate Cake (this is the cake on the cover)

There are plenty more to choose from, but you need to get the book to find your own favorites. This book is great for both beginner and advanced bakers.

Click HERE for the recipe.

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~ Marla Meridith

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Recipes

July 24, 2017

Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese and Roasted Beets

There’s nothing like kicking off the week in a healthy and tasty way. For #MeatlessMonday I’ve prepared this Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese and Roasted Beets. It’s wonderfully delicious and filled with great for you ingredients. Roasted beets are so good for you and very simple to prepare. Just use this recipe for my Perfectly Roasted Beets to get them right every single time.