Oh hey, so have you notice my new design includes those super cute social media icon buttons (designed by the super awesome Sarah – seriously talented & very affordable for all your bloggy needs) on the left hand side? The one for “recipes” is a link to my Tasty Kitchen profile, where I store all the recipes I’ve submitted plus the many many many What’s for Dinner recipes I’ve found using TK. Unfortunately, you have to have a membership to see my recipe box but FORTUNATELY, it’s free and easy to do and I can’t imagine why you WOULDN’T want one.

Almost all my recipes this week are from my two summer cookbooks: The Big Book of Backyard Cooking by Betty Rosbottom and Grilling by Louise Pickford. We bought a new grill when we finished the patio and I am THRILLED to be doing all my cooking outside. I did a little Googling and tried to link to online versions of the recipes whenever possible so you can add these to your own meal plan if you want.

1. BLT Pasta Salad – The Big Book of Backyard Cooking
2. Turkey, Apple and Cheddar Clubs – The Big Book of Backyard Cooking
3. Bratwursts on Toasted Rolls with Caramelized Onions and Creamy Horseradish Sauce – The Big Book of Backyard Cooking (Actually, the only part of that recipe I followed was how to caramelize onions. I put some herb mayo on my brats and E just ate his plain.)
4. Extra Special Tabbouleh with Avocado and Feta – The Big Book of Backyard Cooking (OMG tabbouleh is my new favoritest favorite ever. Super easy, healthy and delicious. Just TRY IT you’ll LIKE IT.)
5. Turkey Burgers with Honey Mustard, White Cheddar, and Crisp Apple Slices and Parmesan Black Pepper Coleslaw – The Big Book of Backyard Cooking
6. Lamb Chops with Roquefort, Figs, and Rosemary – The Big Book of Backyard Cooking (Cooking lamb on the grill was hard. So was finding figs and Roquefort cheese so mine is dates and feta. Still delicious, if a liiiittle undercooked) and also Grilled Rosemary Flatbread – Grilling

7. Chili-Rubbed Sirloins with Guacamole Salsa plus grilled corn on the cob – The Big Book of Backyard Cooking (link is to an old CBS article but the recipe is in there, I promise)
8. Bacon-Wrapped Filet Steaks Topped with Roasted Garlic Butter plus roasted mini-sweet peppers – The Big Book of Backyard Cooking
9. Jerk Chicken and Veggies – Here’s my recipe: pour Lawry’s 20 minute marinate over chicken and veggies. Wait 10 minutes before you decide you’re too hungry to wait. Grill chicken and veggies. Eat.
10. Lemon Crunch Pie – Yeah, I invented that. Recipe is here on the blog & also on Tasty Kitchen.

Before you get too impressed and say “OMG Suzanne, how do you make all this food!?” let me tell you this was 2 full weeks of food – so there were pizza and burgers and even a popcorn for dinner night in between – and that it wasn’t that long ago that my entire meal plan was just ground beef. If I can teach myself to make new food AND get my husband to EAT that food then you can too.

So this one time, I was at the grocery store with my husband and he tried to buy a gross, pre-made pie in a box from the bakery section. I was like, “DUDE, I BAKE.” and he was all “But can you make a LEMON CRUNCH PIE?” and I was all “You’ve heard of GOOGLE right?” But then I was like “Oh no, none of these recipes on the internet look like the pie from the store! I’ll have to make it up as I go!” and he was like “Oh geez, that sounds hard. Do you think you can really do it? and I was all “Watch me, bitches.”

So I invented a Lemon Crunch Pie. The end.

Lemon Crunch Pie

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
4-5 tablespoons ice cold water

Throw the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Toss in the shortening too and then mash it up with a fork until it’s in little pieces. Don’t mix it TOO well, since the little pieces of shortening in the crust is what makes it flaky. Add cold water about a tablespoon at a time until the dough is sticky enough to hold together. Do most of your mixing with the fork but make sure you test it by squishing it together with your hands or you’ll end up adding too much water. Roll it out, press into a 9 inch pie plate and crimp the edges.

Bake the crust at 400 for 7 minutes.

(If you MUST, I will allow for store bought pie dough but only if you recite the Pledge of Allegiance while rolling it out to prove you’re not a communist.)

Filling:

Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1 1/4 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 well-beaten egg yolks
1 1/4 c. boiling water
3 egg whites

Separate egg yolks from whites. Zest and juice the lemons. Pour 1 ¼ cup water into a medium sized sauce pan. When it comes to a boil, mix in juice, sugar, cornstarch, and well-beaten egg yolks. Stir until well blended and cook until thick – this happens pretty quickly so be sure to keep stirring. Remove from heat. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff. Fold the lemon mixture into the whites.

Pour into baked crust.

Topping:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 crushed graham crackers
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons chilled butter

Toss it all in a food processor and mix for a few seconds, until it’s crumbly but not too fine. Spread out over filling, bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes, or until topping is slightly brown & all the butter has melted.

