First We Eat: Good Food for Simple Gatherings...

Strawberry Greek Yogurt Pops

These delicious and super easy yogurt-based ice pops inspired by Weelicious are the perfect summer treat for the entire family.  They are a healthy way to cool down during those summer heated days.  We like to use fresh strawberries, gluten-free granola, and Old Salt Merchants Cinnamon Sugar for a unique burst of flavor. 

Tangy Key Lime Tarts

This is the perfect little pie to satisfy that sweet tooth and it's super healthy! This vegan version is citrusy and flavorful and can be made with either a graham cracker or almond meal crust.  These adorable mini pies will be hit this summer!

Buttermilk Lemongrass Granita

Refreshing and exotic, this dessert takes a bit of time but most of that is spent hands off (in the freezer) and trust us.... it's worth the wait!

Chicken and Cabbage  Dim Sum

One of our favorite takes on Dim Sum - with cabbage leaves! Try this unique dish, spiced with our Old Salt Merchants Szechuan Salt.

Mussels with Pastis

Try these quick and delicious mussels using our Old Salt Merchants Black Truffle Salt. Tip: serve with crusty bread to dip into the leftover sauce.

Spiced Lotus Root Chips

Try these exotic spiced lotus root chips featuring our garlic and parsley sea salt OR if you like things sweet, with our cinnamon sugar!

Beet Tacos

Not a typo, this recipe is for BEET TACOS! This delicious meatless version of beef tacos is truly satisfying and full of flavor.  The earthiness of the beets, the pungent flavors of the cumin and coriander, and our tasty ghost pepper salt make this a must-try! 

Heart Shaped Thumb Print Cookies

We absolutely adore these heart-shaped peanut butter and jam cookies with Old Salt Merchants Cinnamon sugar and we think you will too. These delicious chewy cookies can be made with regular flour, but we opted for a gluten-free version. We used cassava flour (or try cup4cup flour) and they can also be made vegan and dairy-free. Here is the must-have ingredient: Old Salt Merchants Cinnamon Sugar!

Dutch's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who can resist a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies? Dutch certainly can't! We love baking them in the fall, and we always turn to our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe using Old Salt Merchant's Jamaican Ginger Sugar. It just makes our mouth water!

Yucatan Chicken Soup

Try out this simple and zesty chicken soup adapted from Sunset Magazine. Made with Old Salt Merchants' Extra Bold Smoked Salt. This delicious soup requires minimal effort given you're using a rotisserie chicken that's already been cooked. Dutch loves easy cooking!

Mango Lassi

One of the most refreshing drinks you'll ever have! This is a must try, and it's so easy to do. Every time Dutch drinks this, he's immediately transported back to his sailing expedition to India that he took a couple of years ago. It was one one of his best journeys yet!

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Growing up, my grandma would make a large serving of this delicious spicy hot chocolate and serve it right before decorating our Christmas tree. I think the adults added rum to their mugs which brought more smiles and laughter in the room. Our cinnamon sugar and dark cocoa sugar are a perfect match to this dazzling holiday drink!

Black Rice Pudding with Coconut Milk & Mango

This is a common breakfast or lunch go-to for me because it's sweet and savory. Adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow's, The Clean Plate, you'll find this dish to be filling, super healthy, and quite tasty with our vanilla bean salt. The sweetness of the mango's, the nutty flavor of the black sesame seeds and the vanilla essence from the salt really has me hooked!

Butternut Squash Brownies

Who would have thought that butternut squash could be the base for such a delicious and moist brownie. We adapted this unique recipe from Imperfect Produce, our weekly farmers market delivery box. This is such an easy recipe & it can be made using ONE bowl - meaning...super easy clean-up! Healthy, gluten-free, & low glycemic. Make a batch for the entire family and don't forget to use our cinnamon sugar!

Coffee Ice Cream Sandwich

The most delicious part of summer (in our opinion) is making ice cream sandwiches with Old Salt Merchants Espresso Bean Sugar! They are so reminiscent of a childhood where swimming all day in the pool with friends was never complete without munching on Mom's homemade ice cream bars. These are the more mature version with coffee ice cream but you can use any ice cream filling --- the dense, fudgy chocolate wafer pairs well with just about anything! And don't forget to sprinkle some espresso bean sugar to add complexity to each bite!

