Food-spiration

God, I love Summer foods. It's not even just the tastes but all the colors and variety and how everything is cool and fresh. I love all the produce I've never used before that I discover every year and learning how to use it. I love incorporating fruit into savory dishes. I love cold pastas, frozen treats, and grilled everything.

These are some of the things currently inspiring me for the season...



Stuffed Zucchinis

Strawberry Pesto Pasta

Homemade Sodas

Artichoke and Asparagus Pasta

Cinnamon Orange Iced Tea

Pasta Salad


Spicy Quesadilla with Black Bean Corn Salad

Watermelon Margarita

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Lemonade and Limeade Drinks

Ice Cream Cones via Panini Press

Orzo Salad with Green Veggies


Papaya Lime Sorbet

Cucumber Watermelon Slaw

Baked French Fries


Grilled Apricots

Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups


Corn on the Cob with Garlic and Lime

Black Bean Soup

Garlic Bread Knots

Cucumber Basil Spritzers

Strawberry Peach Vodka Ice Pops

All images via TasteSpotting.

Another Reason to Love the Internet

I really like internet shopping. There are always way more things to choose from, all sizes and colors are generally available, you can easily find the best price, there are reviews, and you get the fun of opening a package when it arrives. I've bought everything from clothes to shoes to furniture to kitchen appliances to bedding online. Today though, I conquered new internet shopping ground.

I bought my groceries online.

Trust me, I realize it sounds crazy. I almost didn't do it just on the basis of what kind of person buying my groceries online would make me. But then I thought of how it was the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving and how little I wanted to go to the store then. And how little I would want to go the next day. And how everything I needed would be gone and there would be no parking and crowds and I would be grumpy. So I went for it.

My most favorite grocery store ever is New Seasons. We have Whole Foods but sometimes the extremity of the health consciousness going on there takes all the fun out of grocery shopping. We also have Zupans but their aim is gourmet and while I don't want the Whole foods end of the health spectrum I do care about where most of my food comes from and how it was grown. At New Seasons I can buy locally grown organic veggies as well as real, bad for you ice cream.

So I hopped online and decided to grocery shop. The New Seasons site is laid out really well and it's super easy to specify how much of something you want. There's also a really comprehensive search feature if you aren't sure what category something would fall under and there are very handy pictures of everything so if you know you like a certain brand of something but aren't sure exactly the name you can recognize it by photo. You also get the option to allow them to pick a similar item if they're out of something or check a box for that item (or all items) saying you want no substitutions. For example, I picked some dried cranberries that were infused with unsweetened apple juice. I mostly just picked them because they sounded fun so I was cool with a substitution of another dried cranberry. I also needed focaccia bread though and I wasn't willing to substitute that. You can even add special instructions for any item you like. I picked everything I needed, selected a pick up time, and paid. When I got to the store it was insane. There was no parking. Luckily I cannot verify the store was packed because I got my very own parking place and the option to either dial a posted number or push the button on the wall in order to have someone bring out my groceries. Which were then loaded into my car for me, I signed a slip saying I'd picked everything up, and was on my way. It was the simplest thing I've ever done. Plus, they gave me free ice cream which is pretty much my favorite thing ever.

Dinner Party

And by "dinner party" I mean a couple friends coming over to play Wii to whom I promised a home made meal.

Now some of you will know this and some of you won't but I am a vegetarian. I feel fairly competent at making food that I enjoy but when serving people who eat meat normally it can be slightly intimidating to create a meal they will enjoy. Here's where you come in. I need you to tell me which of the following sounds most delicious. Whatever gets the most votes will be what I make this Thursday. I may even take some photos.

Option 1:
Pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, spinach, and broccoli topped with a spicy roasted red pepper tomato sauce and mozzarella served with mixed greens salad with goat cheese, zante currants, and pumpkin seeds tossed with a honey vinaigrette and a side of garlic sauteed green beans.

Option 2:
Gorgonzola polenta cakes topped with caramelized onions and arugula tossed in a honey pepper vinaigrette served with sauteed zucchini and squash rounds and a Greek style spinach salad with feta, kalamata olives, and cucumber.

Option 3:
Black bean, cheddar, zucchini, black olive, tomato, mushroom, spinach, stuffed enchiladas served with a cucumber, tomato, cilantro, corn salad and a lime soaked watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple fruit salad sprinkled with chile pepper.

Cast your vote.