Salad, salad, salad. Salad seems to be all that is on my mind lately. It’s finally warm outside. Everything is finally blooming. Gardens have been planted. Community supported agriculture programs are in full swing. Vegetables are plentiful and flavorful. This Mediterranean Couscous Salad is a great way to use up all of these beautiful farmer’s market finds. …
As Holly has alluded to many times in Good Food Reads, I love chimichurri. Love is probably an understatement. If I could only pick one condiment to eat for the rest of my life it would be chimichurri. I put it on everything. In fact, it is possible that I may or not have eaten it directly from the spoon. So honestly, flank steak with chimichurri is at the top of my list of foods I want to share with you. And going into a beautiful summer weekend, this is perfect for your grill!…
Well, with Memorial Day now complete, Summer is (unofficially!) here, right? Summer is such a great time to be a home cook. With an abundance of inexpensive, fresh produce and weather that encourages grilling and fresh, simple preparations of food, this season is a wonderful time to try out new recipes and find some favorites to add to the family playbook. This week’s Good (Food) Reads is a collection of the recipes I’m inspired by and can’t wait to try in the next few weeks. What summer time bites are you itching to make?
The picture above is a quick and easy dinner from the geniuses over at Dinner: A Love Story. It’s Roasted Salmon with Yogurt-Mustard Dill Sauce and it’s fantastic and comes together in less than 20 minutes! A total weeknight winner.
Barbecued Red Onion Chutney. Just in time for Grill Season! (via the New York Times)
Smokey Lime-Chile Dipping Sauce. Another NYT feature great for the grill. I can’t wait to try it with grilled shrimp skewers.
Love this breakdown of the mason jar salad phenomenon from Cook Smarts. Perfect for summer picnics or to shake up a work lunchtime routine.
Honey Mustard Chicken, Bacon, and Avocado Salad. I’m not sure with all of that goodness it should count as a salad, but hey! who am I to discriminate? This dish will be happening ASAP in my house.
Roasted Carrots with Tequila Lime Yogurt Sauce from Against All Grain. Danielle always has such great grain free options. I love the addition of tequila to the yogurt sauce. Seems like a great way to get the men in your life to eat more vegetables!
Grilled Romaine and Tomato Salad with Bacon and Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing from A Farmgirl’s Dabbles. Talk about a recipe that combines the best of summer – fresh produce and the grill. Oh, and don’t forget the bacon. Seriously.
Crack Broccoli. Enough Said.
Roasted Broccoli and Lemony White Beans with Bacon from Heartbeet Kitchen. Amanda’s blog is so beautiful, it makes me want to make one of everything. This fabulous recipe is next on my list! I’m thinking it might be a great take to work salad for those days when I need a little pick me up.
Tunisian Chicken with CousCous and Green Harissa Yogurt Sauce via Feasting at Home. Feasting at Home is a new to me blog that I am absolutely loving. I can’t get over how beautiful the green harissa sauce against the spiced chickpeas. I really love that she provides a vegetarian option as well. I’m filing this one away for a meatless Monday!
Until next week…enjoy these Good (Food) Reads and send us your favorites!
Last summer I discovered a new favorite flavor-thai basil. This basil is a little different. It has more of a anise like flavor than the sweet Italian basil we are accustomed to here in the Midwest. If you’ve ever had Thai cuisine, chances are you’ve also had Thai basil. Thai basil is somewhat difficult to find outside of specialty stores here in the Twin Cities, so I decided to choose the easier way to keep it on my table-I grew it myself! Turns out it thrived in a large pot on my sunny deck. As soon as there was enough Thai basil in my pot, Thai Basil Pesto Noodles was born!…
For the most part, I tend to be a big believer in everything in moderation. I will never shy away from a gorgeous steak, a big beautiful glass of malbec, or a cup of the most delicious duck fat fries. That being said, I try to balance those meals with lots of vegetables and a healthy dose of exercise. Now, before you think me too virtuous, I have a confession: all moderation goes out the window when it comes to ice cream. Especially this Oreo Sweet Cream Ice Cream. …
It’s hard to believe it’s already time for another Good (Food) Reads! This week is cruising by and it’s almost time for Memorial Day Weekend! The unofficial kick-off to summer is always a great weekend to try out new grilling recipes and party foods. What are your foodie plans for the holiday weekend? Perhaps some of this week’s Good (Food) Reads links will inspire you to try something new! So, here we go…
Revel in the Bounty of Spring: An article about one of my favorites, Yottam Ottolenghi. Featuring this gorgeous recipe for Grilled Asparagus with Caper Salsa and a gorgeously rustic Celebration Cake. These would be perfect additions to any Memorial Day party!
