Mmm…BACON. Bacon is LIFE. Hot Bacon Dressing is #goals.
Salty, tangy, and so, so good, this hot bacon dressing is super easy to make! Read on for the recipe!
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Friday Five: Spring Things
It’s finally HERE!!! After what has felt like the longest winter in Minnesota history, spring finally, finally arrived in Minneapolis this week. The snow is beginning its slow melt and the first 60 degree day of the year is in the forecast for early next week. I am over the moon excited about it all. While we can’t quite put away the winter gear yet (anyone else remember last year’s APRIL snowstorm?? Ugh.), I’ve ditched my heavy parka for a lighter coat and my trusty winter boots have been set aside for my favorite wellies. The change of seasons always gets me excited about new things to do, read, wear, and listen to so I thought I’d share what’s on my radar for this spring in our Friday Five: Spring Things. 
Creamy Vanilla Fruit Dip – A Perfect Early Spring Recipe!
01. Spring Reads
I’ve been doing a ton of reading lately and man, have there been some great books out there this year! So far I’ve loved this one, and this one. I just started reading The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly by our good friend Rebecca Ansari and it is absolutely delightful. If you haven’t had a chance to grab it yet, definitely hit up your local bookstore or order a copy online. You won’t regret it! And, I’m happy to report, after a few unsuccessful tries at audiobooks (which Lane loves and swears by) I’m currently listening to Michelle Obama’s Becoming and it’s fantastic. I love hearing her tell her own story. What a treat.
02. Podcast Obsessions
This spring has also brought a bit of a podcast kick for me. My recent podcast binges have been courtesy of our friend Tracy, who told me all about some great podcasts while we were on our recent Ojai trip. She got me hooked on The Smartest Person in the Room and 10 Things To Tell You. I love the idea of learning about things from people who really know their stuff. The series on bias was particularly great and really pushed me to think about things outside of my own comfort zone. Thanks for the recommendation, Tracy!
03. The Perfect Spring Boots
We’ve been reveling in the warmer temps this week and heading outside for a walk or ride around the neighborhood with the kids after dinner. With all of the melting snow, my all time favorite wellies have been earning their keep in my closet once again. They are a bit of an investment, but I can tell you, after almost 5 years of steady wear (year round!), these are still going strong and are totally worth it. I wear them all the time and can’t recommend them enough.
04. New Recipe Inspiration
My #52weeksproject is still going strong over here and I’ve already had a handful of huge recipe successes (along with some minor failures – more on that in a future post). Part of the fun of the project is scouring the internet and my stash of cookbooks to find my next week’s recipe to try. Lately I’ve filed away the recipes for these Sourdough Crackers with Olive Oil and Herbs, this Persian Herb and Chickpea Stew with Rice, and these Hot Cross Buns, perfect for the Easter holiday! Have you tried any must make recipes this year?
05. My Salad Dressing Obsession
Of course, I’m always a fan of making your own salad dressing, but lately I have been absolutely obsessed with the Lemony Herb Vinaigrette from Salad Girl. My husband laughs at me because I basically buy a bottle a week – just for me! I love that they are a local company and all of their dressings are organic, gluten free, and don’t use any cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Four of the dressings are also vegan. You can get them in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores here in the Twin Cities, or buy them online. FYI: I’m not being compensated in any way for writing about them. I just honestly love their product and hope you will, too!
Bonus: If you’re looking for an easy early spring recipe, check out our Creamy Vanilla Fruit Dip. It’s perfect with those spring strawberries!
Good Food Reads: Summer Grilling
The weather has turned in Minneapolis! Finally we have nice temperatures and sunshine. That can only mean one thing…summer grilling! We’ve cleaned off our grills and our patio tables. We’ve taken out the deck cushions and are getting the planters ready for flowers. Finally, we’ve gone in search of some fabulous summer grilling recipes from our blogger friends and we can’t wait to share them with you! Good Food Reads: Summer Grilling is your guide to the best of this summer’s grilling recipes!
Disclaimer: all photos and recipes are credited to the blog from which they came. A million thanks to all of our blogger friends for allowing us to use their amazing work to put together this collection of summer grilling recipes for you!
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Cobb Salad with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing
I’m over winter. Officially over winter. After getting a foot of snow here in Minneapolis last weekend, I am begging it to stop. I’m screaming uncle. I’m ready to move on to sunny days and warm temperatures. It is time for salads on the deck with a good book. Like this Cobb Salad with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing.
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Good Food Reads: Minneapolis Brewery Tour
Do you live in Minneapolis? Are you interested in visiting Minneapolis? I bet you will be after reading about this do-it-yourself Minneapolis Brewery Tour! And by “tour”, I really mean collection of breweries that make a brewery crawl all but inevitable. Plus a few distilleries thrown in for fun. And don’t forget the food trucks! YES PLEASE!
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Lemon Rosemary Shortbread
Well, it’s been a crazy few days around here. As many of you know, Lane spent the last week in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. In a fun twist of fate, we actually had booked overlapping trips and had great plans for a fun dinner out in the land of sunshine. Unfortunately, I was caught up in the spectaular Delta scheduling debacle last weekend and my flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix was ultimately cancelled and we didn’t make it to Arizona in time to reschedule. I decided to drown my sorrows in some baked goods. Enter: Lemon Rosemary Shortbread.
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Good Food Reads II 04.07.17
So many things for Good Food Reads this week, so little time! Today is the day that With Two Spoons is taking it on the road, as both Holly and I will be happily soaking up the sun in Arizona! Unfortunately I will soon be heading back to Minneapolis. The only saving grace is that spring time in Minneapolis is BEAUTIFUL! So as an Ode to Spring-here is this week’s Good Food Reads-dedicated to Spring!
