There are a lot of things to love about June but one of my favorites is that it is finally berry season! I am a fairly equal opportunity fruit eater but give me a fresh pint of raspberries or a bowl of plump, just picked strawberries and I will eat the entire thing every single time. There is just nothing like fresh berries at the height of the season. My four year old son is also a berry lover and on the days when he eats an entire container of organic blueberries by himself I am grateful for Costco and their amazing organic fruit options! Since my personal fridge is currently filled to the brim with blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, I thought a collection of berry themed recipes might be just the thing for this week’s Good Food Reads. I hope you enjoy a few of these treats this weekend!…
A Moveable Feast: Cocktail Time
As some of you may know, Lane and I have the wonderful privilege of being part of an amazing group of friends and colleagues that also love food and cooking. Almost two years ago, two of those dear ladies started a rotating dinner party that we take turns hosting and cooking and it has been just so much fun. Each quarter the ten of us gather for a multi-course, home cooked feast. The evenings are always filled with the best food and cocktails and hours of great conversation and laughter. Lane and I hosted our first dinner last March (check out the menu and list of recipes here!) and last week, it was our turn again. This time we decided to tackle an eight course Southern themed menu and boy was it a good time.
Over the next few weeks, we will be posting the recipes and full menu here on With Two Spoons. We are so excited to share it all with you! Some of the recipes we developed or adapted ourselves and few others we left to the recipes of foodie icons like Ina Garten, Deb Perleman, and J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. At the end of the series you’ll have a full menu ready and waiting if you are looking to host your own Southern inspired party.
As many good parties do, we started with cocktails. In the interest of keeping things simple, we chose to serve a signature drink for everyone as they arrived and then switch to wine and prosecco (one red, one white, one sparkling!) for the rest of the evening. Our cocktail of choice for this party was the amazing Bourbon Tea from Garden and Gun Magazine and the Apiary event center in Kentucky.
The base of the drink is a simple syrup made with lemon, orange, ginger, cinnamon and mint. A small amount of this flavor filled syrup is poured over ice and then bourbon and an ounce of elderflower liquor (like St. Germain) is added. Top the whole thing with a splash of ginger ale and you have a simple southern drink that everyone will love. A word of caution: these cocktails are meant to be savored so go slow!
Find the recipe (and lots more Southern goodness!) at Garden and Gun magazine, here.
We’ll be back on Friday with this week’s Good Food Reads and next week our moveable feast continues with one of our main courses.
Good Food Reads: The Vegetarian Edition
Some of you may know this, but I spent almost 16 years of my life as a vegetarian. From about age 12 until a few months before my 28th birthday, I lived the veggie life. My reasons for going vegetarian (and then staying veggie!) changed over the years, and while I’m now definitely an omnivore, I still try to keep about half of my meals plant based and really don’t miss meat when I’m focusing on such great food! Over the years I’ve built up a pretty great personal collection of vegetarian recipes but I’m always on the hunt for more so for this week’s Good Food Reads, we are going veg! I promise, there is something for everyone and the meat lovers in your life won’t even miss it.
I’m so intrigued by this 5 Minute Macadamia Cheese and Vegan Crudité from Minimalist Baker. I’m not going to lie, I’ll probably stick with non-vegan cheese, but the photos are so gorgeous I could probably be convinced to give it a try! Those roasted carrots are making me so hungry right now.
Grilled Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad with Chimichurri. So many of my favorite things in one dish. Can’t wait to give it a try.
Roasted Vegetables with Creamy Romesco & Farro from Vegetarian Heartland. I love all the colorful veggies!
Don’t forget the grill! When I was a full time vegetarian, I always struggled to enjoy those boxed veggie burgers (Boca cheeseburgers usually won out). I can’t wait to give these Wild Rice Veggie Burgers with Herbed Ricotta a try for our next grilling session. Another option? This Sweet Potato and Mushroom Quinoa Burger. I doubt the meat will be missed!
Where there are burgers, there should probably be fries. I’m ready to tackle these Sesame Garlic Grilled Sweet Potato Fries with Yogurt Curry Dip.
A fresh, vegetarian take on the classic summer pasta side dish: Creamy Greek Pasta Salad.
Instant Pot Hummus with Chimichurri. I love hummus and love to make it at home but can never seem to plan ahead enough to soak the beans and end up using canned. Maybe it will be InstantPot to the rescue!