Refrigerate for a couple hours and serve cold.

Not the prettiest pie I’ve ever made, but really really delicious.

I linked up my recipe to Mique’s Pity Party at 30 Handmade Days

We got our first harvest from Town Farm Organics, the CSA we joined this year, on Tuesday. (You can read more about it here.) This is what was in our bag:

Note to self: next time try taking picture of green things in front of a non-green background

1. Lavender plant
2. Sage plant
3. Zinnia plants
4. Snapdragon plants
5. Summer savory
6. Cut sage
7. Beet tops
8. Sprouted lentils and mung beans

And the great big bag in the middle is two different kind of lettuce (red leaf and something else).

It’s early enough in the season that my half-share was the same as a full share (in the future I will get more variety each week but less of each thing). The potted plants were a super nice surprise – now I have fresh sage any time I want it – I plan to try a potato, sage and rosemary pizza (recipe) and grilled tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese and sage (recipe) – and I planted the zinnias and snapdragons in my garden. I have no idea what to do with the lavender, besides make those little satchels that are supposed to make your underwear smell nice – AS IF THAT IS AN ACTUAL CONCERN OF ACTUAL PEOPLE – so suggestions are welcome.

So far I’ve eaten about half the lettuce in salads and sandwiches and used the savory and sage when I cooked a chicken. (Which I am sure would have been delicious had it actually cooked all the way through. The recipe was for a whole chicken cooked on the grill, but even at 2x as long as the recipe called for it was still raw in the middle. I’m blaming the grill. We had burgers instead.) I plan to saute the beet tops with a little butter and Parmesan for dinner tomorrow but I am totally at a loss as to what to do with “sprouted” mung beans and lentils.  Google tells me HOW to sprout them and that they’re SUPER nutritious and an GREAT IDEA…but all their serving suggestions involve just tossing them in a salad and I don’t think I’ll be able to trick anyone in my family into eating them that way.

Obviously this one bag of produce doesn’t cover the full cost of the CSA for summer but even if we only got this much stuff each week between now and October we’ll have saved over $300 on fresh, local, organic food. That’s money I can spend on other stuff, like chocolate or electricity to power these air conditioners or a plane ticket to San Diego. Thanks CSA!

It’s baaaaaaaaack!

I’ve made all of this since last Wednesday – and I took Mother’s Day weekend off for Thai food (my favorite!) and dinner out at Chili’s (don’t knock it – the selection is great and no one gets pissed when your toddler spills his entire cup of lemonade on the floor). I was trying to make up for four straight days of a total lack of motivation where I didn’t even PRETEND I was going to cook anything and we had fast food every night.

Also, I have washed more dishes this week than in the past MONTH. Baking makes a god-awful mess.

Recipes can be found on my Pinterest board, or linked below.

1. Teriyaki tilapia with herb salad, served with garlic rice (the kind that comes in a pouch and takes 90 seconds to microwave) – Real Simple
2. Coconut Chicken Dippers – Kraft Food (dipping sauce made with mayo because Miracle Whip is disgusting)(and the first recipe I ever repinned!!)
3 & 4. Orange-Almond Cake – Martha Stewart (Not as awesome as it looks, although I’ve been eating the leftovers all week so I’m not saying it’s terrible)

5. Carnita-Style Beef with Roasted Peppers and Onions – Tasty Kitchen (pretty good, not outstanding)
6. Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes – Martha Stewart (toddler & I loved it, but it was a lot of work for glorified mac & cheese)
7. Kale Chips – Things We Make (ok, so, *I* ate some them because they are satisfyingly crunchy and salty, but my family thought they were gross)
8. Strawberry Shortcakes with Mint and Whipped Cream – Epicurious

9 & 10. Banana Strawberry Pineapple Bread – My own recipe, which can now be found on Tasty Kitchen. It’s seriously, seriously delicious.
11. Zucchini and Bacon Three Cheese Lasagna – Kevin & Amanda (PICK OF THE WEEK)
12. Cayenne- Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa – Martha Stewart (10 minutes from fridge to table & super yummy)

I’m adding that lasagna to my short list of favorite family meals. I actually made it with turkey bacon to make it pretend-healthier and it was still delicious. If I was making it for a vegetarian I’d just leave the bacon out altogether and it would STILL be delicious. And not to toot my own horn but my bread is some of the best quick bread I’ve ever tasted. It’s just the right amount of moist and dense without being practically mush in the center like banana bread can be. But the real star is the pineapple, which is like little surprise bites of joy. That’s right: SURPRISE BITES OF JOY. No modesty here people. I’m a damn good baker.

What did you have for dinner this week?

Warning: DON’T READ THIS POST IF YOU LOVE THE INTERNET. Because if you’re as addicted to blogging and tweeting as I am, the last thing you need is another online way to waste time.

