Here’s what this past week looked like:
I switched things up with my walking plan and have been walking after dinner instead of early AM.
I love lists, Friday!
- Bears having a hoedown!! This made me smile.
- I love when assumptions are proven wrong.
- Hello DREAM DESSERT.
- The straw thing is pretty cool. I LOVE tips for traveling.
- Introvert Myths! This is for my Dad who doesn’t believe I’m an introvert.
- Why am I so amused by this?
- Thank you, Kate Middleton!
- Megan is so dang clever, I can’t deal!
- Did you watch Orange is the New Black? You’ll love this.
- Panzanella with a Basil Vinaigrette? Sign me up!
- Joy blew my mind with her version of a Violet Crumble!
- Oh ICE CREAM…I love when you’re slightly melty.
- No Bake Summer Peach Tart. You had me at No Bake.
- I’ve always wanted to make my own Thai Iced Tea.
- Money/Food/Happiness. They’re all intertwined.
- 11 Things I Wish Every Parent Knew (what a good read!)
- This song is my jam this week.
Friends! I’m teaching a Beginning Food Styling Class with my friend Denise from Chez Us in Oakland later in August. If you’re looking for tips & tricks to beef up your Food Photography skills, we’re here to help! I’d love for you to join us!
Wit & Vinegar made my Cheddar Cheese Bread with jalapeños & turned it into croutons!
Batch 22 made my Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt with Nutella!
Katie Lou Who made my Blueberry Pudding Cake
Scrumptious and Sumptuous made my Mango Lassi Popsicles
Good Dinner Mom also made my Mango Lassi Popsicles with ginger!
The Ashley Davis Project made my Grilled Greek Panzanella
Tomato & Watermelon Salad
I feel like I’ve seen so many versions of Tomato & Watermelon salads out there. They’re usually made with some variation of feta, mozzarella, basil and mint. But as I was passing through this recipe from Dr. Andrew Weil’s (love him!) True Food Cookbook, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw goat cheese & roasted cashews. Now THAT’S different. I just had to.
I expected it to be simple, not Earth shattering. In my head the watermelon would balance out the acid of the tomatoes. The cashews would be crunchy and the basil would give it that oomph it needed. In reality, the flavors were complex. They were different. They intrigued me! I couldn’t stop eating!
This is the type of inspiration I would get from ordering something at a fancy restaurant…yet I sat in my kitchen eating this.
It’s summer in a bowl, folks. And summer is so dang FANCY.
Toasted Coconut Popcorn
I planted a seed in my husband’s head that we needed an air popper. We had one growing up that we loved and I remember it being super easy to make popcorn with one of those guys. Sure, I make it on the stove but in the past year I’ve burned more popcorn than I care to remember. The combination of our pans with our gas stove and my easily distracted kitchen brain produces burnt popcorn. That’s not a smell you want lingering in your house.
After a few hours of research, Casey found the highly rated Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper on Amazon. He excels at researching. This is what he picked out for us. It wasn’t an air popper. I wanted an air popper; I was skeptical. And on the night it arrived at our door, he quickly made our first batch of popcorn and that’s when I fell head over heels for something I didn’t think I wanted/needed. Whirley-Pop! You’re so much better than an air popper.
To say that we’re smitten with popcorn is an understatement. We are straight up obsessed. I am actually a little embarrassed to divulge how many nights we’ve had popcorn for dinner in the past few weeks…It’s a lot. And if it’s not for dinner, we make it for dessert! Which is awesome because Cooper is now on the popcorn for dessert bandwagon. What I love about the popper is that it takes no time to produce a great batch of popcorn. You constantly stir the popper with the handle so there’s no chance of kernels burning. You place the oil & kernels in the Whirley Pop, keep it whirling, stop when you hear the pops dissipate and you’re golden.
We’ve been really into making it with coconut oil and experimenting with different kernels. White, red, yellow, blue- YOU NAME IT. So far we consider the blue popcorn from The Popcorn Professor to be our favorite. Casey picked some up when he was at the county fair a few weeks back. One night last week, I threw in some extra coconut oil and topped the popcorn with toasted coconut flakes and OMG IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER. It tastes like movie popcorn! But MUCH MUCH MUCH healthier. It’s buttery thanks to the coconut oil and the toasted coconut. You’ll love that extra crunch. We’re obsessed/Get obsessed!
I love lists, Friday!
- 6 Harsh Truths That Make You a Better Person.
- I want to wear this Whole Outfit!!!
- Rachel outsmarts squirrels in such an awesome way!
- Clearly Identify the Habits of Fear. SO GOOD.
- New York in the Summer of 69! I love their style.
- I loved reading this post about Modern Etiquette & Dietary Restrictions.
- The Pioneer Woman has great reminders on how to freeze foods!
- Baguette Me Nots…need I say more?
- I feel very lucky to live in California.
- Sarah James has me wanting to meditate!
- HOORAY to AB Chao for speaking her truth!! XOXOXO
- Have you seen this NEVER WET stuff? My mind is BLOWN.
- How to Have a Bikini Body in 2 Easy Steps!!
- I love when logos go wrong.…What does that say about me?
- Strawberry Tuxedo Cake for the win!
- Lisa’s series on Parisian Storefronts pleases the font geek in me!
- What a great post about emails to & from bloggers!
- The Secret to Before & After Weight loss Photos. So THAT’S how it’s done…
I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS FRICTION! A new Joy the Baker Podcast is up! This week we talk about Suze Orman’s Podcasts,, The Skimm & word associations!
THANK YOU to The Kitchn for including me in their 15 FOOD INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS YOU SHOULD FOLLOW post! I’m @tracyshutterbean on Instagram if you wanna see!
Ladyaubs made my Candied Citrus Peel for a cake!
Chez Us adapted my Italian Fries
Embracing Brooklyn adapted my Peanut Butter Banana Frozen Yogurt
A Teaspoon of Happiness adapted my Asian Slaw with Wasabi Soy Dresing
Make Great veganized my Zucchini Banana Flaxeed Muffins
About a Boy made my Raspberry Peach Buckle
Knight and Day Events made my Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts
Cucumber Watermelon Popsicles
Cucumber Watermelon reminds me of being a tween. Except we didn’t call it tween back then. It was just the super awkward time between 7th grade and high school. In 8th grade, I really wanted to wear deodorant because it meant you were one step closer to being grown. Well, that and sports bras, Doc Martens, liquid eyeliner, and bangs with too much hairspray. I think my first dip into the deodorant world was with the zesty Cucumber Watermelon Teen Spirit variety. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I mean, who doesn’t want their pits to smell like Watermelon Jolly Rancher mixed with the synthetic smell of chemical cucumber? Cucumber watermelon was ALLLLLLL the rage back then but the thought of eating those two things at the SAME TIME was…blasphemy. At least in my tween head.
And this is that very flavor in popsicle form. Thankfully we’ve grown out of that not eating Cucumber & Watermelon TOGETHER phase. Now, we’re grown and there’s no crying to Boys II Men (most of the time) and no trying to force these legs into wearing boxers as shorts during volleyball practice! Hallelujah. Cucumber watermelon might be the scent of my 8th grade innocence…without the peer pressure & hormonal drama.
Also I can now dip a popsicle in a cup of vodka or gin if I’m having a rough day cuz I’M GROWN.