Classic Apple Pie

It's that time of year...baking on the brain. The smells of fall bursting through the air and dancing in the breeze. Smells of sweet pumpkin and crisp apples. Let's sweeten up the kitchen and get down to baking! Adapted from the William Sonoma Kitchen

Heart Shaped Thumb Print Cookies

We absolutely adore these heart-shaped peanut butter and jam cookies with Old Salt Merchants Cinnamon sugar and we think you will too. These delicious chewy cookies can be made with regular flour, but we opted for a gluten-free version. We used cassava flour (or try cup4cup flour) and they can also be made vegan and dairy-free. Here is the must-have ingredient: Old Salt Merchants Cinnamon Sugar!

Easy Tomato Soup Served with Grilled Cheese Croutons

For a quick and easy meal, we like to serve a warm bowl of tomato soup with a hearty grilled cheese sandwich. We typically slow roast garden tomatoes with chicken stock for hours. But if you're looking for a quick meal, you can simply use whole can tomatoes with their juice. Cream is optional.

Dutch's Hearty Chili

Dutch loves to whip up a spicy chili any chance he gets. This dish is plenty hearty and full of flavor. We like to serve our chili with tortilla chips or even over pasta. You can leave out the chili powders and jalapeno for a less spicy version and you can always add our ghost pepper salt or habanero salt to spice up each bowl individually.

Easy Turkey Burger

All you need are a few aromatics like cilantro, mint, and parsley to make this delicious healthy recipe. Once you grill the patties (if shaping thick patties and using an indoor grill pan), we recommend you bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes. This will ensure that they are cooked properly and will be warm when served. We also love to top them with a hunk of blue cheese and you can serve them in lettuce wraps ( for a low carb option) or as a full-blown burger in a brioche bun. The pickled cucumber adds a bit of depth to this meal. This recipe serves 4 thin patties or 2 extra thick patties.

Pasta Carbonara

This simple, delicious pasta dish is pure "comfort" in every bite. We use pancetta or bacon but you can substitute the bacon for mushrooms instead. Sprinkle some Old Salt Merchants wild porcini salt as a finisher and voila, you have a delightful dinner on the table. This recipe serves 4

Sunday Blueberry Pancakes

These delicious golden brown fluffy blueberry pancakes are good enough for breakfast, brunch or dinner! I promise your family will not complain about having these timeless pancakes any time of the day. Serve with a small side herb salad and dinner is served. This recipe serves 2 (4-6 pancakes).

Easy Sweet Potato Curry with Collard Greens

We're big fans of curry especially this easy & colorful one adapted from the First We Eat cookbook which we sell online here. The sweetness of the potatoes and the earthiness of the collard greens deliver a mouthful of delicious flavor. We used a variety of sweet potatoes like purple, white and orange to give it some pop in color. This dish is vegan (you can add sausage for a nonvegan approach) & serves 6 - Cook time is about one hour.

Tasty Chocolate Balls

These special chocolate balls with Old Salt Merchants cocoa sugar are fun, fast and easy to make. There's no oven to mess with all you need is to refrigerate them for about 30 minutes so they form. This is a perfect recipe to do with the kids as a family cooking class. This recipe makes about 15 balls.

Perfect Biscuit/Scones

The art of baking is something for ALL ages. The process of whisking, rolling, kneading, and forming the dough can be a very cathartic experience. Invite your kids into the kitchen to teach them how to make these easy biscuits/scones.

Healthy Banana Snicker Shake

This quick and easy smoothie tastes just like a Snickers bar but the healthy version. Your kids will love making and devouring this yummy drink. Packed with lots of protein, this will keep them going for hours. You can use peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter or cashew butter. For a more substantial shake, add protein powder. You can even add a little whipped coconut cream as a topper and finish with Old Salt Merchants Dark Cocoa Sugar, Cinnamon Sugar or Espresso Bean Sugar. NOTE: This is NOT just a kids drink - once you try it you'll be hooked too! * You can even add a 1/2 avocado (stone removed) for an even healthier version

Healthy Yogurt Panna Cotta

Try out this simple, healthy, tangy panna cotta made with thick Greek yogurt. It's super easy and delicious. Serve it with a shortbread cookie or a graham cracker. So simple so delicious! Active: 10min Total: 3 hours & 10 mins

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Waffles

There's something very comforting about waffles. These light and crisp waffles are fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Add a little syrup or some cinnamon sugar, or maybe slices of banana or a blueberry sauce and you're set for a great day!