But if you like: art, food, home decor, dessert, crafts, photography, fashion, happiness, make up, tutorials, jewelry, etsy, joy and being inspired on a daily basis, I highly recommend you get on the Pinterest bandwagon as fast as if your pants were on fire and the wagon was covered in hot firemen.

My friend Brigid actually sent me an invitation months ago, because genius that she is Brigid knew it was a brilliant next-big-thing idea and also the sort of something I would love. I should send her a fruit basket. Maybe I’ll go look for creative fruit basket ideas on Pinterest. Because there are probably FORTY BILLION of them. I procrastinated for a few weeks, thinking I’d check it out when I had time and surly it wasn’t some sort of life changing website.

IT IS A LIFE CHANGING WEBSITE.

Here’s the overview: When you sign up, you create pin boards (like digital bulletin boards) where you can stick ideas you find online. The easiest way to pin is to add a shorcut to your toolbar following the instructions here. Then all the stuff you like is in one convenient, organized, neat-looking place. It’s  like a visual representation of bookmark folders in your internet browser. Here’s a screenshot of my recipe board, where I’m keeping all the recipes I’ve meal-planned for this week. It’s so much more fun SEEING the food than just reading about the food that I am actually more inspired to cook:

The second stage of Pinterest is following other people and their boards, so you can find inspiration right there on your homepage. You can follow all of someone’s boards or just one or two, based on what you’re interested in seeing in your feed. When you click on something that’s been pinned it takes you back to the original website, where you can get the info you need to make/cook/buy/try/read about the thing that was pinned.

This is what mine looks like right now:

Food, tutorials, fashion, all in one place. And here’s another shot, if I scroll down my page a little:

Home decor, a playhouse, tutorials, crafts, more recipes, things to buy…really, there are PLENTY of things to look at on a minute by minute basis.

Have I convinced you to sign up yet? Or do you have an account you’ve been neglecting because you just didn’t really “get it” yet? Here’s some Do’s and Don’ts to help you understand how to get the most out of your boards:

Pinterest DO’s:

– DO follow lots of people. The more people you follow the more stuff shows up on your homepage.
– DO follow people you don’t know. I promise it’s not creepy or stalkerish, so if you find a board that you’re in love with always add them!
– DO repin when you love something.
– DO use the search option to find more of what you want. I searched “polka dots” every day for a week to find inspiration for Little Evan’s birthday.
– DO check in often. Your friends will go on pinning sprees and looking at several days worth of stuff at once means you might miss something.
– DO unsubscribe from a board before a person. Maybe you love your friend’s sense of style but you don’t like pictures of babies or celebrities or quilts. Keep following their fashion board but unfollow the board you don’t like.
– DO use Pinterest to keep track of stuff you find in magazines. I do this a lot with recipes – if there’s an online version it’s so much easier to pin it than hold onto ripped out pages.
– DO check out the “staff favorites” boards and the ones Pinterest suggests you might like. It’s about expanding places you find inspiration, not looking at stuff you’d see on your friend’s blog anyways.
– But DO pin stuff from your friend’s blogs when you love it. I’m not going to lie, being pinned feels nice.
– DO be my friend on Pinterest!

Pinterest DON’TS:

– DON’T just repin stuff from other people’s boards. Add new content to the Pinterest community when you find it online, whether it’s from blogs, shops, websites, or friends.
– DON’T pin stuff to multiple boards. Pick the category it fits best and pin it just once.
– DON’T forget to label your pins with helpful tags and explanations, especially when pinning recipes. “Yum!” isn’t as helpful as “strawberry shortcake cupcakes”. For stuff from shops, adding prices is nice.
– DON’T just pin stuff from your blog. You can pin your own some sparingly, but follow the social media 80/20 rule: Promote other people 80% of the time and yourself 20% of the time.
– DON’T think Pinterest is just for bloggers. You don’t need anything besides an email to sign up and you don’t need online friends.
– DON’T post EVERYTHING you pin to Facebook or Twitter. I accidentally put my pins in my Facebook feed and was super annoying for a few hours before I noticed.
– DON’T forget that just because a picture is on Pinterest doesn’t mean it’s not subject to copyright. You cannot just take and use them on your blog without checking with the owner.

Seeing all the things I want to cook/make/buy all at once makes my life so much easier and more organized. I can actually re-find stuff I saw on the internet and thought “oh, I should do that!” Now I CAN do that. I’m also slightly addicted to checking what’s been pinned from my own blog. It’s reaching an unhealthy no-there’s-nothing-for-dinner-can’t-you-see-I’m-busy-looking-at-recipes-on-pinterest-WHAT-DO-YOU-MEAN-THAT’S-SUPER-IRONIC??? levels of time consumption, but I don’t even care. I love it.

Are you going to sign up now? Are you addicted yet? Do you have any suggestions for ways to make the most of Pinterest?