Isn’t Pinterest awesome? It’s not uncommon for me to get sucked in to the Food and Drink section, scrolling through page after page of Mason jar-filled salads, pink and girly vodka punch, crock pot chicken creations, and cupcakes galore. I’ve uploaded all my recipes to Pinterest, and I add new pins every time I write a new post! I post my recipes to the “oven&apron” board, … Continue reading pinned!
I love s’mores. Man oh man, do I love s’mores. Graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows! Mmmm.
Growing up, I never went camping (sad!), so I’ve never known the joys of making s’mores over a fire in the middle of nowhere. At our house when I was a kid, we had to make due with a lit burner of the gas stove, or make cheater’s s’mores in the microwave. They were still good, and they’re still one of my favorite messy treats for when the weather cools down.
For the past 10,866 days of my life, there was one thing I’d never done. It’s something that lots of other people have done, and I can’t believe it took me so long to discover the joys of this particular activity.
Are you ready?
I ate a potato salad that didn’t include mayonnaise.
Well, it’s September now.
Summer as we know it is officially over and everyone’s back to school and back to work. If Pinterest is any indication, one would think that Fall has already begun. Pumpkin fudge! Pumpkin brownies! Drill holes in a pumpkin to make it look like a lantern! And let’s not forget, the sacred and holy pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. God help us, it’s already in stores!
I love a good three day weekend. Aside from the obvious (not going to work on a Monday!), there’s the bonus of having more time to get things done, or more time to be lazy if you choose.
It’s hard to believe that one week ago, I was getting on a plane to San Diego.
Any time I’ve ever been to SD, it’s so hard to leave. I always end up going in the summertime, which of course makes it that much more difficult to leave the cool sea breezes in exchange for the never-ending drudgery of 100+ degree temps back in Phoenix.
While the weather was a nice bonus, the main goal of my trip was to visit with my dad. It had been over 2 years since I’d seen him last, and it was so great to catch up. He’s halfway through his chemo treatments and doing relatively well, all things considered! He’s had a few minor setbacks but so far it hasn’t been anything he can’t handle.
I’ve never had much luck with growing flowers or plants. Anything that requires regular watering or tending to, just isn’t for me. I think if plants could meow like cats do, then I might be reminded to water them on a regular basis. Instead, I notice them shriveled up and wilted after a week without water and I feel really guilty about it. I had moderate success this spring with a hanging basket of strawberries, but I’m convinced that was a fluke!
This is probably the most health-conscious recipe I’ve ever posted. It may be the most health-conscious recipe I’ve ever made. No butter? No added sugar? No white flour, chocolate, bacon, or glazed donuts? I know, I know. It shocked me, too.
I’ll allow a super healthy recipe on occasion though, especially cause these were a birthday gift for my dad. Today’s his big 5-8! Since his diagnosis, he’s basically gone vegan and gluten free, so I wasn’t about to make him a pile of caramel turtle brownies (mmm, those do sound good though…) and totally wreck his healthy diet! What kind of a daughter would I be?
Continue reading “raw apricot + ginger nut bars (happy birthday, dad!)”
The salad so nice, I made it twice! Twice in the same week, that is. It’s amazingly simple, and perfect for summertime when you don’t want to turn on the oven very often, and when a big bowl full of ripe tomatoes, fresh basil and good crusty bread soaked in vinaigrette is all you’d want to eat.
What do you think of when you think of summertime?
When we were kids, summers to me and my sisters meant going to California to visit our dad, stepmom and stepsister. They lived in the southern California desert at the time, so summer days there could reach temperatures of 110 and above, easy. Not the nicest weather, but we had fun anyway. Sometimes during the day, we’d get lucky and our stepmom would take us to the waterpark in town while our dad was working. We didn’t venture outside much during the day though. Most of the time, we’d run outside at sundown to play hide and seek in the dark, rollerblade in circles on their concrete driveway, and occasionally we’d all go to the movies.
oven + apron 