Classic Chocolate Cake

This delicious classic chocolate cake recipe is mouthwatering! It's super moist ---- you'll want to eat slice, after slice, after slice. This the perfect cake to make with your family too. Give it a try... Prep time is 15 mins, Cook Time is 35 mins.

Healthy Chia Pudding

This is such an easy and delicious recipe and perfect for the whole family to make. Look for the most in-season fruit to top on your healthy chia pudding. This makes 2 servings.

Easy Pretzel Bites

These bite-sized pretzels, either as a sweet or salty version, are a wonderful make-at-home take on ones you might buy from a pushcart. This is a great recipe to make with your family, as you can to introduce them to a basic baking recipe that is easy to pull together. We PROMISE, everyone will devour these delicious nuggets. This recipe makes about 6 dozen bites and takes about an hour in total with prep and baking time.

Marinated Turmeric Chicken Kebabs

Summer is here... so light up the grill and let's get cooking! I love the simplicity of these delicious chicken kababs that are ALWAYS a crowd pleaser. The key to success here is marinating the chicken overnight. If you don't have time, then marinate them for at least one hour.

Texas Braised Short Ribs

This comfort dish made with Old Salt Merchants Espresso Salt is one of a kind. The ribs are slightly spicy with a succulent flavor. We like serve these over cauliflower rice or a parsnip gratin. The key to this delicious recipe is the espresso salt which helps to tenderize the meat.

Hibiscus Paloma

As a cocktail or mocktail, this delicious Hibiscus Paloma will become your weekend highball. It's our favorite because it's floral, tart and refreshing. We juice fresh grapefruit and lime. The hibiscus syrup is super easy and is what gives it depth and this beautiful color!. We hope you try it out this weekend!

Matcha Tea Crepes

These delicious matcha crepes are super easy to make and delicious! Make them for breakfast, brunch or dessert. We love to finish them off with a sprinkle of our matcha salt and a dash of our dark cocoa sugar.

Simple Greek Salad

There is so much versatility with the easy to make Greek salad. It's tangy pungent dressing pairs well with grilled salmon, chicken, tofu and even chickpeas. Serve with a side of kalamata olive bread and you have a perfect dinner for your family. We personally think the pickled red onions make the salad and it only takes an additional 5 minutes to prepare.

Classic Roasted Chicken

This is one of our regular go-to dishes we make a lot! It's easy, incredibly moist, and delicious. Typically, we use Old Salt Merchants Lavender Salt or Smoky Bold Salt when we roast our chicken.

Savory Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie is a classic British dish made with minced or ground meat (we used Turkey) and topped with a thick layer of mashed potatoes. It's an easy dinner to pull together and can be made ahead and stored in the fridge. Serves 6.

Pro tip: If you use ground turkey, it pairs SO well with our lavender salt!

Stunning Beet Hummus

If you want beauty at your next cocktail or dinner party, then serve this beet hummus. Just look at this beautiful magenta color! It will have your guests oohing and ahhing with delight! It's healthy, colorful, and so darn easy to make! You need to factor in two hours of braising and one hour of cooling for this recipe. You can serve beet hummus with pita chips, pita bread, crudites, on sandwiches, wraps, or salads. Who said beets had to blah?

Ina’s Sweet and Spicy Rosemary Cashews

One of our favorite recipes is Ina Garten's sweet and spicy rosemary cashews.  What a perfect snack for your next get together and they make a delicious "pick me up"  during the day. The flavors are SO pungent and when served warm, they just melt in your mouth.

Ina’s Sweet and Spicy Rosemary Cashews

One of our favorite recipes is Ina Garten's sweet and spicy rosemary cashews.  What a perfect snack for your next get together and they make a delicious "pick me up"  during the day. The flavors are SO pungent and when served warm, they just melt in your mouth.