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This is a short post today because I am still all blissed on my birthday week high. (As I’ve said before, I am not one to shy away from getting older!) Over the weekend I enjoyed my yearly tradition of baking my own birthday cake. My daughter served as my trusty sous chef while I baked up this delicious treat. It is rich chocolate cake frosted with chocolate peppermint glaze. In short, it is like an inside out peppermint patty, or like a soft thin mint cookie. Take your pick. In short, it is chocolate mint heaven. If you have a birthday coming up soon I highly recommend baking this up and serving everyone you love a thick slice!

I am still getting used to quinoa. It is a not a food I grew up eating. In fact, I didn’t really try it until maybe five years ago. It wasn’t because I was purposely trying to avoid it, it was just so off the beaten path. And, to be honest, I didn’t think I’d have time to master it given that I was still on baby #1 and trying to get quick meals on table. Fast forward a few years and now I am braver and more intrigued. I like quinoa. It serves a great backdrop to lots of flavorful healthy foods and can be used in so many dishes. I still, however, look for recipes using quinoa for ideas on what to make. I am not a pro at whipping up amazing quinoa salads with no guidance whatsoever. So when I saw this recipe on Megan’s website I knew I had to try it. It was full of flavor and green vegetables and perfect for getting on the table in a jiffy.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending an event to kick-off Childhood Cancer Awareness Month at OXO in New York City. The evening featured the fantastically talented, and one of my most favorite food writers, Dorie Greenspan. She is working with OXO and Gretchen Witt to raise awareness for the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a charity I love and have written about before. So, basically this event combined three of my favorite things: Dorie + Cookies for Kids’ Cancer + OXO. It was a total win.

Not only does back-to-school season necessitate lots of new lunchbox packing ideas, it also calls for easy, family-pleasing weeknight meal recipes. My family loves pizza in all shapes and sizes, so we took our love for pizza one step further this fall with these cool pizza pockets. I use fresh store-bought pizza dough from our local pizza parlor, lots of naturally delicious Arla Dofino cheese, pizza sauce and any other toppings we want to try.

I have packed my daughter’s lunchbox four times already and I know I have at least one hundred more times to pack it before next June. In the spirit of sharing ideas I thought I’d round-up a few of our personal favorite lunchbox ideas. Please share yours!

Sandwiches are a big thing for us. We usually stick to basics like PB & J, the occasional chicken salad, ham & cheese, and the such. I also love to make jam and cream cheese sandwiches using lots of my jam from summer. This year I’ve been working on introducing my daughter to beach sandwiches and she is coming around to eating the caprese ones!

A bloody Mary needs no introduction. Any adult, and most kids, have seen it a hundred times before. While we love the classic cocktail we enjoy putting new twists on it now and then. It isn’t about reinventing the wheel, it is more about a little tweak here and there. Sometimes we are inspired by a fresh vegetable from the garden or an amazing slab of bacon we recently tasted, other times it is all about a craving for spice or a certain texture.

When I have the time I love to freshly juice my tomatoes. But, since I don’t own a juicer — how I would love one of these from Williams-Sonoma! — I usually use tomato juice from the store. No doubt fresh juice takes a bloody to a whole new level. But, if you don’t have a juicer don’t sweat it. Last weekend my husband and I were inspired to make a little bloody Mary bar at home and these are what we came up with:

This weekend marks the end of summer entertaining for us. Next week, we’ll be back in full school mode and our simple get-togethers with friends will be less frequent than they have been for the past few months. To send summer out with a bang, I want to have a few friends over and serve some easy dishes that won’t take long to make. I am going to take the opportunity to showcase a lot of my favorite Arla Dofino cheeses since they are a great alternative to processed cheeses and are made with few ingredients, plus, I know everyone will love them! Here is what I’m planning to make:

I am busy stocking up the fridge with goodies for the lunchbox and yesterday I made one of my daughter’s new favorite things: tapioca pudding. It is a dessert we stumbled on by accident. She tried it at a friends house and adored it. She instantly feel for the rich vanilla flavor and interesting texture. In fact, initially she thought it was some kind of warmish ice cream until I explained it was pudding. Perfect for the lunchbox and easy to make I was eager to recreate it at home. It is ideal for tucking into a lunchbox for a sweet and hearty snack.

Every fall I spent a little time freshening up my kitchen. I get rid bits and pieces of food left over from summer, dump out the last bites of jam from jars, refill the maple syrup pitcher, and give my pots and pans a good scrubbing. I also pull out a fresh roster of recipes to make with my daughter since she loves to help me in the kitchen these days. She is learning her way around a recipe slowly and surely and I want to encourage her as much as I can. However, before we dive into a new round of food I like to review a few kitchen first aid with her to make sure we are on the right track.