Shrimp Quinoa Salad

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HAPPY FOURTH // Blueberry Tarts

For whatever reason this year, Taylor was in a super festive mood for Fourth of July. So when we saw blueberries on sale at Sprouts he had his heart set on blueberry tarts and found this recipe.  In between trying to keep Noah entertained and out of trouble, we definitely made a bunch of mistakes along the way, but when the majority of ingredients are butter, sugar and fruit, it's pretty hard to screw this one up!

ILLUSTRATED RECIPE CARDS

Earlier this summer, I got to work on this super fun project with my friend Kathy.   Kathy's husband, Jeremiah is the co-owner and lead chef at Contra so she came up with the idea of making illustrated cards of some of his recipes for their wedding favors.

What surprised me about the recipes was that a lot of the ingredients were things that I'd normally buy at the market or already have in the pantry, but were prepared in a way that I hadn't been exposed to before. This was also the first time I printed any of my drawings, so that was pretty cool too. Best of all, they were kind enough to send us a gift card to Contra, so I can't wait to eat there and finally make another long overdue trip to New York!

SALMON IN POTATO CASE

Recipe adapted from Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home

In terms of presentation, I didn't execute this recipe very well- it's supposed to look more like this. But conceptually, it was still a tender piece of salmon cooked between two layers of crispy potatoes, and it was delicious!   I don't really like fish (unless it's sushi), but I try to work it into our dinners every now so that we're not eating red meat all the time. This recipe is definitely a nice twist on pan fried salmon and can be made with things that are usually lying around the kitchen.

SUMMER REFRESH // Beet Juice

It's been a crazy busy summer. Tons of unhealthy eating- it's definitely time to try and detox. My mother in law gave us a juicer last Christmas, and I love it so much! I know a part of it is psychological, but I can't help but feel like all the grease and toxins in my body are getting zapped with every sip. My recent favorite has been adding beets to our juices because of its beautiful color and health benefits.

ON MY BOOKSHELF // Cookbooks

A few weekends ago, Taylor and I had a garage sale with our friends Chris and Julie, and one of the areas in our apartment that needed major purging was our bookshelves.  However, as I started going through the shelves, I couldn't help but reminisce over some of my favorite books, the stories they told, or the things they taught me... it's impossible not to pick up a book and be changed by it in some way.

So, that gave me the idea to start a new series called "On My Bookshelf" to share a few books that I've really enjoyed over the years. For the first batch I thought I'd round up a few of my favorite cookbooks.

Click through if you'd like to read more information on these books!

SPRING EATING // Butternut squash and Edible Pansies

* When cooking with flowers, make sure flowers are free of pesticides and are intended for cooking
* cover lid of blender with cloth instead of the cap in order to let steam out but still prevent soup from splashing out

Spring is in the air, and I can't think of anything more spring like than eating actual flowers on a bed of bright deep orange butternut squash soup. Recipe adapted from here.

CHEVRON LEMON TARTS

I decided to make some lemon bars with the lemons I picked from my tree. Adapted from this recipe here

FROM PORCH TO TABLE // My Beautiful Lemon Tree

I finally worked up the courage to pick some lemons off my lemon tree. I'm such a newbie "gardener" so I'm always scared to cut my fruits because I don't know if new ones will ever come back! I love lemons and am always putting them on anything and everything- water, sauteed veggies, fish, sauces, dressings... this time around I think I'm going to try to make something sweet.

RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

This recipe is adapted from Bon Apetite's Ricotta Cheesecake Recipe. These were so yummy I kept eating them while I was taking pictures. The ricotta makes these so fluffy and light, and the bite size makes you keep coming back for more. The recipe was also pretty simple. I'm not much of a baker (I don't like having to be precise and measure things...I feel like with cooking there's more room for winging it and substituting ingredients if you don't have all of them), but this recipe was pretty foolproof and something I'd actually make again.

P.S. Speaking of making things again, I woke up 2 hours early this week to remake another batch of this orange marmalade before going to work. I don't think I can ever return to store bought jam again!