About Julia

See that little guy that I am holding in the picture? That is our newest addition to the family. His name is Jack and he brings us so much joy. Our little family is complete and so full of love. Jack arrived at the end of September and I became a mom of three boys! Jack’s brothers Will and Drew love having another brother and I love having another baby to spoil.

As a mom of three growing boys {yes, all three of those little boys below are mine. And yes, they are all blonde! Who would have thought?!}, I want to make sure my family is getting the right nutrients and trying new foods.  But in this busy house we have to take a practical approach.

Here you will find a mix of seasonal recipes, with the trials of a busy cook who has a desire to work from scratch whenever possible, but knows a short cut or two makes life a little more manageable.  A Cedar Spoon is the result of the passions in my life; great food from great ingredients, a worldly curiosity from my various travels, and the inspiration of my Mom and our Mediterranean roots.  Welcome to A Cedar Spoon, I hope you enjoy this little corner, that it helps you get to the table sooner and feel good about what you are eating.

Not sure where to start? Head over to my recipe index to browse through my collection of recipes.  If you are looking for a soup recipes this Moroccan Carrot Red Lentil Soup is my most popular. Are you craving pasta and seafood? This 15 Minute Shrimp Linguine with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce is a reader favorite. Craving a falvorful, healthy salad? I am obsessed with this Zucchini Chickpea Quinoa Salad.

I also have some tutorials on my This & That page. You can learn How to Make Almond Butter, Peanut Butter or Granola or explore my round-ups of great recipes from around the web including 60 Delicious Salad Recipes and 40 Smoothie Recipes. Got the travel bug? Stop over to my travel section and add a few more destinations to your travel itinerary.

How this blog came to be…

Lets rewind back to my childhood.  I am half German and half Lebanese.  In my opinion those couldn’t be more different places and cuisines. I am proud of both sides of my ancestry, but in terms of food, I am definitely drawn to the Lebanese cuisine.  I grew up with a love for hummus before mainstream Americans knew what it was.

Our family get togethers center around a meal.  We are there for the company and to spend quality time together, but that is almost always done around a table of food.  My favorite thing about food is that it has a way of drawing us together, and creates a commonality between even the most different of people.

From childhood to adulthood, food and cooking has been my passion. My Mom is a nutritionist by trade and one of the best cooks I know.  She tries to always cook from scratch as much as possible and taught me to pay attention to the ingredients in the foods I eat.  I credit almost everything I know in the kitchen to my Mom and Grandma.  Nothing beats a bowl of my Mom’s hummus or a spoonful of my Grandma’s tabbouleh.

Cooking follows me into every stage of my life.  When I started working as grant writer at a nonprofit in Chicago, I met my friend Jess, who now writes the blog Stuck On Sweet.  Jess and I would sit over our lunch break and read food blogs.  She opened my eyes up to the world of food blogs and I credit her with pushing me to actually start a food blog myself.  I remember when we were both ready to push the publish button on our first blog post, feeling scared and excited…the rest is history!

Want to know more? Here are a few fun facts:I have called Kalamazoo, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Maine and Cleveland, Ohio home.

• I went to college surrounded by corn fields and loved every second of it. Go Illini!
• My blog name stems from my desire to one day visit Lebanon and see the Cedars of Lebanon.
• In Chicago I lived with Mike in a studio apartment for two years and a tiny two bedroom house with two kids.  I know how to maximize small spaces and sure do appreciate the space I have now.
• In college I minored in Spanish and studied abroad in Costa Rica and Spain and caught the travel bug.
• Chicago will always have a piece of my heart.  I lived there for over ten years and miss the great food scene.
• Soup is my thing. Yes, even when it is 90 degrees out.
• I am outnumbered in my house.  I can never seem to drink enough coffee to keep up.
• I was a gymnast through high school.  At one point in my life I was flexible enough to do crazy flips around a gym floor.  Now I enjoy watching from the sidelines.
• I love tart and sour foods-some of my favorites include grapefruit, cranberries and lemons.
• The beach is my favorite place to relax, especially the Outer Banks which I have been traveling to in the summer since I was little.
• Yoga is my go-to way to de-stress.
• Red wine and a really good cheese are my weakness.
• I am addicted to Thai food. The spicier, the better.
• Traverse City, Michigan is now a yearly destination for my family.  If you live in Midwest you need to check it out for the food, wine, scenery and sunsets.
• Mike convinced me to run the Chicago marathon before we got married.  I went from running 3 miles at the most to running 26.2 miles.  If I can do it, anyone can!
• I love going to see a good live concert, especially outside in the summer. My favorite live concert to date is Mumford and Sons.
• Mike and I took a whirlwind trip to Europe before having our second son and I fell in love with Switzerland.  If I were to recommend one place to visit, Switzerland is it.
• One of my favorite days ever was when Mike and I spent the day touring wineries in Tuscany, eating olives and crusty bread and getting to sample aged balsamics.
• I live for a good farmers market. I love exploring them and seeing what produce I can find to incorporate into new recipes.

My hometown farmers market // Picture taken by Amy Hetrick.

Questions, comments or recipe ideas? I would love to hear from you. Please email me at [email protected] or you can connect with me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google + and follow my behind the scenes, sneak peaks and family photos on Instagram.