Five years ago, after completing my first year in grad school, I flew home to visit my parents, and it was then that I photographed, wrote, and published my very first blog post! Shortly thereafter, I shared the story behind the silly name of the blog, but I’ve never really talked much about why I started a blog in the first place. ...
basil
Pesto Caprese Egg Tacos + Third Blogiversary!
One of my favorite things about summer is fresh, homegrown produce. Unfortunately, I’ve got a remarkably brown thumb. I know lots of people say that, but I’ve even killed ivy…by accident. Luckily for me, the boyfriend enjoys and is good at taking care of plants, and his garden is thriving this summer. The most abundant crops so far are tomatoes and basil, which led me to the idea for this quick ...
Caprese Quinoa Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
This past week, the boyfriend and I have been visiting his family in Arizona, where the temperatures have been akin to what Michigan experiences during the summer, but without the attendant humidity. Even though we had a mercifully moderate winter (after one winter with record-setting amounts of snow and another winter with record-setting cold), I’m already looking forward to warmer weather, and ...
Campanelle with Basil Walnut Pesto and Roasted Broccoli
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m feeling a bit rough around the edges after this holiday weekend. While we still technically have another week or two of summer, school is now back in session, the campus is flooded with undergraduates again, and I’m fairly certain I have never before started an academic year feeling this haggard and un-refreshed. It’s like that feeling when it’s ...
Cherry Caprese Cornbread Sliders
When I posted the recipe for cherry cheesecake mousse a few weeks ago, I mentioned on Facebook that I hoped you had all stocked up on cherries, because there would be a few more cherry recipes headed your way. ...
Basil Watermelon Lemonade
I hope everyone is having a lovely long weekend and doing something fun to celebrate Labor Day! ...
Walnut & Chicken Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette
I have a problem. I’m obsessed with pick-your-own-fruit orchards. First, I picked tart cherries in northern Michigan last month, and that was all fine and dandy and I limited myself to about six or seven pounds of cherries. Then, while visiting family in western New York last week, my aunt asked if I wanted to tag along with her to the blueberry fields, and I figured heck, why not? And so I picked ...
Herbed Pasta with Roasted Zucchini and Potatoes
Happy Friday! I made us some pasta. More specifically, I made us some herbed pasta with roasted zucchini and potatoes! I'm not entirely sure what it is about this pasta, but it strikes me as distinctly summery pasta…it could be the corn and zucchini (the power couple of summer vegetables, if you ask me), it could be the sweetly fragrant basil, or heck, it could just be the fact that it’s simple ...
Drunken Spaghetti alla Carbonara
I'm very excited to announce to you that today marks the appearance of my first-ever guest blogger post, which is making its debut over on Yummly's fantastic blog - check it out! I’ve read enough cookbook recipes, articles, and blog posts decrying the use of heavy cream in spaghetti alla carbonara to be deterred staunchly from including it in my recipe’s ingredient list. While this recipe ...
Strawberry Caprese Crostini
I’ve never been to Italy, but would LOVE to go there someday. It seems like such a fascinating place, replete with history and architecture that, while centuries and centuries old, is still very much alive today; amazing food, of course; and so much more – not to mention it’s quite the romantic destination! ...