chinese long beans with ground pork

the long beans were looking so lovely at farmers market this morning, and as soon as i saw them i remembered a sunset magazine recipe, showcasing those fresh beans, that i had bookmarked a few weeks ago. i love it when the local produce at the market makes deciding what to make for dinner so easy!

summer spaghetti with a kick

summer means swimsuits (ugh), sandals, cute sleeveless dresses, brightly painted toenails, icy cold cocktails on the patio and meals packed with vegetables in every color of the rainbow.

crispy, crunchy baked zucchini fries

these super crunchy zucchini fries will satisfy your french fry craving with way less fat, no frying and (don't tell anyone) zucchini is good for you!

seriously badass beets

i know a lovely, wild, beautiful woman from my college days when i was the nanny for her 3 gorgeous children and i was an assistant at her preschool. i just recently (finally, thankfully) got back in touch with her. she, and 2 friends of hers, have been plowing, planting, weeding and harvesting up a storm on their new farm, 3 graces farming, which is a 5 minute bike ride from our house. i will talk more (lots more) about the farm another day, right now i really just really need to talk about this salad.

strawberry cardamom coconut milk popsicles

i have a summer bucket list of things to do (go to the ocean, go camping, watch a sunset at llano seco sanctuary unit) and things to cook (angry cajun shrimp pasta, homemade tomato paste, grilled romaine salad with jalapeno ranch). do you have a summer list? you totally should, i think its a great way to get down on paper (so you won't forget!) all those fun things you want to do/places you want to go during these hot, long days of summer. if you have little ones, its fun to sit down as a family and come up with a list together, you just might be surprised by what they come up with!

those are just a few of the things that made my list, and i'm so glad these popsicles did.

my favorite summer berry

if you have been following my facebook page, you know that i am more than slightly obsessed with strawberries right now. they are, for certain, my most favorite summer berry. don't get me wrong! i adore blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, but the sweet strawberry truly owns my heart (and belly).

balsamic strawberry + orange sauce

i am a strawberry-obsessed woman. 

i will shout it loud and proud from the rooftops. well, i would if i had a roof to climb up onto. and if it wasn't so damn hot out there. plus, i'm not too fond of ladders. since it is brutally scorching outside, i guess i will just stay inside my cool, air-conditioned house and consume mass quantities of this sauce. 

on ice cream.

in a milkshake.

on ricotta or plain yogurt.

on a toasty little slice of bread with some tangy, creamy goat cheese.

on a spoon or finger.

got any cardboard?

greek chickpea salad with local feta

summertime means making as many meals as you can that require the smallest amount of effort possible. super bonus points if you don't even need to switch on the oven to get a healthy and delicious meal on the table!

strawberry buttermilk cake

i have said it before, and here i am saying it once again- deb from smitten kitchen knows whats up. all the recipes i have made from her blog have been so right, plus it doesn't hurt that she is funny and sarcastic (and i respond well to sarcasm). she also has her first cookbook coming out in late october. 

i will be all over that.

grab your picnic blanket (and a bottle of wine!)

i hope you all have something lovely and relaxing planned for the holiday weekend. i have a picnic on our agenda and i'm pretty dang sure this will be a perfect weekend for it. the weather has cooled and it will be a sunny 82 degrees, just the right temperature for a picnic in the shade. if we get too hot, we can always dip our toes in the cool water.

roasted tomato sauce

this is a super simple way to make homemade tomato sauce. no quick-cooking, peeling or seeding of the tomatoes. there isn't even really much chopping. and the result, of very little effort, is intensely flavored homemade sauce that tastes like you were hunched over the cutting board and stove all day, sweating and crying.

what? you don't cry when you make tomato sauce? huh.

um...neither do i.

that would be weird.

stuffed red bell peppers

after a lovely vacation- hanging with friends, sitting on the beach, drinking beer, wine and more beer and eating our way all over santa barbara- all my body is craving are salads and vegetables.

lovely green slices of zucchini, slivers of yellow summer squash, pretty little leaves of baby spinach, and bright, bold red bell peppers. throw in a little rice, some white wine (just a touch), homemade tomato sauce and some cheesy breadcrumbs and dinner is just about on the table.

yeah, we ate all this (santa barbara and carmel trip)

red peppers stuffed with ground beef, summer squash, rice, white wine, tomato sauce, garlic, onions + thyme and mac + cheese with cheddar, gruyere and pancetta

awnawd pawmer

does anyone else have a hard time pronouncing 'arnold palmer'?

when i say it, it comes out more like 'awnawd pawmer'.

no? ok, it's just me.

sweet summer song

even though i am looking forward to the arrival of fall, i'm still trying to squeeze every last drop of  summer flavor out of this season that i possibly can. meals like this one, bursting with the bright tastes of basil, corn and zucchini are on the agenda for the next few weeks.

jacked up caprese salad

a couple posts ago i spoke of my intense desire to see summer receding in my rear view mirror and to see nothing but fall ahead of me as far as the eye can see.

but then i made this salad.

summer pasta

i am conducting a bit of an experiment this week with our meals.

we are having vegetarian meals all week to see how much money (if any) we save and to see how we feel after 5 days of the meat-free meals. this is, by no means, a gateway to us becoming vegetarians but just a little reminder that dinners that are vegetarian can be delicious, exciting and easy to slip into your weeknight routine.

last night we had thick spaghetti with grilled zucchini, garlic, lemon and red pepper flakes. it was really simple and light (yes, pasta can be light!) and tasty. today for lunch i jazzed it up a little with some torn, fresh basil leaves, a few more squirts of lemon, little bits of crumbly, tangy goat cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

summer is...

summer is...

zucchini. grilled with a lemon and thyme vinaigrette. quickly sauteed and tossed into pasta with lots of olive oil and tiny slivers of slightly toasted garlic. in moist, dense zucchini bread (with chocolate chips?). breaded in panko and oven fried to crispy-crunchy perfection.

chinese chicken salad with red chile peanut dressing

a friend of mine shared this recipe on her blog and everyone she served it to raved about it. it sounded so darn tasty that i had to give it a whirl, thanks annette!

smoked pulled pork sandwiches + broccoli slaw

do you go to your local bbq joint and salivate over the tasty, juicy, smoky pulled pork sandwiches?

do you know that you can totally recreate that goodness at home?

fact.