Columns

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Last year I replicated the Roasted Peach Lemonade I had first tried in Atlanta at BlogHer Food. It was extraordinary and we drank it all summer long. Last week I found the first peaches of the season in our store and decided it was time to revisit our favorite summer beverage. Of course, not being able to simply leave a classic recipe alone I decided to change it up and make it into iced tea instead.

On the heals of last week’s Kitchen Gadgets post I am bringing you a round-up of my favorite items for the kitchen garden. When I say kitchen garden I am talking about a simple container garden of assorted herbs and maybe a few small tomato plants that thrives on nearly any porch or shady fire escape. Not the lush English-style garden that requires much more gear than this to maintain. For example, a kitchen garden does not require a lawnmower, wheelbarrow, or electric clippers (thank goodness!) It only requires a few basic necessities to thrive. With these items on hand you are all set to grow herbs and enjoy cooking them with them all season (or year) long!

What’s Going on Today: Daughter is at camp all day, loving the warmer weather.

Naptime Goals: Make basil breadcrumb gremolata to prepare for tonight.

Tonight’s Menu: Pan Roasted Tomato & Mozzarella Spaghetti with Basil Breadcrumb Gremolata, White Wine

I told my daughter what we were having for dinner and she asked “what is gremo-wa-wa?” I nearly died laughing. It is definitely an unusual word when you take the time to think about it.  The whole idea of making it on this particular day was my fresh batch of breadcrumbs (from the remainder of an enormous baguette nobody ended up finishing) and, of course, the booming basil plant on our porch. I swear, if I didn’t know any better I’d suspect someone was slipping it steroids when I wasn’t looking.

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

I could’ve made a dozen or so pies with all the strawberries that we picked last week. But in the interest of my waistline I decided to forgo that idea and diversify my strawberry based projects. Since my daughter did a lot of the manual labor it was important that she be included in some of the strawberry cooking decisions and her request was strawberry lemonade. She is a big fan of lemonade in general and her eyes lit up at the prospect of making it at home from scratch.

This summer I am introducing a new visual element to the blog: layouts! Instead of just blabbering on about my favorite tool for chilling wine or my awesome new watermelon knife I thought I’d spell it all out here for you in a cool easy-to-read layout. Today I am starting out with ten of my favorite kitchen gadgets for summer. These are the items that are quirky and a little unusual yet I find myself using on a daily basis all summer long. What can’t you live without in the summer months?

The Occasion: Strawberry picking weekend, casual weekend at home with lots of expected guests.

Number of People: Anywhere between 4 and 8

Menu: Strawberry-Rhubarb Slab Pie to have on hand for anyone/everyone!

Last week I took two little girls strawberry picking. Between the three of us we picked 23 pounds of fresh strawberries in under an hour. It was impressive, to say the least, and I was so proud of my little farmhands for be so discriminate in their picking. They actually followed my guidelines in the fields and only picking the brightest, reddest, strawberries they could find! Half of the loot went home with the playdate and the rest came home to our kitchen. With an exhausted child upstairs for a little quiet time I quickly set to work washing, hulling, and chopped the ruby red fruit. The first thing on my baking agenda? Pie!

What’s Going on Today: First day of no school (thank goodness for camp next week!) Basil plant is exploding.

Naptime Goals: Make pasta and leave to dry.

Tonight’s Menu: Basil Linguine, Garlic Chicken, Artichokes.

Once again, the summer herb pot is exploding. I don’t want to give myself too much credit, but man, I know how to manage an herb pot. The only problem is that lately it has been growing a little too well and now instead of tiny plants I have enormous bushes of fresh healthy herbs! Taking advantage of all this flavor goes beyond flavoring soups and salads. It means adding large amounts of big dishes which is why for our first day of summer vacation my daughter and I decided to make homemade basil linguine.

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

Yesterday we had our first heat wave. It was miserable. In a just a few hours our gorgeous spring-like 70-degree weather was replaced with a sticky 90-degree afternoon. Pushing my daughter to school in the stroller felt like walking through glue, the driveway was suddenly too hot for bare feet. To perk myself up, while she was at school I decided it was time to break out a recipe my mom had shared with me a long time ago, refreshing homemade ginger ale.

When it comes to summer beach entertaining we are all about keeping it casual with a capital “c.” When the kids are involved the last thing anyone wants is to plate delicate dishes while children run wild in the sand. It is so much easier to set out buffets of delicious food and let everyone dive in as they are able! One of my favorite things to make for just these occasions is chicken salad. Every year I try to dream up a few new variations to keep it fresh and fun.

This is my first full week without any travel in a long time. I adored my book tour, but am happy to have a little break at home to enjoy my family again. I’ve been cooking up a storm in my kitchen and have a blast getting back into my everyday cooking rhythm. Rest assured you’ll be reading more about that in the weeks to come! In the mean time, I am here to say thanks, once again, for all the awesome support this spring. I have some more book signing dates in the works for summer, but for the next few weeks I am sticking around close to home.

This is the latest installment of my Powernap column. The series where I share quick, easy food that can be made for all kinds of situations. Powernaps are short and sweet, and so are these recipes. These are the things I make in a jiffy when I need a quick snack, am in the mood for a recipe experiment, or simply need to clean out the pantry.

My Georgetown and Boston book parties at JMcLaughlin two weeks ago were amazing – thanks to everyone who came out! After three days of traveling I was happy to arrive home late Thursday night. (I am not used to traveling so frequently!) It was such a reward to hug my daughter after not seeing her for a few days. On Friday, to spend a little time together, I went to school with her and chaperoned a class field trip. Never underestimate how much fun it can be take a bird walk with a bunch of preschoolers! By the end of the day I was tired and ready to put my feet up and enjoy a glass of wine. For dinner I knew I didn’t have a lot of time to pull together an involved dish so I decided enlist of my powernap powers and dream up a new pizza recipe for a quick, easy dinner.

Mom deserves a delicious Mother’s Day, don’t you think? As I Mom, I completely buy into this idea. Even I, on Mother’s Day, am happy to hand over kitchen duties to my husband and daughter. I don’t particularly care what they make for me. Honestly, sometimes the simplest thing, like a perfect brownie, or hot bowl of soup, is the best. Here are some easy recipes and ideas for what could to make for your Mom this Mother’s Day. I can honestly guarantee they are all easy to make and are guaranteed to put a smile on her face.