First let’s talk donuts. DONUTS! Strawberry lemon donuts to be exact. These Strawberry Lemon Donuts by Tornadough Alli look amazing. Like eat the whole batch at one sitting amazing. In fact I may need to make these when the kids are at school-and then hide them.
Maybe I’m strange, but I also think of pasta for spring. I know, I know, it’s spring-I should be worrying about lightening things up and cutting the carbs, but when you see this Garlic Butter Asparagus Pasta by Diethood and this Lemon Cream Pasta Primavera by Foodtastic Mom, you are going to see exactly why I think pasta belongs to springtime. Because it does.
One of my spring resolutions is to make my own bread. I’ve done homemade bread and it is a million times better than that processed pre-sliced stuff from the supermarket. I even went so far as to take home some sourdough starter from a friend, which I promptly killed. (I know who kills sourdough starter? That isn’t even an easy thing to do) I haven’t had the heart to tell my friend (although she’s probably reading it here-I’m so sorry Retu!). BUT-I came across this recipe for Sourdough Starter by WellFloured. So maybe I’ll make my own. And keep it alive this time.
So from bread, a normal transition would be butter, right? Check out this Basil Lime Vegan Butter by Healing Tomato, which is a sensational way to use up those herbs that are about to die an awful death. And a great use for those herbs you are going to plant this summer. Just remember basil likes it hot and dry. Hot and dry. (And now you’re going to click to check it out, not because of the basil, but because you, like me, are saying “what the hell is vegan butter”? Well, I still don’t have an answer to that, but I bet you can make this with regular butter as well. Pretty cool indeed!)
As a blogger, I’m frequently checking out other blogs. Bloggers are doing such amazing food these days. But every once in awhile, I come across a dish where I say-“If I can make this at home, my life will be complete”. And that is how I feel about Food, Faith, Fitness’ Larb Gai Thai Chicken Skillet. One look at the photos and I didn’t even need to know what the rest of the words meant. All I know is it looked like my idea of heaven in a cast iron skillet, and that is saying a lot for something that does not contain chocolate. I will definitely be making this at my house. And if this does it for you too, well-then you’re invited.
As I’m writing this with a glass of wine in hand, relaxing in the beautiful Arizona twilight, I will tell you about the Instant Pot I bought for my in-laws. We have been using it for everything this week, which is great because in Arizona, who wants to turn on the oven? Tonight’s dinner was Flank Steak with Chimichurri-a recipe from our own blog, with Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot from A Pinch of Healthy and Pressure Cooker Corn on the Cob by This Old Gal. Is there anything this miracle machine can’t do?
Finally, a recipe for the artists among us. There is a lot of great food art out there right now (for some reason Easter seems to spark a lot of creative juices). I really like this Easter Bunny Bread by Foodie with Family because, well, I’m not sure exactly why, other than I am a bread addict. Pretty sure this one would be loved by kids and adults alike. I’m not usually one who attempts food art, but this one I might actually try. Stay tuned.
Well, that’s all for this edition of Good Food Reads. Join us again next Tuesday for a new recipe and again next Friday for another jaunt around the good food of the internet. Until then, have a great week-and as always, let us know what YOU are making in your kitchens!
Good (Food) Reads: Hungry Girl!
(My daily snack: Fresh pears, cottage cheese, brown rice crackers. Yum!)
I don’t know if it’s the weather (spring is FINALLY here!) or what, but I am HUNGRY this week. Like, can’t stop, won’t stop, hungry. Which means I’ve been trolling the old internet for new recipes to try and foodie inspiration. Which means, we have a Good (Food) Reads chock full of inspiration this week. So let’s get started, shall we?
First, I dug out my copy of Gwyneth Paltrow’s first cookbook, My Father’s Daughter (and before you scoff, it’s actually really good!), and have been eating her Italian Chopped Salad all week. It’s fresh, with plenty of heft from the bocconcini and green beans, and easy to make. Total winner! Looking forward to checking out her new cookbook It’s All Easy….
Good (Food) Reads: It’s Finally Spring!
One week later and I’m even more excited about spring! It’s officially here (well, at least according to the calendar, if not the actual weather) and this week’s Good (Food) Reads is going to celebrate that with recipes and articles for the new season. We are forecast for some snow here in the good ole midwest, so I’m going to freshen up my kitchen with salads, bright desserts, and a few Easter goodies. Here. We. Go.
I have a longstanding obsession with Yotam Ottolenghi. His recipes can be a little involved and sometimes call for some less-than-standard pantry ingredients, but they are absolutely worth it. His Turkey Zucchini Burgers with Spring Onion and Cumin are one of my spring and summer staples and a great way to use the garden abundance of zucchini each year. The NY Times is featuring a recipe for Baby Spinach with Dates and Almonds that sounds amazing. It does call for sumac, which can be hard to find, but you can order it at Penzey’s, or I’ve also found some at Cost Plus World Market….
Spring Orzo Salad
Over 70 degrees here in Minneapolis yesterday, which as most of you know, is unheard of early in March here in the frozen tundra! For all of us here in the Midwest, shedding our layers, basking in the sunshine, out reconnecting with our neighbors as everyone comes into the great outdoors, we are needing to shift our menus. We find ourselves moving away from the heavy of the winter and towards the bright colors and textures of the spring. For me, one of those “welcome to spring” foods is orzo….