Blackened Salmon Burgers with Herbed Cream Cheese. Because I still can’t get over everything on Half Baked Harvest! I can’t wait to try these for a summer BBQ in place of traditional burgers. Wouldn’t they be great with sweet potato fries?
An interesting look at a darker side of the Farm to Table movement. I love the idea of supporting local growers and eating in a more responsible way, but has the food industry taken advantage of people’s excitement over the movement? Food for thought.
Lemon Olive Oil Cookies from A Calculated Whisk. These look so great. I recently picked up a bottle of Blood Orange Olive Oil from The Queen Creek Olive Mill (an Arizona favorite!) and may have to adapt the recipe to use my new treat. Oh, and bonus! The cookies are gluten/grain/dairy free!
General Tso’s Cauliflower. A twist on a total Chinese take out classic, from Pinch of Yum. It’s not exactly what I’d call “healthy” food, but man, does it look good!
Panzanella with Marinated Chickpeas and Chimichurri via How Sweet Eats. You guys, this is SALAD with BREAD. And chimichurri (Lane – another one for you!). Making immediately.
Salt and Vinegar Potato Hash. I can’t even tell you how excited I am to make this dish. Mostly because I have a serious salty-tooth (is that a thing?). Salt and Vinegar anything and I’m in. Especially when it involves carbs.
Finally, this is not at all a foodie thing, but if any of you guys are on Snapchat, you need to follow the Everest No Filter account. It’s amazing. You’re welcome.
Until next week…
Southwest Salad with Cilantro Chipotle Dressing, the perfect summer salad! A little bit spicy, a little bit tangy, creamy and cool, this dressing is the perfect foil to this flavorful southwestern salad!
A weekend at the cabin never fails to reinvigorate me. It’s always nice to spend time with those I love the most without the constant interruption of all of our busy schedules. A part of that reinvigoration is always finding ways to nourish my soul…and my body. So with that said, I was really in the mood for some fresh food this weekend. Southwest Salad with Cilantro Chipotle Dressing fit that bill nicely!…
Cinnamon churro cupcakes? Did I say “churro” cupcakes? Like those sinfully delicious pieces of sugary fried pastry you can get (for a dollar!!!!) at Costco? Yep, just like that, but I dare say a little healthier (well, at least not deep fried). I’ve been seriously craving sugar lately (which is a little different from my usual salt cravings, and also different from my crunch cravings, and maybe even different from my ice cream cravings…never mind, my cravings may be too numerous to categorize). These cupcakes really hit the spot!…
Oh you guys, there are soooo many goodies for this week’s Good (Food) Reads that I think we just need to dive right in!
This recipe is for Lane, who LOVES a go0d chimichurri! Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri from Half Baked Harvest. I’ve really been loving Tieghan’s blog lately and am blown away by how young she is and how great her site is. Definitely check it out!
Loaded Greek Quinoa Salad (also from HBH). I told you guys that I was really loving this blog lately. Can’t wait to make this one for a healthy, colorful dinner. I love to make a big batch of quinoa in my pressure cooker for the week and this would be a perfect excuse to double it up.
Crab Cakes, Baltimore Style with Remoulade Sauce. A cajun take on an east coast classic from the NYT. I am really particular about my crab cakes (I’m obsessed with the crab cakes at Legal Seafoods in Boston. They are THE BEST.) and these seem like a fun take on the original.
Throw away all of those articles on how to clean your sheet pan. Check out this article on epicurious on why we should be embracing those seasoned old pans. The lazy girl in me loves stuff like this!
Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken Kabobs from local favorite, A Farmgirl’s Dabbles. I’m always looking for summer grilling recipes and this one is right up my alley. I will probably skip the pre-seasoned chicken and use organic free range chicken with some lemon pepper seasoning but otherwise, what an easy option for a weeknight dinner!
Arepas!!! As mentioned in the post, Minneapolis has fallen in love with these South American treats thanks to local cult favorite, Hola Arepa. Lindsay from Pinch of Yum takes on my new obsession here.
I’m super intrigued by this recipe for Slow Cooker Lo Mein from Damn Delicious. Has anyone tried it? Do the noodles get mushy?
Well, that’s what we’ve got for you this week. Send us your foodie favorites on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!
I’ve always been a total fair weather fan when it comes to blueberries. At the height of the season, when they’re firm, sweet, and just a bit tart, I eat them pint after pint, nearly as fast as I can buy them. I love to put them on yogurt, in salads, or just eat them plain. Last summer, as I was relishing some particularly perfect blueberries, I came across a recipe in the New York Times for Blueberry Jam with Lime. The recipe comes adapted from the book “Saving the Season” by Kevin West….