Meal Prep Mediterranean Bowls – for making those busy work days a little less crazy. LOVE the inclusion of marinated feta. So yum! These Almond-Sesame Soba Noodles with Quick Pickled Vegetables would be amazing as well.
Ok, this isn’t a recipe but have you guys seen these DIY Terracotta Wine Chillers? I have exactly zero pinterest type craft skills but maybe I could pull one of these off?
Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispies Bites with Dulce de Leche
Recently I’ve been looking for more ways to get my four year old into the kitchen cooking with me. He loves to help mix up cookies and chop veggies but as he’s gotten a little older, I wanted to find a cooking project he could do largely on his own. As I sat staring into my pantry yesterday, I spied a box of Rice Krispies and a bag of marshmallows and I realized, what could be easier than classic Rice Krispies Treats? Aside from the melting of the butter and marshmallow, those perfect little pillows of marshallow-y goodness really don’t require much in the way of kitchen skill. So there I was, all set to make a batch with my kiddo when he got home from preschool when I noticed the bag of bittersweet chocolate chips staring at me from the shelf below the marshmallows. And that’s when my plans took a quick turn. While I do intend to get my little guy in the kitchen to make some classic Rice Krispies treats soon, I decided in that moment that my chocolate craving was winning and needed to be addressed ASAP. Thus was born my new favorite indulgence: Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispies Bites with Dulce de Leche. …
Good Food Reads || 05.26.17
It’s finally here! The unofficial kick off weekend to my favorite time of year: SUMMER. Though I live in Minnesota, land of the cold (at least from December to March), I am a warm weather girl all the way. I love nothing more than bare feet and summery dresses on a perfect 80 degree day. I also love summertime eating, full of fresh fruits and vegetables, frequent grill meals, and creative cocktails by the water. This week’s edition of Good Food Reads is inspired by all of the summertime goodness I can’t wait to get cooking (and eating!). Happy reading…and eating!…
Salted Peanut Brittle with A Hint of Lime
If there is one thing I love, it’s a good salty-sweet combo treat: kettle corn, popcorn mixed with dark chocolate m&ms, and chocolate covered potato chips. My husband has much more of a pure sweet tooth, however, and one of his favorites is peanut brittle. I usually try and buy a box of See’s Candies Peanut Brittle at Christmas for his stocking. Unfortunately this year all of the local kiosks were sold out one week prior to Christmas (I know, I was procrastinating but I had a 2 month old!) and I didn’t have time for an online order so his stocking was a little light on the treats. I’ve been feeling slightly guilty about it since then and decided to take matters into my own hands (and kitchen) and make some peanut brittle with a twist. What resulted from my kitchen adventures is Salted Peanut Brittle with a Hint of Lime.…
Easy Glazed Lemon Bread
Like most people, every now and then I get a craving for something slightly outside of my regular food rotation and I need to have it now. When I was pregnant with my daughter, those cravings involved milk (not something I typically love) and veggie subs (so random). This past weekend, I was sitting in my kitchen and looked over on the counter to see a whole bag of fresh lemons that I had picked up at Costco on a whim. I was suddenly struck by the feeling that I needed to have some lemon bread as soon as possible. As I dug out my go to recipe for quick breads, I realized that there was one big hurdle to my lemon bread dreams: I was out of butter. Now, as a food blogger and home cook, that was a major oops. And since my husband was out running errands and I was home with the kids, my choices were to either take the kids to Target for butter or get creative and make something up. Since I’d rather suffer the consequences of an unfulfilled dessert craving than brave the craziness that is Target on a Sunday afternoon, I opened up my fridge and got to work. The result of that kitchen experimentation was this Easy Glazed Lemon Bread. …
Good Food Reads || 05.05.17
It’s Friday and it’s Cinco de Mayo, so who’s ready for a fiesta? I know I am! The weather is finally turning around here in Minnesota (we had SNOW on May 1st – it was a cruel joke) and I am ready for some good food, good drinks, and time on our porch with friends. With those things in mind, this week’s Good Food Reads is full of recipes for your Cinco de Mayo Celebration, a relaxing weekend gathering and a few other great finds. Oh, but before you plan your menu, better check out this Washington Post article on the current avocado shortage. Say it isn’t so! …
Good Food Reads || 04.21.17
I just returned from a lovely vacation in the Arizona desert. It was filled with sunshine, wonderful family time, and (of course) some seriously good food. As I attempt to reset my diet – and (let’s be honest) reintroduce vegetables to my body! – I am craving all of that amazing southwest food we indulged in. So, with that being said you’ll have to forgive the slightly spicy bent to today’s Good Food Reads. What can I say? I’ve got big, bold flavors on the brain and I’m not feeling sad about it.
