Chocolate Cherry Blondies

 

It's cherry season y'all. I'm sure you've seen it at your local grocery store (or not because they have been going fast around here) cherries are everywhere!

Now, I've admitted in the past that I am not a great baker. Sure..sure…my skills have been improving over the years but personally, I just get aggravated with it more time than not. In fact writing up recipes for this blog are difficult sometimes as in my mind 2 tsp = just throw some stuff in a pan. Baking definitely tests my patience, but I digress.

When I am baking, because- who doesn't like the occasional tasty sweet treat? I am always looking for easy, quick and minimum ingredient recipes.

Cue: The Chocolate Chip Cherry Blondie. My new summer time staple. I can barely keep these in the house as my husband has been secretly demolishing them when I go to bed.

Mid-Summer Garden Update

What a pathetic blog- You don’t know how many times a week I say “but I need to update the blog!!” and then all those projects I’m working on come and go…or never get to fruition. I actually have two posts I shot LAST summer that I could finally post since they are more appropriate for summer cooking, BUT…I digress…

This fourth of July week has been hectic getting back to work. We just got back from a week-long vacation with our family (that I promise will have a travel diary post coming soon) and our garden has gone bonkers.

I also got a new camera for my birthday in May (ehhh, ehh?)

Remember that little plan we had? Well, some of it has changed…and that’s not a bad thing. We are new to the world of gardening so some minor setbacks and differences in plans were bound to happen.

That said, we still have some great produce coming out of the garden to look forward to…and have already enjoyed some!

Pan Roasted Cod with Tomatoes, Thyme and Lemon

Can I amend the title of the post to say “and a sh*t-load of butter”?

In all seriousness the recipe I originally adapted this from had over twice the amount of butter (and half the garlic. le gasp. sacrilege).  And I had to draw the line and say enough it enough. It takes a lot for me to draw those kinds of lines, especially with butter.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Helllloooooo, out there in the blog-o-sphere. I haven’t forgotten about you. I’ve been spending so much time lately trying to figure out how to streamline content that I am never able to get anything up. Things shot from the end of last summer than never made it up (seemed silly to post an end of summer garden dinner party in the middle of December).

Rather than stress about editing and posting photos, I’m trying to re-invent the blog a bit so-to-speak. And part of it is adding more smaller projects, not just recipes.

 

Before this post even starts, we realized we put the fence in upside down and don’t care. so bye.

An on-going project that Brett and I are just starting this year is our new and improved garden. Yes, Brett’s thumbs have turned green and we dug up a huge chunk of our yard to plant a real vegetable garden. Honestly, I think he was just tired of me dragging him to the farmers market every weekend – $$$.

March and April have been the perfect time for us to start working on our seedlings…

Travel Diary – Block Island Anniversary

This year Brett and I were celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary. He surprised me by booking a long weekend in Block Island, RI. I grew up going out there every summer and spending a lot of time exploring the island. I had also been begging Brett to go for YEARS. I was super excited to show him the place I had so many wonderful memories of and also re-explore the island with him, as an adult.

Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Sauce)

 

Summer is winding down but I am just FIRING (my grill) BACK UP.

But really, i’ve been a grilling machine this summer. And one of my new weekly favorites is a nice steak with this Peruvian green sauce (also known as Aji Verde). In Peruvian restaurants it’s put out on table as a condiment, like salt and pepper. It’s literally delicious on EVERYTHING- chicken, steak, rice, potatoes etc.

Coming soon

 

Guys, I have so much shot and ready to be edited/written up! I know, I know- summer + new baby. I’ve been off living the dream. Really, I just wanted to enjoy every minute. Working full time and trying to get the most out of our little girls first year was my priority. I haven’t stopped thinking about this blog though! And I have to say that I’m ready to get back into the swing of things.