The Naptime Chef

Earlier this summer I got a beautiful care package from one of my favorite food companies, Sonoma Syrup Co. I adore their natural line of extracts, simple syrups, and more. Knowing my love of floral flavors one of the things they sent me this gorgeous Lavender Simple Syrup. It can be used for all sorts of things including flavoring ice cream, infusing strawberry soup, and stirring into yogurt. This week I decided to make some beverage with it and here were our favorites:

Lavender Iced Tea: 2 teaspoons lavender simple syrup + 1 cup iced team

Lavender Lemonade: 2 teaspoons lavender simple syrup + 1 cup lemonade

Lavender Prosecco (for the adults!): 1 teaspoon lavender simple syrup + chilled Prosecco

I’ll share more of my favorite things to make with Sonoma Syrup Co. products as I use them. There are so many tasty things!

(Disclosure: Sonoma Syrup Co. sent me these products to sample and I love them all. The opinions and photographs are wholly my own. I was not compensated for this post.)

Sponsored by General Mills Cereals

Since my children are in nursery school and elementary school we are going to be using a school calendar for many more years to come. For this reason, and for other reasons that pertain mostly to my own sanity, there are parts of our school routine we stick with year round. Not stopping these things during the summer means we don’t have to go through the pain of restarting each fall! Sticking with these easy routines keeps ours days somewhat predictable and fun.

The Breakfast Routine: During the school year my kids devour their breakfast before heading out the door. Having a good breakfast is incredibly important and I make sure, above all else, they walk to school with full tummies and plenty of energy to start the day. Though our breakfast routine is a little lazier during the summer, we never skip the meal altogether. Each September we reinvigorate the breakfast table by picking out some new cereals and pulling out some favorite recipes. I make sure they stick with cereal brands I know and trust and let them pick out a new flavor or style they haven’t tried yet. So long as I know the cereal isn’t filled with artificial flavors and colors I am happy to let them pick out a box or two!

Gazapacho

No-Cook Tomato Sauce

Salmorejo

Chilled White Gazpacho

Cherry Walnut Chicken Salad

Chilled Cucumber Soup with Yogurt via Simple Bites

Sweet Corn and Jalapeno Salsa via Feed Me Phoebe

Melon Soup via Bon Appetit

Zucchini Garlic Soup via The Kitchn

Walnut Tarragon Chicken Salad

Summer is a little warm for making truffles, but so long as you store them in a cool place you can enjoy them as much as you want. I made this simple recipe for red wine chocolate truffles for a dinner party a few weekends ago. They were rich without being overly sweet, with a hint of dark berry flavor from the wine. I put them on a platter with raspberries, and little butter cookies. Sweet nibbles that were easy to make and fun to eat. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Strawberry picking season is here and we’ve already conquered the local farm. Two children and 12 pounds later, we are swimming in bright red fruit and I couldn’t be happier. One of the desserts I made with our recent haul is this easy peasy, delicious pistachio strawberry pavlova. It is made with a pistachio meringue, topped with whipped cream and a generous spread of fresh strawberries.

Last year my friend gifted me this gorgeous copy of The Crabtree & Evelyn Cookbook: A Book of Light Meals and Small Feasts. I don’t think I should call a cookbook with copyright of 1989 “vintage,” but the style is definitely of the late 80’s ilk. Yet, unlike many cookbooks that are almost 20 years old, I don’t think it has totally gone of the style. It contains so many recipes I like to make today and the illustrations have a timeless pastoral look. I’ll share some recipes I love at a later date, but let’s just look at the book today:

The sections are divided by light meal menus. This menu for Lunch in the Old Dairy was written two decades ago but I would totally serve it today! (Isn’t that a great title, “old dairy” – it makes me want to go live on a farm!)

I’ve been revisiting a bunch of favorites this year and I couldn’t resist pointing out this one again. (And this time the picture is better!) The recipe is exactly the same so I am not going to reprint it, but I am going to sing its praises once more. EVERYONE should make this at least once this summer. I, alas, am not making it with rhubarb from my own garden just yet. However, there is hope since the rhubarb root I planted two years ago have finally started blooming which means I’ll have rhubarb of my own to harvest soon enough!

This delicious coffee cake is as simple as they come. It is thick and creamy from the sour cream and the rhubarb gives it such a delicious tangy. We scarfed it down last weekend when my in-law’s were visiting. Even the kids liked it!