Like I mentioned, I’m attempting to dial back the indulgences this week while keeping all of that amazing flavor. I was so excited to find this recipe from Cooking Light for Chicken and Poblano Stew with Polenta. This recipe has chipotles in adobo, which is one of my favorite ingredients, but also roasted poblanos so the smoky heat should be amazing.
Breakfast Tacos Al Pastor, via Half Baked Harvest. Because there’s no reason that my current cravings should stop at breakfast! Also, they have pineapple in them. GENIUS.
And because I can’t stop, won’t stop: Carne Asada Burrito Bowls. This recipe does require a little advanced prep with the steak marinade, but they payoff should be worth it. I’m planning to double the recipe and bring some bowls to work this weekend!
You know I can’t resist a good sheet pan recipe. This week I really want to this recipe for Sheet Pan Roasted Jambalya. There is just something about those pictures full of wonderfully bright vegetables and fresh shrimp that I can’t stop thinking about!
Another batch prep for me this week: Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup. Even though things are starting to warm up here in Minnesota (hellooooo spring!), I’m still loving soup. This gorgeous soup from Dana at Minimalist Baker is vegan and gluten free. Plus, it uses coconut milk and dill for a little something extra. YUM.
As I noted earlier, I’m trying to up my vegetable game this week but I’m just not feeling my usual salads. I’m hoping to try these Sweet Chili Roasted Brussels Sprouts tonight. The mix of sweet chili and soy sauces is right up my alley!
Ok, admittedly, this Strawberry Almond Tea Cake recipe has absolutely nothing to do with my recent travels/cravings and everything to do with the arrival of strawberry season and the crazy gorgeous photos from Broma Bakery.
And finally, I give you: Mexican Chocolate Churro Rice Krispie Treats. Oh my heavens. Are these for real?!?!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Good Food Reads. I’m off to make some yummy food and dream of the warm dessert evenings. Send us your tips, tricks, and favorite recipes – we’d love to include them here on Good Food Reads!
Good Food Reads || 04.14.17
Another Friday has come and that means a new edition of Good Food Reads. With Easter only a few days away, we have a few holiday themed recipes (of course) but we also have some recipes for the post-holiday hangover. I don’t know about you, but after all the busy prep for big holiday meals, I find myself avoiding the kitchen for a few days. As a result, I love to have some easy, prep ’em and leave ’em type recipes in my pocket to get my family fed and keep my sanity intact. Here’s hoping you enjoy our picks for Good Food Reads as much as we have enjoyed finding them!
Healthy Easter Brunch Recipes, if you’re still looking for that perfect dish for this weekend’s festivities.
White Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs just in time for the Easter Weekend! Want something a little more substantial? Try this Carrot Layer Cake. Perfect every-bunny (yup, I went there..!).
One Pot Chicken and Coconut Curry Noodles. Another recipe for my one pot meal list!
I have a long love affair with Indian food. I don’t love all the hours over the stove, however. Enter: Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken from Dinner: A Love Story.
Salad for breakfast. Yup, for those days when you want to feel super virtuous. Or just eat a really yummy breakfast! And after you eat that salad, feel free to indulge in Blueberry Pistachio Coffee Cake.
After two vacations in the last two months, I’m feeling the need to focus a little more on whole foods and less carbs (gulp). I’m thinking these Vietnamese Beef Lettuce Wraps will make a satisfying meal that doesn’t feel like diet food! I’m also looking forward to trying the Spring Detox Cauliflower Salad from Pinch of Yum.
Everything Greek Pork Pitas. Another slow cooker gem, but with a lighter twist for warmer weather.
Friends, that’s it for this week’s Good Food Reads. I’m off to enjoy the holiday weekend with family. For those who celebrate, Happy Easter. And for those who just enjoy an abundance of Peeps and Cadbury eggs, happy eating.
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